Hear Jerry Garcia & Merl Saunders ‘Save Mother Earth’ With Paul Butterfield In 1972

Round Records shared the first taste of their Jerry Garcia Heads & Tails archival vinyl series. Side one of Heads & Tails: Volume 1 contains a single track, Merl Saunders’ instrumental composition “Save Mother Earth,” which is available to stream and features renowned blues harmonica player Paul Butterfield.

Guitarist Jerry Garcia, organist Merl Saunders, bassist John Kahn, drummer Bill Vitt and Butterfield captured “Save Mother Earth,” on January 19, 1972 at the Lion’s Share in San Anselmo, California in Marin County just across the bay from San Francisco. The band had recently begun branching out from their homebase at SF’s Matrix to perform in the wider Bay Area club circuit.

The performance on January 19, 1972 saw Paul Butterfield dropping by to jam. The Butterfield connection came through Kahn, who auditioned for Butterfield’s band in the late 1960s. Kahn also met Bill Vitt when the latter was a member of Butterfield (and briefly Bob Dylan) guitarist Mike Bloomfield’s band. Kahn had reconnected with Butterfield at a Woodstock, New York recording session.

The “Save Mother Earth” early 1972 recording, however, is Butterfield’s only known collaboration with Garcia/Saunders — although Merl and Kahn would go on to tour with Butterfield later that summer. A press release penned by Jesse Jarnow described the January 19, 1972 collaboration:

“Once the band is through the head of the song, Butterfield jumps in with both feet, his saturated harmonica honking and zapping atmospheric space-blues for 17 minutes, the earth temporarily saved.”

Listen to Jerry Gacia, Merl Saunders, Paul Butterfield and more perform “Save Mother Earth” below: