Brent Midland's First Show 45 Years Ago Today RIP: Dickey Betts, A True Brother Larry Mishkin begins with a discussion about the significance of April 20th (420 Day) and reminisces about a Grateful Dead concert from 45 years ago on April 22nd, 1979, which marked Brent Midland's first show with the band. He delves into Brent Midland's impact on the band and his musical contributions. He also touches on recent concerts by Phish and the Sam Grisman Project. Later, there's a surprising revelation that Tucker Carlson is a Grateful Dead fan, and it reflects on the diverse fanbase of the band. Larry also mourns the passing of Dicky Betts, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, highlighting his musical legacy and contributions to Southern Rock. Additionally, he mentions Betts' collaborations with the Grateful Dead and concludes with a tribute to him.
Brent Midland's First Show 45 Years Ago Today RIP: Dickey Betts, A True Brother
Larry Mishkin begins with a discussion about the significance of April 20th (420 Day) and reminisces about a Grateful Dead concert from 45 years ago on April 22nd, 1979, which marked Brent Midland's first show with the band. He delves into Brent Midland's impact on the band and his musical contributions. He also touches on recent concerts by Phish and the Sam Grisman Project.
Later, there's a surprising revelation that Tucker Carlson is a Grateful Dead fan, and it reflects on the diverse fanbase of the band. Larry also mourns the passing of Dicky Betts, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, highlighting his musical legacy and contributions to Southern Rock. Additionally, he mentions Betts' collaborations with the Grateful Dead and concludes with a tribute to him.
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Grateful Dead
Spartan Stadium
San Jose CA
April 22, 1979 (45 years ago)
Brent Mydland’s first show
INTRO: Jack Straw
Track #1
0:07 – 1:41
Brent in on the harmonizing from the first song
SHOW No. 1: Minglewood Blues
Track #6
2:14 – 3:57
Brent’s first solo!
Music News:
Phish
Sam Grisman
Dickey Betts
SHOW No. 2: Promised Land
Grateful Dead w.Dickey Betts and Butch Trucks
June 10, 1973
RFK Stadium
Track No. 26
2:28 - end
SHOW No. 3: Passenger (Back to April 22, 1979 show)
Track #10
Start – 1:34
Brent joining in on the vocals
There are several original songs in the Grateful Dead repertoire with a one-time-only lyricist. In the case of “Passenger,” the added quirk is thrown in of someone other than the composer singing the song. So we have a song written by Peter Monk, with music by Phil Lesh, and sung by Bob Weir and Donna Jean Godcheaux on Terrapin Station.
Lesh wrote the song, admittedly based on Fleetwood Mac’s riff for their song “Station Man.” Lesh said, in an interview in Dupree’s Diamond News, “What's weird about that song is I sort of did it as a joke. It's a take on a Fleetwood Mac tune called ‘Station Man.’ I just sort of sped it up and put some different chord changes in there..."
Monk’s lyrics for the song have been the source of quite a bit of debate. There are quite a few alternate hearings, especially around the line: “Terrible, the only game in town,” which many, including myself, hear as “Parable, the only game in town.”
“Passenger” was first performed on May 15, 1977, at the St. Louis Arena in St. Louis (released on the May 1977 box set). It was performed regularly through1981, with its final performance on December 27, 1981, at the Oakland Auditorium.
Terrapin Station, which included the studio version of the song, was released on July 27, 1977. “Passenger” was released as a single, with “Terrapin Station” on the B side.
Great tune. I’m sorry I never got to hear it live.
Bootleg album: Live at Moe’s Place – open with it, used to listen to it at good friends’ Dinie and Janet’s place in Ann Arbor. Really jams.
Played 99 times
First: May 15, 1977 at St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, MO, USA
Last: December 27, 1981 at Oakland Civic Auditorium, Oakland, CA
MJ News
SHOW No. 4: Shakedown Street
Track #24
5:00 – 6:41
Brent with music fills and vocals
ENCORE: Blue Sky
Eat A Peach
3:00 – end
College acquaintance and fellow Deadhead used to say that whenever she listened to this album, she would play Blue Sky twice and THEN play the album all the way through picking up a third Blue Sky. I tried it and discovered she was right on about that.
Larry (00:27.086)
Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to another episode of the Deadhead Cannabis Show. Larry Mishkin of Mishkin Law in lovely Northfield, Illinois. And let me start off by wishing a belated happy 420.
the spirit of the day and whatever makes you comfortable and that you were able to enjoy and celebrate with others. That's what 420 Day is all about. Just fighting fun people to get together, share common interests and other things that we all like to do and really just making a day out of it. And you know, the people who don't get into 420, more for the rest of us. So it's a good thing. I hope everyone had a fun day, safe day and fun. Today.
is Monday, April 22nd, 2024. But 45 years ago today, there was a lot happening down at the campus for San Jose State University, located in, of course, San Jose, California, specifically out of the football stadium, Spartan Stadium, where the Grateful Dead played a show that was...
An otherwise 1979 type show with a decent song selection, played well, and some good stuff we're gonna get into. But maybe even more importantly, and certainly more importantly, this is Brent Midland's first show. First show of the Grateful Dead. And folks, here is how his career began.
Larry (03:26.318)
Jack Straw, Brent, right there harmonizing the vocals on his very first song. Phil dropping bass bombs like nobody's business. What a great sound. Good to get him going on this one. Welcome back to a Hammond B3 organ that had been conspicuously missing from the stage ever since the days of Pigpen, as we all know that Keith was a grand piano guy. And...
Brent bought the B Hammond B3 back onto the stage and from the very beginning it's a wonderful sound. Jack Straw, a great song for Brent to break in on.
played 477 times, many of those with Brent Midland. First performed on October 19th, 1971 at the Northrop Auditorium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and last played on July 8th, 1985 at Soldier Field in Chicago. But on August 20th, excuse me, April 22nd, 1979, it was Brent Midland tickling the keys for the first time in front of a crowd as a member of the Grateful Dead. A little bit of background and insight.
that we get from Glide Magazine, thanks to David Goodwitch for this great article. By 1979, the Dead were something at a crossroads in their career for the past eight years. The husband and wife duo of Keith and Donna Gaucho had done a fine job of providing piano accompaniment and background vocals respectively. But as a new decade approached, it was clear the band needed a change in personnel. Jerry Garcia had reportedly become increasingly annoyed with Keith's habit of simply parroting the guitarist's lines while backstage the couple's domestic affairs
were regularly resulting in alcohol -fueled screaming matches that ultimately became too much to bear. Coincidentally, it was around this exact time that Bob Weir was putting his own group together in support of his latest solo effort, Heaven Help the Fool, great album by the way, and came across a young keyboardist named Brent Midland who had been performing with Silver, a slick Los Angeles -based soft rock outfit who were signed to Arista, the dad's record label at the time. It was during his brief stint in the Bob Weir band that Brent's playing caught the attention.
