Watch Jerry Garcia & New Riders Of The Purple Sage Perform ‘School Days’ In 1973
The Chuck Berry cover was filmed during a guest spot from the Grateful Dead guitarist that took place two years after he departed the band.
By Scott Bernstein Dec 24, 2021 • 10:15 am PST
New Riders of The Purple Sage unveiled previously unseen video footage featuring a performance of “School Days” with special guest Jerry Garcia from 1973. The vintage clip, posted on the band’s Official Archive YouTube channel, was filmed on December 15, 1973 at the Winterland in San Francisco.
Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia co-founded New Riders of the Purple Sage (NRPS) in March 1969 with rhythm guitarist John “Marmaduke” Dawson, guitarist David Nelson, bassist Bob Mathews and drummer Mickey Hart. The band performed a number of shows with the Grateful Dead, underwent a series of lineup changes and released a self-titled studio album with Garcia before Jerry parted ways with NRPS in November of 1971.
NRPS’ lineup at Winterland on December 15, 1973 featured Dawson, Nelson, bassist David Torbert, pedal steel guitarist Buddy Cage and drummer Spencer Dryden. Jerry Garcia sat-in on Fender Telecaster guitar for “Sea Cruise” and “Glendale Train.” The latter also included Garcia and Nelson’s old pal Sandy Rothman on banjo.
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As the video below displays, Jerry Garcia also joined NRPS for “School Days” at Winterland. Chuck Berry wrote “School Days” for release as a single on Chess Records in March 1957. The song also appeared on Berry’s After School Session LP a few months later. NRPS included “School Days” as the closing track on their Garcia-produced 1974 live album, Home, Home on the Road.
Watch New Riders of the Purple Sage’s “School Days” performance with Jerry Garcia below:
