The 1960s Jingle That Inspired A Grateful Dead Song

Within the Grateful Dead’s vast live repertoire of original songs only a few were completely instrumental compositions. The band known for long improvisational excursions had a few named jams like “Mind Left Body,” and “Spanish Jam,” along with freeform “Drums” and “Space” segments.

The titles of instrumental songs can hold stronger significance than their counterparts with lyrics. Without words inside the song, the name of an instrumental piece can convey another layer of meaning to the listener. As for full composed instrumental pieces performed by the Grateful Dead, the most played and perhaps best-known is “Slipknot!,” the angular bonding bridge tying together “Help On The Way” with “Franklin’s Tower.” The band’s most frequently performed instrumental piece was credited to Jerry Garcia, Keith Godchaux, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir.

Another of the Dead’s instrumental works is “Sage & Spirit.” The instrumental written by Weir was played live just twice, but both appearances were at monumental shows, August 13, 1975 that became One From The Vault and October 31, 1980 that became Reckoning and Dead Set.

Early Grateful Dead manager, the late Rock Scully, named his daughters Sage and Spirit. In his book Living with the Dead: Twenty Years on the Bus with Garcia and the Grateful Dead, Scully described how Weir composed the piece:

“Bobby wrote ‘Sage & Spirit’ while my daughters, named Sage and Spirit, were jumping on his bed and generally trashing his hotel room. He was trying to play his guitar and came up with the rhythm for this from their jumping. The flute mimics their laughter.”

Both “Slipknot!” and “Sage & Spirit” appeared on the Grateful Dead’s 1975 album, Blues For Allah. A third instrumental piece was also part of the Blues For Allah tracklist, “King Solomon’s Marbles.”

A fascinating title worthy of its own exploration, “King Solomon’s Marbles” and the way it has been labeled on various Blues For Allah formats has led to some inconsistencies and discrepancies regarding its component parts. Visit the ever insightful Grateful Dead Lyric And Song Finder website for a complete explanation of the various naming conventions regarding “King Solomon’s Marbles.”

A two-part instrumental piece, “King Solomon’s Marbles” is made up of “Stronger Than Dirt,” which was written by Lesh and “Milkin’ The Turkey,” which was written by Lesh, Hart and Kreutzmann. While the title “Milkin’ The Turkey” has its own intriguing connotations, Lesh’s source for calling his section “Stronger Than Dirt” can be heard in a classic commercial for Ajax household cleaner.

In the book The Complete Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics edited by David Dodd and Alan Trist, they cite Hank Harrison’s The Dead Book in an entry for “Stronger Than Dirt.” The entry states:

“Hank Harrison’s The Dead Book reproduces a ‘handwriting sample’ from Phil Lesh dating from 1962. It Includes the words Stronger Than Dirt (in block capitals). The note in the book says this ‘was an allusion to an Ajax scouring-powder commercial of the day. Phil has mentioned that he often heard classical riffs in commercials and this is probably one of them.’”

Compare the Ajax “Stronger Than Dirt” jingle in this retro commercial to the August 13, 1975 recording to hear the similar melodies:

The well-researched JerryBase.com lists five public performances of “Stronger Than Dirt” by the Grateful Dead. Four of those came in 1975, including the aforementioned August 13 show at Great American Music Hall that became One From The Vault, though it was labeled “King Solomon’s Marbles.” The final live performance of “Stronger Than Dirt” came during its lone 1976 appearance at the Dead’s show on July 16 in San Francisco, later released as a bonus disc to Dave’s Picks 18.

The Ajax “Stronger Than Dirt” jingle inspired another song by one of the Grateful Dead’s contemporaries. The melody briefly appears at the end of The Doors song “Touch Me.” Jim Morrison shouts the slogan in the song’s final seconds: