Hear Jerry Garcia Band Stretch Out On A Viscous ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’ At Keystone In 1976
Listen to the JGB deliver a “powerful and poignant,” 19-minute rendtion of the Bob Dylan classic.
By Nate Todd May 15, 2024 • 1:58 pm PDT
Out now is the second preview of the upcoming GarciaLive Volume 21: February 13th, 1976 Keystone Berkeley compilation. The latest track from the Jerry Garcia Band live set arriving June 14 via Round Records is an outstanding 19-minute rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.”
The “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” at the Bay Area’s famed Keystone club came during a three-song second set on February 13, 1976 following opener, Jimmy Cliff’s “The Harder They Come,” which previously previewed GarciaLive Volume 21.
Advertisement
In February 1976, the JGB lineup consisted of the Grateful Dead guitarist along with his GD bandmates keyboardist Keith Godchaux and vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux. The solid rhythm section of drummer Ron Tutt and bassist John Kahn rounded out the quintet. The Godchauxs had been performing with Jerry in JGB for just a couple of weeks at the time of the Keystone ’76 run.
Press materials for GarciaLive Volume 21 further detailed the beginning of the era:
Following the arrival of Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux in early ’76, Garcia delighted in his group’s “harmonious” sound emphatically expressing “This is what I want to hear.” On February 13th, no more than four gigs into their time together, they were already deeply in harmony.
That harmony is on full display alongside the improvisational skills of Jerry and the jazz-trained Keith Godchaux, with Garcia delivering high lonesome notes but also runs full of teeth. The song drips along like dark, golden honey and is aptly described as “powerful and poignant as they come.”
A Jerry Garcia social media post sharing the track included a famous Bob Dylan quote on Jerry Garcia.
Hearing this version of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” from the upcoming GarciaLive Volume 21 makes it easy to understand why Dylan said, “He took a lot of [my] songs and actually recorded them and sang them a step further than they were on my records. He heard where they should go. I would hear his versions of songs of mine and I’d say, ‘OK, I understand how it should go.’”
Listen to Jerry Garcia Band perform “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” at the Keystone in February 1976 below:
