Top Songs of Jerry Garcia’s Side Projects

I admit, I’ve been a dead head for many years. I have been to many festivals and over 50 concerts. When I try to isolate the top ten songs from Jerry Garcia, it is very difficult. Do I include Grateful Dead songs? Do I only include solo performances? Should I include songs that appear on bootlegs?

I decided that I would write this from my personal preferences. I cannot write about all of the great performance Jerry Garcia has down in his life time. I do not want to discusses rare bootlegs recordings that many people may not have access too (however if you have a video recording of the 77 Giza shows, please contact me). I decided to briefly talk about the many different side projects that Jerry was part of, and some of my favorite recordings.

Jerry Garcia Band: There are many different versions of the JGB. Some that has some familiar members such as John Kahn. Some of the best recordings from JGB are Don’t Let Go with a very slow version of “Knocking on Heaven’s Door”. Live at the Shoreline has a great version of the James Taylor classic “How Sweet it is to be Loved by You” and “Deal” not to mention a personal favorite of “Tangled Up in Blue” a Bob Dylan Favorite.

Old and in the Way: Jerry’s Bluegrass project which he plays banjo with. Old and in the Way is an all start studded line up with John Kahn on Bass, David Grisman on Mandolin, Jerry on Banjo, Vassar Clemens on Fiddle and Peter Rowan on guitar and vocals. Hobo Song” is an all time favorite which tells the story of a Hobo asleep in the hall that is a veteran and lost his money to gambling. “Moonnight Moonlight” is a great love song with a touchy feeling that makes you feel warm all over. “Panama Red” is the story of a cowboy (with many drugs over tones) that rides into town and no one can resist.

Jerry and David: There have been many new releases of great recording from Jerry and long time friend David Grisman. On the album Shady Grove Jerry and David play a classic old whaling “Off to Sea Once More” the story of a sailor who has lost all of his money and must return to the whaling to earn more money. Right after the team plays a dual banjo arrangement of “Sweet Sunny South” the story of a slave that misses home. The team has many jazz flavored arrangements based on David’s ‘Dawg’ styles music. “Arabia” and “Dawg’s Waltz” are filled with complex jazz runs and rhythms.

Jerry and Merl Saunders: Jerry’s team work with Merl Saunders is favored by some die hard Jerry fans. Their team work is filled with soul and emotion. Many people claim it is some of Jerry’s best singing.

Legion of Mary: this is Jerry’s fusion Jazz project. There was only one album released under the Legion of Mary.

There are many other side projects that contain Jerry’s work. There are too many to list. Jerry has been part of every music style, from bluegrass to acid jazz. It is always interesting to hear Jerry play a classic song like Panama Red as bluegrass with Old and in the Way, then to later hear it played Rock style with the Jerry Garcia Band. Jerry offered something for everything and was such a talented musician he could not be classified into any musical genre.

Here’s some great website:

http://Jerrygarcia.com: discography.

www.archive.org: Lots of live recordings to download.

www.dead.net: official grateful dead website

www.sugarmegs.org: a great website to link with other music traders.

www.gdhour.com: grateful dead weekly hours radio show