1 Of The Last Songs Jerry Garcia Recorded Was Written By The Man He Was Named After

Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia was born on August 1, 1942 and died on August 9, 1995 at the age of 53. Each year, the “Days Between” Garcia’s birthday and the anniversary of his death mark a period of time to reflect on and celebrate the beloved musician’s life and career.

One of the last recording sessions Jerry Garcia held before his untimely death on August 9, 1995 occurred in January of that year. Garcia assembled the members of the Jerry Garcia Band at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California to record a pair of songs for the soundtrack to the feature film Smoke.

The session included Garcia on guitar with bassist John Kahn, keyboardist Melvin Seals, drummer Donny Baldwin and vocalists Jacklyn LaBranch and Gloria Jones. The band recorded “Cigarettes And Coffee,” a song co-written (but not recorded) by vocalist Jerry Butler along with Eddie Thomas and Jay Walker. The song was first released by Al Braggs in 1961 but became better known after Otis Redding included a version on his 1966 LP, The Soul Album.

The January 20, 1995 session at Fantasy Studios also included JGB recording another classic song. Garcia and his bandmates tracked a cover of “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” which was co-written by lyricist Otto Harbach, and the man Garcia was named after, composer Jerome Kern.

Born Jerome John Garcia on August 1, 1942, it was Kern, a master songwriter, who inspired the newborn’s name.

“My father played woodwinds, clarinet mainly,” Garcia said (via JerryGarcia.com). “He was a jazz musician. I remember him playing me to sleep at night. I just barely remember the sound of it. But I’m named after Jerome Kern, that’s how seriously the bug bit my father.”

Sadly, Garcia’s father, Jose Ramon “Joe” Garcia, died in a fishing accident in 1947 when his son was just 5-years-old.

Jerome Kern is among the most influential and successful American composers who contributed to many popular Broadway musicals and feature films. The jazz innovator wrote hundreds of well-known compositions and was responsible for writing the music to the hit musical, Show Boat.

Written for the 1933 stage play Roberta, “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” is among Kern’s best-known compositions. His other works include “The Way You Look Tonight,” “Long Ago (and Far Away),” “The Song Is You,” and dozens of others.

Among Kern’s best-known songs is “Old Man River,” which he composed for Show Boat with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein. The original JGB lineup played an instrumental arrangement of “Old Man River” three times in 1975.

Kern’s “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” was never played live by the Jerry Garcia Band. A video for their Smoke soundtrack recording was filmed on April 17, 1995, at the Tosca Café in San Francisco. One of the stars of film, Ashley Judd, appears in the video alongside Garcia and the other members of JGB.

Watch the “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” video and view behind the scenes photos taken by Jay Blakesberg at the video’s taping below:

For a taste of JGB playing Kern’s “Old Man River” listen to the audience recording of their November 2, 1975 concert below (starting at 1:30:01):