You folks commenting on Jerry hating Donna do realize that Jerry had her singing in his solo band quite a bit, right? Even after this show... Do you really think he would bring her along to screw up his solo gigs if he thought she was inept? Check out JGB 1978 if you don't believe it
I don't like the Donna bashing. The dead were at thier best during the Keith and Donna years. I know it wasn't because if her, but she was part of it. Plus she came with Keith in a package deal, and he was an awesome keyboard player
I think a lot of it was because of her, though. She got Keith into the band, they all loved her and her singing (which ceased to be a problem after the Wall of Sound. You could argue she was partly responsible for that too because the shit monitors in 72 were responsible for why she sounded so bad that year. If you pay attention that's really the only year she really sings off key at all, whether you like her voice or not) and she really revitalized the band and helped keep everyone motivated when they lost Pigpen That being said I think they were all equally responsible for the bands greatness with extra points going to the founders. Brent also gets extra points bc he was in the band longer than both Keith and Donna. Vince gets an extra point for dying
A miracle of the computer age! I wish that all of you viewing this could go back in time and be with all of us when they played at Winterland! It truly was the top of the world!!!!
the closest thing i will ever get to this in my life is lesh and wier covers, darkstar orchestra, and the grateful garcia gathering... i can only imagine how great this was. There will never be another band that is comparable to the GD.
at this point Keith and Donna were on their way out of the band, Keith with his increasingly dangerous heroin addiction and Donna......well uh.....February 17 1979 were their final shows as members of Grateful Dead, no "girl singer" replaced Donna, and Bob's keyboard player Brent Mydland took over the keyboards, a jinxed and ominously fatal band position [Pigpen --> Keith --> Brent --> Vince all deceased, Keith in 1980, Brent in 1991 by a speedball, and Vince-- after the band had called it quits-- around five years ago by suicide]
Funny people say donna sang poor ..I think she was awesome !Come on you know even bobby and jerry have had them "I can not carry a tune in a bucket" moments ...uhmmm lets not even mention phil :P
🙏💓💀 My time coming, any day, don't worry about me, no Been so long, I felt this way I'm in no hurry, no Rainbows and down that highway where ocean breezes blow My time coming, voices saying they tell me where to go Don't worry about me, nah, nah, nah Don't worry about me, no And I'm in no hurry, nah, nah, nah I know where to go California, preaching on the burning shore California, I'll be knocking on the golden door Like an angel, standing in a shaft of light Rising up to paradise, I know, I'm gonna shine My time coming, any day, don't worry about me, no It's gonna be just like they say, them voices tell me so Seems so long I felt this way and time sure passin' slow Still I know I lead the way, they tell me where I go Don't worry about me, nah, nah, nah Don't worry about me, no And I'm in no hurry, nah, nah, nah I know where to go California, a prophet on the burning shore California, I'll be knocking on the golden door Like an angel, standing in a shaft of light Rising up to paradise, I know I'm gonna shine You've all been asleep, you would not believe me Them voices tellin' me, you will soon receive me Standin' on the beach, the sea will part before me Fire wheel burning in the air You will follow me and we will ride to glory Way up, the middle of the air And I'll call down thunder and speak the same And my work fills the sky with flame And might and glory gonna be my name And men gonna light my way My time coming, any day, don't worry about me, no It's gonna be just like they say, them voices tell me so Seems so long I felt this way and time sure passin' slow My time coming, any day, don't worry about me, no Don't worry about me, nah, nah, nah Don't worry about me, no And I'm in no hurry, nah, nah, nah I know where to go 🙏💓💀
you should probably reflect a while on where in your head things like "they didn't need a girl in the band" come from and what they imply about your larger structures of thought
I don't see why people dislike Donna so much. Yeah, she was off key at times, but when she wasn't she sounded beautiful. Her voice complimented Jerry and Bobby very well.
unbeatable! the fullness of sound, the passion, the fury, the solos, the energy. What else can you ask for?? BEST AMERICAN BAND HANDS DOWN! (think about it, who else is there?)
I saw an interview where Jerry references Phils perfect pitch. Apparently phil was composing some seriously avant garde classical stuff back in the day and did it all from his head with no instruments nearby.
The last show I saw they did a run of tunes like these and the groove was epic. Outdoor show and got mesmerized by crowd reaction. I swear some people looked As if they weren't even touching the ground!
yes. she overwhelms every thing if she doesn't keep in her place! i remember clearly how Bobby was closest on the left side of the stage...because i was on the stage in 1969..not as a performer, like Donna, but dancing with two other chicks. we were there by invitation of the boys. bobby let me join the group for two nights in Porchester. I've grown old with this memory and let me tell you, it's hard to ever get back down to earth after the experience!! Long Live the Grateful Dead
As far as these people talking crap about Donna Jean goes, seriously, find a better hobby. I never really cared for her singing much either. I met her backstage at a Dick's Picks record release party in Philly. I will say this, she's a very humble and kind person. If you can't take her singing, don't listen to the shows when she performed. It's not like there is a shortage of material. Bottom line, the boys liked her.
Yep, 1973 Watkins Glen! ............Still not old and in the way! [babylon john, john mcardle] Oh-yEAH! What a long strange trip it,s been! ...................Donna at Stoneys Pineville Campground! Pulaski N.Y. V.I.P. golf cart-to stage Phil Lesh Bethel Center for the arts! LOVING MY FAMILY! LeT your LOVE LIGHT SHINE! swirling dervish............upstep! Dancing, dancing in the Streets!