Larry (05:30.208)
of Garcia who soon invited him to audition for The Dead. After trying out just a handful of potential replacements for the piano hot seat, Brent got the nod and the rest is grateful dead history. Midland's presence was immediately felt at his very first show with The Dead on August 22nd, 1979 at San Jose's Spartan Stadium. As we were just mentioning, his liberal use of a Hammond B3 organ brought a newfound level of energy and musical sustained nod her and
its pig and his unique vocal abilities allowed him to successfully produce the same high harmonies that Donna had provided. Two for the price of one. Instrumentally, Brent brought a completely different approach to the Dead's music upon joining the band. And he also added his husky unmistakable vocals to the band's arsenal. And as we find out, as things roll along, Brent was not shy. He's there at Jack's draw and he's already singing. Well, just a few songs later,
The dead hit minglewood blues and before you know it Brent is front and center.
Larry (08:19.438)
Minglewood Blues, just another song in the dead repertoire. Some people might argue that it's overplayed. Some people might say it's just fine. You go to a dead show, every third or fourth night you expect to hear a good Minglewood and why not? It's a fun tune. Jerry always loves jamming on it. And in this instance, it is Brent's first official solo taken center stage there as Jerry yields the floor and Brent steps right in with that Hammond B3 and makes his presence felt. Now, he certainly had detractors early on.
from both fans and band members alike. In a 1982 interview with David Gans, drummer Mickey Hart admitted that he had the chance, he, Brent, had a chance of becoming one of us. I wondered for a while, I was the harshest critic in a way, he didn't have the passion at first. Then his attitude and his playing changed and he relaxed.
However, by the time the late 1980s rolled around, Brent finally began to earn the respect and admiration he deserves. His playing was as good as it had ever been, and he was perfectly meshing with the tighter and more professional sound the dead had developed during the Dark Era. Take a quick peek at any concert video from around this time, and you will inevitably see Garcia beaming at Midland with a huge, shite -eating grin as they combine to take the music to new and dizzying heights. And, you know, very, very true.
many times we'd be sitting there watching the show and Garcia would be looking over at Brent and they'd be smiling about something either a lick they had just played or something that was coming up or whatever but it really really seemed like they had this little bond going between them and maybe it started officially at least for me with Dear Mr. Fantasy and not necessarily the first time we heard it at Red Rocks but later on they would you know Jerry would kind of move over more towards Brent and the two of them would would belt out that tune although the first time they did break it out at the Red Rocks show in 1984.
It's definitely Brent. We've played that clip before and someday we'll play it again. But the dead's noodling around and all of a sudden Brent says, no, no, no, we either talked about this and we're doing it or we didn't talk about it but we're still doing it. And he just takes the lead and starts playing it on his organ while everybody else is still noodling. And he starts singing and the band comes around and then Jerry steps up and joins them. And Red Rocks went crazy. He added so much energy to it.
Larry (10:33.84)
to everything. It's just great to see. And now we're going to turn our thoughts away from all of this for a moment and take in some music news.
Larry (10:53.134)
Oh, our good buddy Billy Joel, the piano man. Grown nostalgic around the early 1980s, taking in the hot funk and cool punk of the new wave era, only to shrug his shoulders and spit out the title of this classic rock radio staple. Billy Joel's been a lot of things, a storied songwriter, commercial powerhouse, but he's never quite been cool. On this ode to the doo -wop and R &B he was raised on, however, Joel owns his squareness like the rock and roll legend he is.
you know as we talked about billy jull pushing past the uh... one hundred number for madison square garden concerts and uh... very very impressive uh... we all love billy jull love actually uh... feud with god maybe it's been ten years ago by now who the heck knows i can't quite remember uh... when he and uh... elton john were touring together
and we saw them at Wrigley Field and Joel played and Elton John played and they played together and you know for all the rest of us we knew the words to every song and sang them all because this was you know this was our high school this was growing up this was our impressionable years guys like Billy Joel were around doing their thing so thank you Dan for doing that let's take a quick focus on what's going on in the world of music news well first and foremost for anybody who's been paying attention we know that we have
Well, by the time you guys are listening to it, Fish will have concluded their four -night inaugural run at the Sphere in Las Vegas. However, as I record this just yesterday, so on Sunday the 21st, three of the four shows have been played, with a fourth show still to go tonight. Been following the shows, been following the set lists. They all look very solid to this new wannabe fish head.
And the reports that we've been getting, my son Matthew, his good buddy Kevin is there, and he's been sending along photos and reports. Good friends Susie and Sky were there last night, or not last night, Friday night, and they had good reports. And...
Larry (12:59.854)
you know what's not to love i mean the the setlist are uh... not unique meaning you know there's nothing on there that's like a while they're playing you know something for the first time in a hundred years or hundred shows or you know anything like that but what they are playing is the stuff that they've been playing you know just a lot lately good solid fish classics uh... some more recent than others some you know played more frequently than others uh... but you know pretty much up and down the line uh...
It's a great fish run so far, solidly played. But I think that at the end of the day, what people are really going to be talking about more than anything from this run is the sphere. And what Chris Corota and his crew and everybody else who's involved in the lighting have been able to pull off. We've been seeing pictures from our friends who have been sending us pictures. We've been seeing pictures on
Facebook and you know other
social media sites where people are sending around all their pictures and everything and it just really looks amazing and I understand there's no way to really be able to truly experience it without sitting right in the middle of it but the pictures do look cool and it just gives you an idea of what some of these people are really capable of doing when given the right electrical and computer related equipment and the Sphere is nothing if not a big playground for people of that type and God bless them all and congratulations.
to the lucky fans who got into these shows and really get to be part of this whole groundbreaking experience for Phish because I would really, for everybody, again, not to in any way besmirch U2. They are rock and roll royalty and always will be rock and roll royalty, but they are a rock and roll band and this is the first of the jam bands really kind of making the scene and really doing it in a way that's very cool and nice to see and it's gonna be a great precursor.
Larry (15:00.16)
said last time sets a pretty high bar for the folks of debting company who will be rolling into town sometime mid -May extending out for about seven or eight weeks of three to I think it's three shows a week Thursday Friday and Saturday pretty much some weeks it might just be Friday and Saturday but either way it's gonna be a great fun for the deadheads to get to go out and see Bob Weir, John Mayer back again very soon much sooner than people probably anticipated right
right away when they told us that last summer was the end of the end for them. But again, an opportunity to play in a venue like the Sphere certainly has to be enticing. And so it will be great to get another little run, well actually it turned out to be a long run, out of Ded and Co. And we'll see what the electronic wizards from the Grateful Dead family can pull off in the Sphere. And if they can equal a rival or maybe even better what all of the Fish fans have been experiencing. So one more night to go for it.
or fish. You can stream it. You can listen to it. You can do all sorts of things with it. It's really, really cool. And if you want to see it, you should definitely check it out. Moving on.
this past saturday night i had the opportunity to go out with good buddy robin his buddy layered and uh... we headed down to the chop shop on the north side of the city of chicago and caught the sam grisman project uh... i knew very little about the same grisman project prior to the show the other night in fact i have to say i didn't even know there was a sim grisman project but luckily uh... all layered who is a uh... the time banjo player in around chicagoland area and uh... good buddy rob who is a student of lards uh...
knew about the Sam Grisman project and so we got down there to the Chop Shop. It's in the back of a restaurant, nice little concert space. You know.
Larry (16:59.342)
less than a thousand people clearly but uh... you know a good crowd very enthusiastic and uh... kinda cool to see uh... dave grisman's uh... offspring up there uh... playing tunes of his own he is a bass player and uh... they started off uh... playing electronic instruments and he had that funky bass groove down pretty well and uh... they were jamming from the opening notes of liberty that started the show they worked their way through peggy oh and uh...
a few other kind of you know dead ballad type standards, a few Jerry Garcia tunes, you know and just some really really classic bluegrass stuff. It was a really cool experience and you know it's nice to see that the way that you know even for a band like these guys and of course Sam Grisman has a lot of connection to the world of the Grateful Dead through his father so it's not like it's anything foreign or new to him but he's playing it and
buddy rob and i took a moment to note that you know around the room including all the people in the bed we may still have been the only ones to have ever seen uh... jerry garcia play with the grateful that you know it's it's uh... it's kind of weird thing my my cutoff right now is forty five because that would mean you were fifteen years old basically when uh... uh... if you saw the grateful dead uh...
back in 1995. So right, if you weren't at least 15, then maybe you went with a parent or something and 15 may even be pushing it, but I'm just trying to be generous and.
you know that means you would be 45 today. And there's just not that many people that seem to be at these shows, you know, especially the younger crowd. At least it looks to me like they're 45. Of course, I could be wrong. But these guys are playing it, and you know, and having a great time with it. And it's just so nice. And there's so many, you know, young deadheads, young meaning people like my son's age, you know, so maybe in their 30s or late 20s, and maybe a few a little bit younger, some a little bit older. But they've all got their tie -dyes on. And they've, you know, some of them are grateful dead tie -dyes. Some of them are Sam.
Larry (19:03.84)
Amgrismit project tie -dyes and some of them are just you know whatever tie -dyes people made in their basement or you know bought it a show or somewhere else and it's really all pretty cool to see and it really really made for a
a fun evening. I'm not going to lie, the acoustics which closed out the first set and started the second set probably went on a little bit longer than it should have. But Sam plays a stand -up bass, and he certainly seemed to be having a good time with that. And all in all, it was a fun night. Nice to see expanded, dead family music. And everyone has a good time.
Now in the category of you've got to be kidding me, even though as we know from this show, although this may seem strange in the world of the Grateful Dead, it really, really isn't. But producer Dan, during his various.
ventures through the internet came up with a piece of uh... gold as far as i'm concerned that's a lovely article that tells us that apparently the grateful dead is was
Tucker Carlson's favorite band. Yes, you heard me right, folks. Tucker Carlson saw his first Dead Show in San Francisco, New Year's 1984 show that I was at. Oh my goodness. He was on Mushrooms and wound up seeing over 50 shows. Turns out Tucker's dad was a reporter in San Francisco and knew the band members. So Tucker got.
Larry (20:37.774)
Ooh, special in, special treatment for Tucker there, right? He always bitches about that. A young Tucker Carlson on mushrooms is a scary thought. I was at the 1984 show with good buddy Rick and a whole bunch of the San Francisco crowd from Michigan and my first New Year's show. And we were certainly on something that night. I don't think it was mushrooms, but it was something good and strong that we were all having fun with. And how weird would that have been to wind up talking to this dude? Hey, this guy Tucker, I just
I just met him, we're just sitting here talking about the dead, man, this is his first show. Yeah, okay, Tucker, nice meeting you, we'll see you around. That didn't really happen, right, but it could've, and then all of a sudden years later, here he is being a total asshole on TV about everything, although not anymore. But that's just one man's opinion, of course, right? I mean.
As Tucker would say, well, it's fair to think he might be an asshole. We're just asking questions. We're not really giving answers. But nevertheless, we've talked about Ann Coulter being a deadhead. And a lot of people on the right are deadheads and enjoying marijuana. And why not? That shouldn't be limited to people on the left. And it's not. The only part about it that we all find funny is that the whole part about the grateful dead and marijuana and all of that that tend to attract people to it are these
ideas that translate better into a.
a liberal framework than a conservative framework in the sense that it means we're open for all people and you know the grateful dead were nothing if not all inclusive. You know in the marijuana community is nothing if not all inclusive. But you still get people who are you know certainly in the marijuana community and the grateful dead community who feel differently about all sorts of issues and I guess that's their right. And as long as they're at the dead show and...
Larry (22:27.118)
not hassling anybody, then welcome to the party. And we're happy just to party and dance with you as much as anything else. So I guess it can't be totally surprising. You talk about the appeal of the Grateful Dead. Yeah, we talked about Rush Limbaugh, but Rush was kind of older and crustier than Tucker here. So Tucker would have never said anything as rude about Jerry dying as our good friend Rush Limbaugh did the pride of Missouri. But at any rate, Tucker and Coulter,
Before you know it, you're going to tell me Laura Ingraham is a stoner too. And that's where I draw the line. But we'll see, her and Janine Pereira or something like that. But yes, that's good fun. And I'm glad to welcome Tucker on board, the traveling party that is the Grateful Dead. As far as the rest of us are concerned, welcome to the group. We're happy to have you here, man. That's a good thing all the way around. So Tucker Carlson.
Yes, is a grateful dead deadhead, and that's something that you should all keep in mind the next time you're watching them, and you have to really wonder. Finally, on the musical front, we're going to talk about something that has happened.
just at the end of last week it's incredibly sad uh... not really tragic because of his age of the circumstances that he died a a natural peaceful death surrounded by his family and friends but we're talking about dicky bets a founding member of the allman brothers and uh... uh... a real legend relics magazine give a really nice write -up on it and they said
that forest richard dicky bets founding member of the allman brothers band lead guitarist singer and songwriter has passed away the musician best known for hits like ramble in man and top tier instrumentals jessica and memory of elizabeth reid and others died peacefully while surrounded by family at his osprey florida home on april eighteenth that's was eighty years old the news broke on social media via the artist's official instagram account stating is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that the bet
Larry (24:30.144)
Betts family announces the peaceful passing of Dicky Betts at the age of 80 years old, born on December 12th, 1943, died on April 18th, 2024. The message continued, Dicky was larger than life and his loss will be felt worldwide. At this difficult time, the family asks for prayers in respects to their privacy.
