Help: Grateful Dead as folk music

Subject: RE: Help: Grateful Dead as folk music
From: PoppaGator
Date: 26 Aug 08 - 01:22 PM

Sorry about my mistake in chronology (re Europe '72 vs those two iconic studio albums). My bad!

Of course, mine was not the only such time-line confusion in this discussion ;^)

It's not surprising that one might mistake a Hunter/Garcia composition as a true traditional number ("Black Muddy River"). In any discussion of songwriters who truly write "in the tradition," those two ~ espcially lyricist Robert Hunter ~ absolutely must be recognized among the very greatest, as true masters.

Subject: RE: Help: Grateful Dead as folk music
From: C. Ham
Date: 26 Aug 08 - 01:41 PM

I've heard Rosalie Sorrels tell a story about being in a folk festival workshop with Michael Cooney who was ranting on and on about how rock artists didn't have any good songs.

When it came her turn to sing a song, Rosalie sang "Ripple."

When Michael compelmented her on writing such a great song, she told him it was by the Grateful Dead.

Subject: RE: Help: Grateful Dead as folk music
From: PoppaGator
Date: 26 Aug 08 - 01:44 PM

There have been several mentions of the GD favorite "I Know You Rider," a song with traditional origins that was taken up, rearranged, significantly improved (to my mind), and popularized as part of the 60s "Folk Scare" revival.

Anyone the least bit interested in this song should check out one of my very favorite Mudcat threads ever:

thread.cfm?threadid=40592#582121

(Ooops! This link brings up the middle of the thread, not the top. My mistake; please just scroll up ato sttart and then start reading down.)

If you're not prepared to read the whole thing ~ which I highly recommend ~ at least skip down to Bob Coltman's first appearance in the discussuion, and take it from there. The story unfolds as an absolutely wonderful saga of American folkmusic history.

Subject: RE: Help: Grateful Dead as folk music
From: pdq
Date: 26 Aug 08 - 01:47 PM

When I first heard their "Brown Eyed Women" I assumed it was traditional, or at least an older Country song, maybe 1930s.

Their compositions don't always mesh perfectly with the "trad" ones, but they don't clash, either. "Jack-a-roe" comes from a Child ballad, considered "trad" but "Babe, It Ain't No Lie"is an original by Libby Cotton, "Standing On The Corner" by Jimmie Rodgers, "Louis Collins" by John Hurt. "It Hurts me Too" should be credited to Tampa Red (1930s or '40s), but I think they credit Elmore James for his re-write.