Grateful Dead Meets Delta Blues On Luther Dickinson’s ‘Dead Blues Vol. 1’ Featuring Datrian Johnson & Friends

Luther Dickinson melds one of his earliest influences with one of his latest, delta blues and the Grateful Dead, on Dead Blues Vol. 1. The North Mississippi Allstars co-founder and guitarist previewed the collection of blues covers the Grateful Dead performed throughout their career by sharing a take on Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “One Kind Favor” sung by vocalist Datrian Johnson.

Self-produced by Dickinson, the nine-song set arrives on October 17 via Strolling Bones Records. The 10-time Grammy-nominated artist and Datrian Johnson are joined on the record by special guests, including Luther’s NMAS bandmates Cody Dickinson and Rayfield “Ray Ray” Holloman along with Grahame Lesh and Steve Selvidge (The Hold Steady).

Raised on the Mississippi Blues, Luther Dickinson was introduced to the Grateful Dead’s music by Phil Lesh upon joining the bassist’s Phil Lesh & Friends ensemble with his brother Cody in 2013. “I honestly hadn’t spent much time with the Dead’s music growing up,” Dickinson acknowledged, “but when Phil invited Cody and I to play with him, we jumped at the opportunity.”

Luther considered Phil a mentor, a relationship he discussed on The JamBase Podcast, and went on to play with the Grateful Dead bassist dozens of times before Lesh’s 2024 death. “The more we performed together, the more I realized how many great old blues songs the Dead had played in their time, which led to the Dead Blues concept,” Dickinson added. “Phil changed my life. He welcomed me into his crew, taught me his repertoire, shared his improvisational approaches, and introduced me to a whole new community of musicians. This record reflects Phil’s wild musical spirit and approach to re-interpretation.”

Dickinson began work on an instrumental album in 2020 while sidelined from touring due to the pandemic. Luther recruited several pals to build upon tracks he had written on bass and keyboards. A chance encounter led to a major change in the project.

“When John Medeski introduced me to Datrian Johnson, I had this revelation that he could sing the lyrics from the Dead Blues catalog on top of my instrumentals. He’s one of the most moving vocalists I’ve ever worked with on stage, and recording with him was just so effortless. He understood exactly what I was trying to do and brought this record to a whole new level,” Dickinson revealed.

Dead Blues Vol. 1 features blues gems written by Bo Diddley, the Mississippi Sheiks, Willie Dixon, Tommy Tucker, Slim Harpo and more. Luther Dickinson’s version of the Blind Lemon Jefferson song “One Kind Favor” showcases both the original bass/synth effort that evolved into the forthcoming album and Datrian Johnson’s powerhouse vocals.

“This song is built on bass lines I’ve been working on for years and my newfound love of synthesizers. I never knew that synths were capable of being as expressive as a slide guitar and can be approached in a similar fashion. My Memphis friends, Mem_Mods (Steve Selvidge and Paul Taylor/New Memphis Colorways) alongside Memphis horn players, Marc Franklin and Art Edmaiston, added so much to this track,” Luther Dickinson told Relix, the outlet that premiered his “One Kind Favor” cover.

Hear Luther Dickinson’s “One Kind Favor” featuring Datrian Johnson below:

Dead Blues Vol. 1 Tracklist

1. One Kind Favor
2. Who Do You Love
3. Sitting on Top of the World
4. King Bee
5. Mystery Train
6. Minglewood Blues
7. I Just Want to Make Love to You
8. Little Red Rooster
9. High Heeled Sneakers