We said he was born on December 12th, 1943 in West Palm, Florida, though raised across the strait in Bradenton during the musicians' early years. His family unlocked a deep love and admiration for music by exposing Betts to traditional bluegrass country music and western swing. At age five, Betts began playing the ukulele, and as he grew and his eyes allowed, he picked up the mandolin, the banjo, and eventually the guitar. By 16, the artist had solidified his purpose as a musician, performing in various rock groups throughout his home state and the East Coast before
performing Second Coming with Barry Oakley in 1967. Before the end of the decade, future Allman Brothers bandmate Dwayne Allman, a successful session player at the time, was contracted by Phil Walden to create a power trio, which swelled to a sextet featuring brothers Dwayne and Greg, JMo, Butch Trucks, Oakley, and Dicky Betts. Having moved to Macon, Georgia, where Walden had established Capricorn Records, the unit forged a strong brotherhood, capturing their kinship on the debut self -titled album, The Allman Brothers Band.
The album features the band's take on Muddy Waters' Trouble No More and other enduring classics such as Whip and Post, Every Hungry Woman, Dreams, and more.
Larry (26:02.158)
They are recording their live at the Fillmore East, dropped on July 6, 1971, four months prior to the tragic passing of Dwayne Allman, who succumbed to injuries stemming from a motorcycle accident. Dwayne's death propelled Bette's position in the band, pushing him into a more dominant role as a songwriter, instrumentalist, and occasional lead guitarist, excuse me, lead vocalist. The group's E to Peach era represented another triumphant time, considering the set's lack of prior stable Dwayne. Despite the massive shift the group's
resume success favored works such as Melissa and Betts Blue Sky representing a forever classic. With the release of Brothers and Sisters, Betts legacy as a songwriter was set with chartopper Ramblin' Man. The following year, 1974, the musician released his first solo album, Highway Call, which featured Fiddler, Vassar, Clemens. At the same time, the Allman Brothers band were playing major venues, though their relationships were being stifled by rising tension.
Larry (27:01.102)
After Betts passed away, the Allman Brothers Band released an official statement. With deep sadness, the Allman Brothers Band learned today that founding member Dicky Betts has passed away peacefully at his home in Sarasota, Florida following a period of declining health. Dicky wrote quintessential brothers songs, including Blue Sky, Ramblin' Man, Jessica, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, Little Martha, and many others. His extraordinary guitar playing alongside lead guitarist Wayne Allman created a unique dual guitar signature sound that became the signature sound of the genre known
Southern Rock. He was passionate in life, be it music, songwriting, fishing, hunting, boating, golf, karate, or boxing, Dickie was all in and excelled at everything that caught his attention. Let's join his brothers Dwayne,
Barry Oakley, Butch Trucks, and Greg Allman, as well as other crew members, Twiggy Lyden, Joe Dan, Petty Red Dog, Kim Payne, and Mike Callahan. And that old Winnebago in the sky turned the world, taking their music to all who would listen. And then condolences to his family. Play on, Brother Dickie. You will be forever remembered and deeply missed. It's just a very, very sad day all the way around. And yeah, you know, just.
sometimes hard to hear that kind of stuff you know because it did it means we're moving on in the world we're moving on in life but it was such a beautiful period of time when the allman brothers were in full swing and dickie was right up there with the best of them even after twain and and uh... burial please passing uh...
for so long right up until uh... into late nineteen nineties you know he was out there with the boys doing his thing and he just had such a unique sound it was always uh... such a pleasure to listen to him uh... and uh... in fact he uh... wound up well they all but a plane a little bit with the grateful dad there was such definitely uh... some performances at the boys played together over time and uh... it was one of those things where uh... excuse me
Larry (29:03.502)
It was kind of spurred on by Dickie and Barry Oakley, because they were the dead fans in the Almonds. They'd been playing in a band called Second Coming, which was a rock and blues band that would play some cream, Hendrix, and airplane covers. Keyboardist Reese Wine had said, Barry was very dedicated to jamming in deeply into the dead and the airplane. And these psychedelic approaches and always playing the music for us, it was pretty exotic to our ears, because there was no similar bands in our area.
Bets recalled, Dwayne and Greg had real purist blues thing together, but Oakley and I, our band would take standard blues and rearrange its psychedelic approach to the blues. We loved the blues, but we wanted to play in a rock style like what Cream and Hendricks were doing. Jefferson Airplane was also a big influence on us. Phil Lesh and Jack Cassidy were Oakley's favorite bassists. We'd like to take some of that experimental stuff and put a harder melodic edge on it. On July 16th, 1972 at Dillon Stadium in Hartford, Connecticut, the Grateful Dead were the headliners and Dickey Betts, Barry
and Jamoy joined the Dead for Not Fade and Going Down the Road Feeling Bad and a little Hey Bo Diddley. Then we've talked about the Watkins Glen Summer Jam in July 28th, 1973. The big rock festival just outside of Watkins Glen, New York that featured the Almonds, the Dead and the Band event long held in the Guinness Book of World Record entry for the largest audience at a pop festival with an estimated 600 ,000 fans in attendance at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix.
raceway.
And that's just amazing. But another show, and we've talked about this show recently as well, was July 10th, 1973 at RFK Stadium. In fact, this show was just dropped by the Grateful Dead through Grateful Dead Productions not too long ago, and I mentioned it on the show. And after two really, really long, stellar sets by the Grateful Dead on July 10th, for the final set, Dicky Betts and Butch Trucks came out and joined the boys to play another seven or eight
Larry (31:00.624)
songs and the next tune that we're going to play for you here is a great version of the promised land and you can really hear Dickie's guitar sound all over it.
Larry (32:45.358)
promised land
Larry (33:00.878)
Now that's just Billy Don't Forget at the end there with Butch Trucks because this is during Mickey's hiatus from the band.
uh... and put steps in and uh... he's really pounded it but you hear uh... dicky bets in his guitar playing all throughout that clip and really if you listen to this final track on the this dead release from this concert just bring it down off of archive dot org uh... it's just absolutely incredible uh... great great stuff uh... unfortunately they never played together often enough and uh... in fact uh... well actually what really happened was this uh... uh...
They played together right up until, I want to say, New Year's, 1990 maybe? No, excuse me, 1973. New Year's 1973 at the Cow Palace. The dead were offered to play there with the Allman Brothers. They said no.
uh... either wasn't enough money or whatever the issue was but carsey went wound up playing with the almonds that night they say he said in a play over two hours of music which would have been a regular you know set amount uh... length of a set for you know union musician and should've been paid regular whatever but because he'd be a bit that it said no he just kind of popped in as a guest performer but after that night apparently that the reports are uh... that they never played again uh... going into nineteen seventy four uh... until after jerry died and then uh...
you know connections over time but you know that that was really kind of sad that part but in the 1980s
Larry (34:34.99)
turned out that Dickie started missing some shows. No official reasons were given, but it was presumed that he was too drunk or maybe too high to perform. Uh, by 2000 things had reached a breaking point. Uh, the remaining original Almond Brothers members, Greg Almond, Butch Trucks and Jamoy suspended Betts, uh, before the launch of the band's summer campaign tour 2000, according to Betts, the band told him, uh, that he had to get clean, presumably from alcohol and or drugs. Betts was subsequently ordered out of the band after the dispute went to arbitration.
He was temporarily placed on the 2000 tour by Jimmy Herring, formerly of Aquarium Rescue Unit, The Dead, and of course for a long time now, Widespread Panic. When Betts filed suit against the other three original Almonds, the separation turned into a permanent divorce. Although separated personally and as band musical mates for over 15 years, Betts and Greg Almond did reconcile before Almond's death in 2017. Betts reformed the Dicky Betts band in 2000 and toured that summer. The band resumed the name Dicky Betts and Great
Southern and added Betts son Dwayne, named after Dwayne Allman, on lead guitar. In 2005, Betts released the DVD live from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So Dicky Betts, a real legend. And there's really no way to replace him. Certainly somebody who we're going to miss. And.
you know uh... just thankful that we had time to see him uh... even though i never got to see him with the original crew are still thankful that i got to see him in fact when i saw him he was playing with uh... uh... warren uh... and uh... eventually with their trucks as well so let me know is just some fine guitar playing and uh... uh... really really excellent was nothing like dickie walking to the front of the stage with that distinctive cowboy hat you know the front flap down back flap down and you know where his uh... his uh... cowboy boots under
his jeans and you know whatever funky shirt he was wearing for the night and he just had such a such a distinctive voice just always so much fun and so great to hear and we send our condolences to his family and we just will miss Dickie immensely. However going back to April 22nd 1979 45 years ago today here's another musical selection from that night with listen carefully because Brent's jumping Brent is jumping right in on the vocals of this version of
Larry (37:00.576)
the passenger.
Larry (38:38.126)
passenger what a great song on there's Brent jumping in right away on the vocals making himself right at home. There are several original songs in the grateful dead repertoire.
repertoire with a one -time only lyricist. In the case of Basinger, the added quirk is thrown in someone other than the composer singing the song. So we have a song written by Peter Monk with music by Phil Lesh and sung by Bob Weir and Donajin Gaucho on Terrapin Station when it was released back in 1977. Lesh wrote the song, admittedly based on Fleetwood Mac's riff for their song Station Man. Lesh said in an interview in Dupree's Diamond News, what's weird about the song is I sort of did it as a joke. It's a take.
on a Fleetwood Mac tune called Station Man. I just sort of sped it up and put some different chord changes in there. Monk's lyrics for the song had been the source of quite a bit of debate. There are quite a few alternate hearings, especially around the line, Terrible, the only game in town, which many also heard as Parable, the only game in town. I'm quoting from an article here. In this instance, I did hear it as Terrible, the only game in town, but another perfect example here of a Mondagreen, where people
think they hear a different word and that could naturally fit in there as well and Parable I guess could have fit in there just as well as Terrible, Mondegreen being the official name for the Fish Festival coming up in August so always fun to point out examples when they pop up but that was apparently a common Mondegreen with this song but it was in fact Terrible the only game in town. Passenger was first performed on May 15th, 1977 at the St. Louis Arena in St. Louis. I was 15 at the time.
and did not make it to the show for no reason other than I had not yet gotten anywhere close to the bus, not even in the bus station. So that show went down without me knowing it. However, the show is famous for a couple of other reasons. First of all, it's only just about a week after the very, very famous Barton Hall show on May 8th, Barton Hall show on May 8th, where we featured that show and talked about it before. And many people feel.
Larry (40:46.414)
It was the greatest Grateful Dead performance all time. But also on May 15th, 1977 at the St. Louis Arena, the Grateful Dead broke out for the first time, Ico Ico. Just one verse of it right in the middle of Not Fade Away. It has the same kind of backbeat tempo to it. And then they quickly switched right back into.
not fade away but uh... you know for a town like st louis it has its moments of grateful dead fame and fortune just another one uh... to go on right on in there so it was then regularly performed passenger was uh... through nineteen eighty one in its final performance was on december twenty seventh nineteen eighty one at the oakland auditorium terrapin station which included the studio version of the song was released on july twenty seventh nineteen seventy seven passenger was released as a single with terrapin station on the
the B side. I have to say I've never heard the Terrapin station.
45 version but it must be very very interesting. We'll have to see if we can find that and and play it But it's really a great tune. I'm sever. Sorry. I never got a chance to hear it when I was in college My good friend Janet who lived with my good also another good friend Dini in Ann Arbor Janet had a bootleg album called live at most place, which I've never been able to find Even though I look for it all over the place and it opened with passenger and that's where I really kind of fell in love with the tune Because again, I never got to hear it in concert. They they stopped playing
it about a year before I started. So just unfortunate that it went down that way, but it's a great tune and it's always fun to listen to. And again, Brent just jumps right in there and his voice and his singing is so wonderful on it that it's really, really nice and really, really very pleasant to hear. We are now going to venture over into that part of our show where we discuss the latest in marijuana news from the day, which means that once again, Dan has something
Larry (42:42.736)
for us to listen to.
Larry (43:11.726)
Thank you, Dan. A bit of dialogue from the movie Meet the Fockers with Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro. Dan picked out that clip. I really, really love it because just that whole little exchange there kind of encapsulates what.
Many of us went through trying to talk about marijuana with our parents or with other adults or teachers or coaches or whoever was always going to take a very strong line against marijuana. A very perfect answer. He's just a magic dragon, that's all. But that's hysterical and I really love that. So yes, from the...
a take off from the song written by Peter, Paul, and Mary from a poem by Leonard Lipton made popular in a 1962 recording that was released in January of 1963. So with that, we are going to dive into our marijuana news for the day. And we have a bunch of things to kind of talk about here. The first one that we have is that.
President Joe Biden has been, thank you marijuana moment, President Joe Biden has been very, very clear about his support for decriminalizing marijuana, the White House said, on the eve of 420. But currently the administration is waiting for the Justice Department to complete its review into cannabis scheduling and doesn't have any additional updates on advancing reform or further expanding pardons. During a briefing this past Friday, White House Press Secretary Karen
Jean Pierre was asked to respond to advocates' criticism that Biden has not yet fulfilled his campaign pledge to fully decriminalize marijuana, even though he has taken meaningful steps by directing the scheduling review and granting hundreds of cannabis pardons.
