The Only Hank Williams Song Covered By Grateful Dead

Over the course of their 30-year career, the Grateful Dead covered songs from all kinds of genres, including many associated with country music artists. Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Wanda Jackson and Mel Tillis are among the country musicians whose songs were performed live by the Dead.

Though guitarist Bob Weir is often cited as the band’s country covers aficionado, fellow guitarist Jerry Garcia was also a passionate country music enthusiast. The band’s two 1970 albums, Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty, are typically cited as examples of their country-infused sound.

Regarding that stylistic turn, Garcia recalled:

“I talked to the guys, said, ‘Why don’t we approach this one as though it were, like a country and western record, or, like, California country and western, like Bakersfield? And why don’t we put more energy into the vocals and making the vocals sound as good as they can and not getting hung up on the instrumental surroundings?’”

In an interview surrounding Garcia’s 1993 album with David Grisman and Tony Rice, The Pizza Tapes, the subject of Garcia’s early influences came up. Garcia told Greg Cahill about his early musical memories in an article published by Acoustic Guitar, stating (with the original article’s context):

“My grandmother was a big Grand Ole Opry fan,” he recalled, adding with a sly smile, “Yeah, I grew up in San Francisco listening to the Opry every Saturday night on the radio without knowing what I was hearing. In fact, my first 45 was a Hank Williams record, a song called ‘The Love Bug Itch.’ It was a really stupid song,” he added with a belly laugh, “but, hey, it was Hank Williams.”

Garcia and the Dead never covered the Eddy Arnold-popularized “The Love Bug Itch” and the Hank Williams version young Jerry procured seems fairly obscure. Given their affinity for country music, it is not surprising the Dead covered a song written by one of the pioneers of the genre.

A tragic figure, Hank Williams had more Top 10 hit singles than years alive, having died in 1953 at age 29. Among the over 50 hits Williams amassed over the course of his influential career was “You Win Again,” which he recorded and released in 1952. Williams is said to have cut the song the day after his divorce was finalized, ending his tumultuous relationship with his wife Audrey Williams.

“You Win Again” has been covered by numerous other musicians starting with Tommy Edwards’ whose version came out the same day in 1952 that Williams’ did. Grateful Dead first covered “You Win Again,” on this date in 1971. Maintaining a short-lived run of 25 appearances, the band played it for a final time on September 26, 1972.

“You Win Again” was performed four times by the Jerry Garcia Band in 1975. Garcia played the song while sitting-in with Elvis Costello at the original Sweetwater in Mill Valley, California in April 1989.

Along with “You Win Again,” Garcia covered several other Hank Williams songs outside of the Grateful Dead and JGB, with outfits like the bluegrass supergroup Old & In The Way and at the 1972 Thanksgiving jam with Doug Sahm and Leon Russell in Austin, Texas, among others.

Grateful Dead premiered their cover of “You Win Again” during the first set of their show on November 14, 1971 at Daniel–Meyer Coliseum at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Coming after a day off following a show in San Antonio, the song was the only debut of the night, landing between “Tennessee Jed” and “Mexicali Blues.” Joining Garcia and Weir that night in Fort Worth was a Dead lineup of drummer Bill Kreutzmann, bassist Phil Lesh and keyboardist Keith Godchaux. Fellow keyboardist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan was absent due to illness.

Listen to the lean, five-man lineup of the Grateful Dead debut their cover of “You Win Again” by Hank Williams below:

Setlist

Set One: Bertha, Beat It On Down The Line, China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, El Paso > Sugaree, Jack Straw, Big Railroad Blues, Me And Bobby McGee, Loser, Playing In The Band, Tennessee Jed, You Win Again [1], Mexicali Blues, Casey Jones, One More Saturday Night

Set Two: Truckin’ > Drums > The Other One > Me And My Uncle > The Other One > Wharf Rat > Sugar Magnolia

Encore: Johnny B. Goode