Jerry Garcia was born on August 1, 1942 and in 2017 we’re observing his 75th birthday. This anniversary calls to mind my BEST AMERICAN BANDS OF ALL TIME LIST. I won’t get into all of the details of that list here, but I will tell you that when I first made that countdown about 12 years ago the Dead were highly considered for the top spot: the Dead were hugely influential and the culture they created around their live performances was as pioneering as it continues to be long-lived. I love the band’s Working Man’s Dead and American Beauty albums, and I think the Dylan & The Dead album’s live take on “I Want You” might be the definitive version of that song. All these things are true. That said, my favorite Dead-related project is a stoner-bluegrass record called Old & In The Way which featured Jerry Garcia on banjo, David Grisman on mandolin, Peter Rowan on vocals, and the late great Vassar Clements on fiddle. Here’s the AllMusic review of their eponymous debut…

The first release from Jerry Garcia’s short-lived backcountry bluegrass act was this 1973 recording that also highlighted the amazing skills of mandolin player David Grisman. The quintet actually released only this record, recorded at a series of performances in 1973, but the sound caught on with Grateful Dead fans and the record actually built up the group’s legacy long after they disbanded. The songs themselves, mostly penned by guitarist Peter Rowan and Grisman as well as a handful of traditional numbers and even a revamped version of the Rolling Stones’ classic “Wild Horses,” are delivered with the sincere reverence of true bluegrass fanatics. Soaring multi-part harmonies; fiddle, guitar, banjo, bass, and mandolin lines that seamlessly intertwine with a good-time feel; and exceptionally solid musicianship round out the ten-track effort. Fans of the Grateful Dead’s jolly throwback tunes should already have this in their collection, but even those put off by the member’s psychedelic resumés will find that Old & in the Way is nothing of the sort. This is the sound of purists re-creating the music they grew up with and it’s both enjoyable and inspiring to listen to. Like American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead, this record showcases Garcia going back to his roots, and it shows that he and his buddies have more than the chops required to live up to their legend.

Here’s Old & In The Way…

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Mitch Hedberg was one of my favorite contemporary comedians before his death from a heart attack in 2005. Hedberg had only just solidified a national reputation and looked to be on the verge of breakthrough stardom when news of his death hit the airwaves. Hedberg combined a stoner sensibility with the obtuse observations of Steven Wright and the old school one-liner formulas of elder statesmen like Henny Youngman. His performances were brilliant, but their power came first from Mitch’s writing. Here’s a great Modern Comedian episode featuring Mitch’s widow, comedian Lynn Shawcroft, talking about Mitch’s writing process…

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