Larry (44:59.342)
uh... look on decriminalization the president has been very very clear he doesn't believe that anyone should be in jail or be prosecuted just for using or possessing marijuana she said he continues to believe that he does believe that this is the second time the white house has been asked about the marijuana policy in the last week as discussions around reform have been amplified in the run -up to the cannabis holiday for twenty as was the case earlier this week john pierre reiterated that the u .s. department of health and human services has recommended moving marijuana from schedule one to schedule three of the controlled so
Substances Act based on a review that was guided by evidence and by science, which is what we believe here in this administration. The scheduling review is now with the Department of Justice. Certainly the process is still going. The review is still going. So DOJ has this, she said, but the president has been really, really clear about how he feels about people being prosecuted for using and possessing marijuana. And that has not changed. So OK, right, that's good. The president is still very much in favor of.
uh... moving marijuana along but by moving marijuana alone uh... he means moving it to schedule three so he's not making it legal he talks about decriminalizing uh... but you know decriminalizing is kind of a vague concept on the federal level right i mean if that means well the feds are going to go in and bust you will the feds already are coming in and busting anybody so uh... you know it's kind of hard uh... when they say that uh... you know
What do you mean? In Illinois, when they say we're going to decriminalize marijuana, so if you're in possession of 14 grams or less, it's just going to be treated as a moving citation, a moving violation. Well, everybody knows what that means. That makes a lot of sense, right? Because the majority of criminal problems for possession typically come from state or local authorities, not from federal authorities. And by moving things to schedule three, we've talked ad nauseum about the fact that, yes, it does kind of get rid of the 280E problem.
the banking problem, but it's still illegal. If it's on a controlled substance schedule, it is illegal for private consumption unless it has been specifically prescribed by a medical physician who is licensed by the FDA to prescribe medicines and is distributed by a licensed pharmacist. Now, those latter two categories may change somewhere along the way, but for right now, those are all the rules. So they're not really doing anybody in this industry such a huge favor.
Larry (47:19.886)
uh... in my opinion by simply only moving it to schedule three it needs to just come off the schedules altogether we're not going to get into that today but that's where things are at uh... you know by this saying you know i'm not giving up on this or at least his administration administrative spokespeople are saying that uh... you know which is good to hear it's better than the alternative uh... but we've also talked the fact about the fact that this is a perfect opportunity for buying to step in while he has the power to forty to be able to be the guy to do this to really cash in on the
the younger voting crowd, many of whom are now saying they're getting disillusioned with him because of the Israeli Gaza conflict and everything else that's been going on. But he's going to move at his own pace. And I guess it is what it is. And any step maybe is better than no steps. Although again, schedule three really seems to come with a.
a wide variety of things that make us all just a little bit nervous about what really might be going down. And so therefore, you know, we have to wait and see because until it's final, as you know, it's not final. So, you know, to President Biden and his administration, let's go chip chop. Let's get this thing done and wrap it up so we can, you know, be able to move on and live our lives the way we were meant to be was nobody having any fear or concern about the big bad federal government.
looming over us and possibly swooping in and taking away personal assets or personal freedoms. Now we find that we also have hemp -deprived THC producers wary of how the US Farm Bill could change the market. And what we know here, this is marijuana, MJ Biz Daily, that hemp drinks are big business in the United States and posed to grow even bigger.
Mary Bernuth wants in and she's not alone. Thanks to the 2018 US Farm Bill, hemp -based products are at least quasi -legal across the United States and unlike marijuana, they are chippable and transportable across state lines. Companies big and small are betting on hemp -derived drinks, becoming the next big thing for health -conscious, smoke -weary consumers. Bernuth's Ferros Brands was one of 30 hemp -derived THC beverage companies at the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America January Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Larry (49:35.726)
According to the Hemp Beverage Alliance, hemp trading companies took up as much as 10 % of the floor. We're killing it here, Bernuth told MJ Biz Magazine from the bustling convention hall. Things went so well, she's banking on contributing to a movement as well as running a successful business. We want to mainstream this, she said. We feel hemp beverages are an essential piece of destigmatizing THC. But when the first can of Faro seltzer is sold in stores this spring with 2 .5 milligrams of hemp source THC, it won't be sold in Montana where Bernuth
Newth lives and where Faroes is produced. That's because Montana law requires any end product with more than 0 .3 % THC to be sold in a state licensed marijuana dispensary. Such rules don't exist on the other side of the Dakotas in Minnesota, where a 2022 state law specifically allows products with low doses of hemp -derived THC to be sold through mainstream retail outlets such as supermarkets and convenience stores. In a similar theme, states around the country offering similar patchwork
uh... of conflicting rules that's the case for now the federal law that is loud has allowed a hemp derived product market worth billions to emerge overnight could change soon and dramatically
From drinks to gummies or smokable flour, the country's appetite for psychoactive products sourced from hemp is enormous. And what economist Beau Whitney states, conservatively as a 28 .4 billion market barely existed before the 2018 farm bill accidentally legalized it. That farm bill, which legalized the production of hemp across the United States was intended to be a boon for long suffering producers of low THC cannabis intended to be spun into fabric pressed into oil for fuel or processed into health foods.
Hemp is also a source of CBD or cannabidiol, which can be converted into psychoactive delta -8 THC, hence the boom in delta -8 infused products. The last evolution is hemp -derived delta -9 THC, or what we call the normal stuff. Operators with enough hemp also could extract sufficient delta -9 THC to produce and ship gummies and other infused products that are functionally identical to state -regulated marijuana across the United States.
Larry (51:44.846)
It's conventional wisdom that federal lawmakers did not intend to create this new market when they legalized hemp production nationwide with the 2018 Farm Bill. Since then, businesses including Faroes have existed in a state of uncertainty that some argue, as if you can believe it, even more confusing than the regulated marijuana industry. The US Food and Drug Administration has publicly declared that hemp -derived THC has serious health risks, and the Drug Enforcement Administration has hinted it doesn't consider.
certain hemp extracts legal. However, federal regulators have so far taken a limited action in this area. Only companies selling products marketed with unproven medical claims or marketed with packaging similar to mainstream snack or beverage brands have drawn negative attention and then usually nothing more serious than a cease and desist letter.
But it's also understood that this uneasy status quo is temporary. Depending on when Congress passes the next farm bill and exactly what's in it, the ground could shift under Bernou's business in the hemp -driven cannabinoid sector yet again.
The problem is nobody knows when that might be or what will come next. Overall, the federal government is quite unpredictable," said Michelle Bodine, the New York -based co -chair of the Vincent Law Firm's Hemp and Cannabinoids Department, as well as the Hemp Beverage Alliance's general counsel. The longer things drag out, the more opportunity there is for issues to come out in the forefront, she said. It's obviously hard to predict where those issues are going to land in Hemp's favor or against.
