Happy Birthday Merl Saunders | Jerry And Merl ’73 Video
By Scott Bernstein Feb 14, 2014 • 8:40 am PST


In honor of the occasion we wanted to share a rare video filmed in 1973 featuring Jerry and Merl. On September 5, 1973, the Hell’s Angels threw a private party aboard a boat named the SS Bay Belle that sailed around the NY Harbor. For entertainment, the infamous motorcycle club brought Bo Diddley, Elephant’s Memory and Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders. A clip of Garcia, Saunders, bassist John Kahn and drummer Bill Kreutzmann performing a cover of “That’s Alright Mama” at this private party, interspersed with footage of a biker wedding and the party, appears in the 1983 documentary Hells Angels Forever.
It’s important to note that this “show” was the first time Garcia’s Doug Irwin-built Wolf axe was played in public after it was delivered to Jerry the previous May. You’ve got to think that the filmmakers didn’t just record one tune, so hopefully more of this incredibly historic footage will surface. For now, check out “That’s Alright Mama” complete with boobies a jiggling, so don’t watch this one at work.