Yeah, if only Janis (&/with Pigpen) had learned to live rather than just gratefully die, the Dead would've come alive & stay that way to this day, giving the world a world there was to give, but one now we'll never know. I'm not talkin bout the drugs as much as the junk food & junk drugs, specifically (refined, isolates, pharmaceuticalized, completely removed from Mother Nature's Matrix, burdening the liver, not to the mention also the one who lives)-;
77, what an AMAZING year for live Dead. in a 50 year career, the live catalog is best exemplified by 1977, and 1991. When I get someone into the Dead... I start with the studio recordings. This is because many of them are just lifeless compared to the live deal. I mean.. the studio version of Althea is a sleeper. SO... you get them hooked on 'Scarlett Begonias" from the studio. Then, you feed them the Barton Hall '77 show and watch their face melt. If they recover, you hit 'em with the 1991 Spring set (I was lucky enough to be on that tour) and you have a Deadhead for life!
Add three grams of psilocybin mushrooms to the mix, and you will have a Dead Head for life. Without it, NO. Jerry said, "To understand the Dead, you must turn on." He was not kidding. He was not overstating.
ever hear of menopause, kid? uh, hippies get that too!!! my assessment of Donna has been consistently negative only because I know the original Grateful Dead, from "back in the day" and they didn't need a girl in the band, did they? if my comments are negative, I apologize..
Thanks, i agree. donna sounded like a drown cat. Garcia had her under control,'tho, I've seen her keep her distance from him & he gave her some preCISE looks. I'm laughing 'cause once he gave her a real look of disgust & walked away.
the "man from glad" was a TV character in commercials for plastic wrap 30yrs ago..much like the gecko for Geico. What it has to do with Weir...I have never heard it before and have no fukin' clue!
Oh and BTW, the one who's actually tone deaf is Phil. Also well documented. Does Phil's singing suck? Hell yes. Am I complaining? Hell no. It's all good ... Just listen to the music play ...
Phil was a trumpet player studying at Mills College (great music college) and good friends with the then not famous Steve Reich. I saw Steve's drumming a year or so ago at UCSD which has a very good music department. I was expecting good but it was absolutely extraordinary. Bobby wrote this song. Great song. In 7/4... sometimes.
I was at this show, right up front with the dancers. Sounds even better now, if anything. I will agree with those who say Donna often oversang, but I'll add that when she could hear herself-- which wasn't often-- she delivered nice harmonies. Rick Winfield--Weir's playing a Ibanez, he switched to them around the time of "Blues for Allah."
I MISS THE GRATEFUL DEAD !!!!! Anybody else .. the parking lot .. the roadtrips to get there ,, party olympics .. gettin up close ... or spinnin in the tunnels or on the hill ..the sound ,, Nothing is Like A Grateful Dead Show !! Greatest times Ever !
This is so Great I didn't see them until the following year.... I mean really these guys used to play for 3 or 4 hours you really got your money's worth today you pay a fortune and you're lucky if the show is 90 minutes.... I miss the good old days born in 64
I gotta admit, I resisted this album when it first came out. I thought they were delving into disco a little but almost 40 years later, I realize I was wrong. And as Garcia so eloquently put it: "Well, I aint always right but Ive never been wrong" so this is foreign to me (smile)
I’m totally grateful that I was able to see the real Grateful Dead during this period. I was probably at this concert. Went to many of their shows at the Winterland arena. Always a fun time!
How can you say this after listening to the transition from eyes to st. Stephen. Musically they just "jumped off a cliff" and then played the landscape into place around them
I only say this because I firmly believe that we humans can actively improve ourselves. The fact that the keyboard players (of GD) were self destructive was not a function of the band. Any person who gets like that needs professional help, and each of them could have been saved- I'll personally attest to the fact that it works. There's only the future, use it wisely.
Testify Bro. Spent many a show spinning...never even made it to my seats on more than a few occasions. Miss my buddies too...fixing up Volkswagen Microbus' and touring out West with The Dead. Mmmmm...memories I can taste!!! Nothing lasts...enjoy every moment IN the moment :-)
OMG Kevin!!! it still cuts like a knife sometimes can't even listen then the pain of not hearing them becomes to great-estimated prophet usually being one that is a dagger-and althea never get over not being able to be in same place an soak up every piece of just being there-had to be there-I can smell the sweet stench of weed, patchouli, BO, incense and sage mingled with the euphoric oneness of floating through next few hours or days on the same sweet vibe with thousands of other people
I wish I could too my brutha. I saw The Dead for the first time at Hollywood bowl 1974.I was 12 years old ! Learned how to play guitar because of these guys ! shortly after.Have been my very fave band ever since.Wish I could have been there from the very beginning though.I've "experienced" some VERY ,good "Owsley" "trips".But would have LOVED to REALLY "experience" some "sunshine".Ahhhhhhhh,hell...........I DID.....it just wasn't called that anymore.Ha,ha,ha.
The Donna vocal ability (lack of) was not noticed by us heavily tripping at the shows, most of the singing was just the prelude and theme for the 20 minute jams. She did look good onstage too.
I wasn't at Winterland but saw the Dead the first time in 72 and still want to go back and see them one more time .I miss them and the alternate reality of the show.
Thank you ! This was fantastic. This is the time period when I was semi new to the dead. This just brings back good memories. I pray that some band will replace the dead, but is that even possible?
