A Look At Rare Grateful Dead Performances Of Cowboy Songs

Late last week it was announced that Bob Weir will be releasing Blue Mountain, his first studio album of all original music under his own name since 1978’s Heaven Help The Fool. The 12-track effort is set to showcase the former Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist’s longstanding love affair with cowboy music. Roughly a year after their debut gig as the Warlocks, the Dead debuted a Bobby-led cover of “Silver Threads and Golden Needles,” a tune that was recorded by the first lady of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson all the way back in 1956. Over the course of his 30+ year tenure with the Dead, Bobby’s cowboy tunes became a staple of the band’s repertoire, with songs like the Weir-Hunter collaboration “Jack Straw” and their cover of Marty Robbins’ “El Paso” remaining in the constant rotation all the way through their final shows in 1995.

While country songs were occasionally part of the band’s early psychedelic ballroom days, it wasn’t until the Dead’s cosmic Americana period (roughly 1969 – 1972) that they began to delve head first into the genre. With the back-to-back releases of their “back to the Earth” albums American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead, the band briefly incorporated acoustic sets in their live shows. Pairing up with New Riders Of The Purple Sage to present An Evening With The Grateful Dead the band used the opportunity to showcase their new found interest in folk harmonies and country music. With Jerry Garcia switching between acoustic guitar and his new fascination with the lilting sounds of pedal steel guitar, the band mixed new originals with traditional folk numbers, and a number of Weir-sung country tunes.

While Deadheads are all too familiar with the Dead’s takes on Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried,” Johnny Cash’s “Big River” and their own “Mexicali Blues,” we’ve gone for a deep dive to unearth some buried treasure country covers:

Silver Threads & Golden Needles

• Grateful Dead Debut: 5/19/66, Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA
• Number Of Times Played: 18

Jack Rhodes and Dick Reynolds composed “Silver Threads & Golden Needles,” which first appeared on Wanda Jackson’s 1956 self-titled debut album. A recording of the song by The Springfields became a trans-Atlantic hit for the British folk act in 1962 and it was also later recorded, twice, by country-pop vocalist Linda Ronstadt on both her debut LP Hand Sown … Home Grown in 1969 and again in 1973 for her album Don’t Cry Now.

Other Notable Covers: The Everly Brothers, Sandy Denny, Dolly Parton/Tammy Wynette/Loretta Lynn

Green, Green Grass of Home

• Grateful Dead Debut: 5/31/69, McArthur Court, U. of Oregon, Eugene, OR
• Number of Times Played: 9

Vocalist Johnny Darrell was the first to record Claude “Curly” Putman Jr.’s composition “Green, Green Grass of Home,” releasing it as a single in 1965. Later that year it was further popularized by country performer Porter Wagoner. The most widely-known take though belongs to Tom Jones, yes of “What’s New Pussycat?” fame, who turned the aching lament into a worldwide hit in 1966, topping the U.K. chart, and peaking at No. 11 in the U.S.

Other Notable Covers: Bobby Bare, Jerry Lee Lewis, Merle Haggard, Charlie Pride, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Joan Baez, Elvis Presley, Kenny Rogers, Flying Burrito Brothers, The Statler Brothers, Roger Miller

Old, Old House

• Grateful Dead Debut: 6/21/69, Fillmore East, New York City, NY (Late Show)
• Number of Times Played: 1

Only performed once by the Grateful Dead, this George Jones song, which appeared on his 1963 album I Wish Tonight Would Never End, would likely even be considered a deep cut by hardcore country music aficionados.

Other Notable Covers: Ralph Stanley, Bill Monroe

Ole Slewfoot

• Grateful Dead Debut: 6/11/69, California Hall, San Francisco, CA
• Number of Times Played: 8

Unlike the majority of tunes on this list, which land on the slow ballad side of things, “Ole Slewfoot” is a bluegrass-inspired foot-stomper. The song was originally penned Howard Hausey and Eddie Manney and first released as a popular hit single by rockabilly singer Johnny Horton in 1961. The Dead turned “Ole Slewfoot” into more of a psychedelic country-rock tune, connecting the dots between them and the New Riders Of The Purple Sage, with whom Garcia was also playing with at the time.

Other Notable Covers: June & Johnny Cash, Porter Wagoner, Doc Watson, Buck Owens, BR459

Let Me In

• Grateful Dead Debut: 7/4/69, Electric Theater, Chicago, IL
• Number of Time Played: 3

Porter Wagoner was one of the biggest country stars of the time when Dead decided to cover this tune, hosting a nationally syndicated television show that averaged around three million viewers a week during its peak. a recording of “Let Me In” was included on Wagoner’s 1967 album Soul Of A Convict (And Other Great Prison Songs). The song tells the heartbreaking tale of an orphaned boy’s cross-country search for his imprisoned father, whom he finally finds at Sing-Sing prison.

Seasons of My Heart

• Grateful Dead Debut: 8/2/69, Family Dog at the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA
• Number of Times Played: 7

Originally released as the B-side to George Jones’ 1955 single “Why Baby Why,” the track written by Jones and Darrell Edwards was included on the former’s 1957 full-length debut Grand Ole Opry’s New Star. Future Highwaymen band mates Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson also covered this tune, with Cash turning it into a hit in 1960, and Nelson including it on his 1966 record Country Favorites – Willie Nelson Style.

Other Notable Covers: Kitty Wells, Jerry Lee Lewis

Gathering Flowers From the Master’s Bouquet

• Grateful Dead Debut: 12/26/69, McFarlin Auditorium, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
• Number of Times Played: 1

Written by Ralph Stanley and his brother Carter and performed by The Stanley Brothers, this bluegrass hymnal was later covered by Hank Williams & The Drifting Cowboys and Kitty Wells. This one-time only Dead rendition was played right after Christmas, and was introduced by Bob Weir as a sacred number in “keeping with the spirit of the season.”

Long Black Limousine

• Grateful Dead Debut: 12/19/69, Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA
• Number of Times Played: 6

First recorded by Wynn Stewart in 1958, the best-known version of “Long Black Limousine” belongs to Elvis Presley, who turned it into a soulful R&B tune on his From Elvis in Memphis LP, which was released in June of 1969. The Dead, who covered it roughly six months after the release of Presley’s version and quite possibly got inspiration to do so from The King’s take on the song, played it as a straight-ahead country ballad.

Other Notable Covers: Bobby Bare, Merle Haggard, Connie Smith, Glen Campbell, Bruce Hornsby

Sawmill

• Grateful Dead Debut: 1/31/70, The Warehouse, New Orleans, LA
• Number of Times Played: 4

Mel Tillis wasn’t quite the country superstar that he would become later in the decade when the Grateful Dead busted out the first of four versions of his tune “Sawmill” in early 1970. Tillis had previously had a Top 25 hit with it in 1958, and later released the song again as the title-track of his 1973 record.