But either way, it looks like they're finally waking up from their whatever induced them slumber the lawmakers and saying, oh yeah, when we said happen all of its constituents cannabinoids back in 2018, that meant the 0 .3 % of delta 9 THC that we said could occur naturally in there before it would cross the border of what constituted marijuana.
Larry (53:35.566)
So you say to yourself, come on, federal government, get out of the way, right? Why are we really so concerned about this? We shouldn't be. Well, here's one of the reasons why. Because marijuana trade groups are not happy about it. And in Illinois, the lawmakers, marijuana trade groups are pushing to ban intoxicating hemp products. Here we go. Thank you, Marijuana Business Daily.
Illinois lawmakers and a trade group representing state licensed marijuana companies are calling for a ban on intoxicating hemp products such as Delta -8, Delta -9 THC, and Delta -10. The Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, which represents large operators, is pushing for banning the sale of such products until committee recommends some action, the Chicago Tribune reported. But the group stopped short of banning CBD products. In Illinois, intoxicating hemp -derived products are sold to gas stations, convenience stores, and smoke shops.
without any regulation, including age restrictions, testing, and labeling, according to the newspaper. Several lawmakers favor the ban, while others, such as state rep Nick Smith, prefer that the product be tested, regulated, labeled, and taxed. Key facets of a bill he recently introduced are to allow the sale of hemp -derived products, the Tribune reported. Wyoming recently became the latest state to ban the sale of hemp -derived THC products. But here's the thing, folks, and this is what really bothers me about this.
What the marijuana trade group, the folks who have the state -licensed dispensaries and cultivations are saying is, it's not fair. It's not fair. These folks now get to sell products that, in some instances, as we just got done saying, are really the equivalent of the same products that the licensed people are selling.
And it's not fair because the licensed people have much more regulation and it's much more expensive as a result and yada yada yada. And I say, so what? So what? This is the law. When you got your licenses, this was the law.
Larry (55:31.95)
Since 2018, you guys got your licenses in 2020. Yes, in Illinois, the medical people got it back in 2013. But nobody's been going back in and saying, I'm going to cash in my license and get out. And why should they? Every state's legal marijuana market is setting record profits. We talked about it towards the end of last year and a little bit into this year. Illinois has gone up. Missouri has gone up. States everywhere have gone up. Some have plateaued. But nobody's crying poor in their adult use or medical marijuana markets. So it's not like.
these uh... intoxicating hemp products are in fact
knocking these people out. In fact, if you go in to most licensed dispensaries in Illinois, you don't really see very many hemp products, maybe one or two, if at all. There's nothing stopping these people from going in and bringing these intoxicating hemp products into their stores and selling them. Well, that's not entirely true, I guess, because if the marijuana hasn't been grown by a licensed person, a licensed cultivator, then I suppose that does create a problem for them. But they could grow the cultivators,
grow it. And they can grow hemp and they can, you know, do whatever they want. But the truth is that people who come to the dispensaries aren't interested in intoxicating hemp. They want to get high. Intoxicating hemp, yes, can give you a little bit of a buzz. But, you know, for somebody who's really looking to go out and catch a buzz...
you're going to smoke marijuana, at least in my opinion, and the people that I know that smoke marijuana. I don't see anybody saying, you know, tonight I don't really feel like getting that high. I'm going to smoke my Delta 8 or my Delta 9 or my Delta 10 hemp -derived product. I'm not saying that there aren't people who smoke that. There are plenty of people who smoke that. But I'm not sure how many of those people, if they could no longer get access to that product, would substitute it with actual marijuana products. Because with intoxicating hemp products, the THC levels still tend to be pretty low overall, right?
Larry (57:23.984)
anything that's above 0 .3 % is by definition now, well, I guess anything over 0 .3 % is marijuana and illegal. But anything even with hemp up to 0 .3 % of THC isn't a toxicating hemp product because it has 0 .3 % of THC. And if you compile enough of it through all of your.
properly grown hemp, you can put together a decent amount of THC. But maybe truck drivers buy it at the truck stops, or maybe young teenagers who are looking for it, even though we know that teenage smoking goes down. But I don't think you're seeing very many of your hardcore smokers, people who really enjoy marijuana or who smoke marijuana for its medicinal benefits, because they could just as easily use CBD for their medicinal benefits. But for some people, they want that THC boost as well. And that's why.
they turn to marijuana for medicinal benefits. So this is all to me just a giant job of overreach and greed. These people are making a lot of money, but somehow they feel that they're the only people who should be able to make money off of THC products. And you know, that's just not the right way, in my opinion. And again, in a world driven by marijuana and the Grateful Dead, yes, making money and surviving and getting from one show to the next show is important, but it's also
important to help your other deadhead friends out and colleagues, right? And somebody who can't afford a joint today, you know, you get them a joint so they can smoke it and maybe, you know, man, I can't afford to buy marijuana. Maybe I have to smoke intoxicating hemp products because that's all I can afford for right now.
Right, so let's please try to be thinking a little bit more about all of this along the way because I just think it's very unfortunate to see the privileged folks who got their licenses still not being satisfied with their adult use licenses and trying to do everything they can to stamp out the efforts of the folks in the hemp industry doing what they do. And if the government wants to step in and say, OK, fine, intoxicating hemp, but we're going to have standards too. They're going to have to be tested and all.
Larry (59:28.848)
and do that too. I don't have a problem with that, but I do have a problem with going and taking the market away from people, many who have now invested a lot of time and money into developing that market. Hopefully you'll let it go and we'll see what happens, but I suspect that's not necessarily going to be the case. As I say,
We will see what happens as time goes by. Finally, one final story that I'd like to talk about really quickly here is that my producer, Dan, pointed this out to me right at the end of last week's show. We had mentioned Vance. And I want to go on to say that Vance publishes their own job reports. And they currently show that in the job market,
Well, here, I'll just tell you right from the Vance web page itself. The industry's definitive report finds a gain of 22 ,952 jobs in the past year. How many of the jobs are supported by America's legal cannabis industry? We have the answer. The 2024 Vance job reports found there are now 440 ,445 full -time equivalent jobs supported by legal cannabis in the United States. That's a 5 .4.
percent increase over 2023, a positive sign that the industry is finding its footing after a rough couple of years. This year's report explains why that happened and also reveals.
a lot of other information, why the top 10 states for cannabis employment in 2024, what mature states like Colorado and California, why they lost jobs last year, how Michigan and Missouri each created more than 10 ,000 jobs, how inflation and interest rates are affecting hiring, which states gained the most cannabis jobs last year, and other really fascinating news. So make your way over to Vance .com and read their 2024 jobs report and find out a little bit more about this company.
Larry (01:01:29.232)
Last week we reported that they just bought up their largest competitor in the gig job market. And led by Carson Humiston, daughter of producer Dan, they're rolling right along. And it's a very positive report. And always nice to see them putting that information out too. So I would recommend that as part of your cannabis reading, you find a few minutes to pop in and to check that out as well. So.
okay uh... swinging back into our uh... grateful dead show from
April 22nd, 1979, 45 years ago today, Brent Midland's breakout show with The Grateful Dead. After another long, great night of music, a scarlet fire and some really great tunes for Brent to cut his teeth on, the band tucked it all away and came out for their encore and they played the encore and they went big. A Shake Down Street with Brent all over the musical fills and the vocals. Check it out.
Larry (01:05:13.454)
knife to apologize to sit just a couple of episodes ago i talked about shake down street being placed in an court how rare that was but yet here's another classic example of a shake down street encore and uh... what a pleasure to hear here brent in there uh... his keyboard playing would only grow and become uh...
prominent and such a bigger part of the group. He was a capable songwriter whose credits included Far From Me, Tons of Steel, Just a Little Light, We Can Run, Blow Away, and the tender I Will Take You Home recorded on built to last for his daughter Jennifer, whom Deadheads will fondly remember from when she was invited up on stage to sit beside her father while he sang to her on a few occasions. Midland's voice and approach was also on display for a number of covers that Dead performed during his time in the group such as Dear Mr. Fantasy, Hey Pocky Way,
Give me some lovin' and the Hey Jude reprise tacked onto the back end of Dear Mr. Fantasy. Brent sang the entirety of Hey Jude in concert on March 22nd, 1990 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario. Most of the time he just got the Hey Jude reprise, which was great fun for everyone to sing along and then he'd kind of go back into Dear Mr. Fantasy and then back into Hey Jude and really, really had a great time with it.
He helped the band reach the next level throughout his time with the band. His 11 -year tenure with the band was the longest of any of those who had held down the Grateful Dead keyboard seat between their formation in 1965 and Jerry Garcia's death in 1995. Sadly, though, as with many other gifted artists, Brent struggled with his own personal demons throughout his career, despite the fans and Garcia's own encouragement and the fact that Brent was the longest tenured keyboardist in Grateful Dead history. He could never shake the feeling he was the new guy in the band. Substance abuse gradually became an issue, and the
it had only a minimal effect on his playing, it began to take a serious toll on his personal life, including the very real possibility of jail time after the 1990 summer tour due to a series of drunk driving -related arrests. As a result, the Dead's 1990 summer tour would be Brent's last, with his final performance occurring at Chicago's Tinley Park on July 23, 1990. Ironically, the final lyrics Brent ever sang was, I gotta go, but my friend can stick around as the Dead closed the evening with the bands of the wait. After returning to his bear,
Larry (01:07:27.104)
home in Lafayette. Brent Midland was found dead from a speedball, a lethal cocktail consisting of cocaine and morphine, only three days after his final show on July 26, 1990. It's just hard to believe that it's been that long. He was great.
We talked about how energizing he could be and how wonderful he was. It was a difficult time for Jerry when Brent died because a lot of people thought that they might be doing some of these drugs together. Jerry's quotes at the time were a little bit that, um,
you know the band was trying to help Brent and wasn't quite able to. A tough time for everybody and you know we're not blaming anybody or saying it was anybody's fault other than Brent's he was the guy doing it but you know there was just a lot happening in the band at that time and so it probably didn't help matters that you know anything else he was going through he had the access to those kind of drugs and everything else but we miss Brent and certainly very sorry that he's gone.
I never knew there could be a grateful dead without Brent we Meaning my buddies and I who all started seeing shows, you know early 1980s We all longed for Pigpen and Keith because they were old school or as the kids say Oh gee But Brent was great and notwithstanding taking some shit about the old school days We loved his energy and how he clearly visibly energized Jerry in a way that no other band members seemed to Once Brent was gone. Everyone seemed to realize what we the dead community band and fans had lost Vince was great in his own right, but Brent was Brent
And there was only one of him and then he was gone and very very sorry for it So we remember Brent today on a happy note his first performance with the band that we'd go on to encompass 11 years of great music in wonderful times and Whenever you have a chance listen to a little Grateful Dead with Brent and give him his due We are going to end today by one last time going back and paying tribute to our good buddy Dicky Betts, well not my good
Larry (01:09:34.638)
speaking a little colloquially there is my good buddy tommy might say but uh... there's one song i think it is catalog that really stands out and i think it may even stand out in the entire catalog of the uh... allman brothers although i would gladly understand if some people disagreed with me but that's blue sky uh...
It's a song by the Allman Brothers from their third studio album, Eat a Peach, which came out in 1972. It was released on Capricorn Records. The song was written and sung by guitarist Dickey Betts, who penned it about his girlfriend and later wife, Sandy Blue Sky, and I'm not going to do justice pronouncing her last name, Waba Gijig. Maybe.
My apologies. The track is also notable as one of guitarist Dwayne Allman's final recorded performances with the group. The band's two guitarists, Dwayne and Dickie alternate playing the song's lead. Allman's solo begins about halfway in. Betts joins in a shared melody after that, followed by his solo. And the song is notably more country inspired than many songs in the band's catalog. The lyrics.
Leave out any references to gender to make it nonspecific Once I got into the song I realized how nice would be to keep the vernacular as he and she out and make it You're thinking of the spirit like I was given thanks for a beautiful day I think that made it broader and more relatable to everyone. He said said Bets he initially wanted the band's lead vocalist Greg Alma to sing the song but Dwayne encouraged him to sing it himself Man, this is your song and it sounds like you and you need to sing it Dwayne told him an embryonic version of the song can be found on the fan booth
bootleg the Gatlinburg tapes, a recording of the band jamming in April 1971 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The song was one of Dwayne Almond's last recorded performances with the band as I mixed the songs like blue sky. I knew of course that I was listening to the last things that Dwayne ever played and there was such a mix of beauty and sadness knowing there was not going to be any more from him said sound man Johnny Sandlin. When I was in school in Ann Arbor in the early 1980s, a college acquaintance, a good friend Janet, a fellow deadhead used to say,
Larry (01:11:37.088)
that whenever she listened to this album, she would play Blue Sky twice and then play the album all the way through, thereby picking up a third version of Blue Sky. I tried it and discovered she was right about that and still do it to this day. So we're going to leave you with the...
beautiful song to keep that's blue sky from eat a peach uh... and uh... thank you all for listening today as always uh... we've got some great interviews coming up in the next couple weeks will talk more about that next week on our show and we will look forward to seeing you that have a great week uh... enjoy yourselves and at all times as always please enjoy your cannabis responsibly thank you