Exploring the Grateful Dead's Legacy

In this episode of the Deadhead Cannabis Show, Larry Mishkin takes listeners on a nostalgic journey through the Grateful Dead's music, focusing on a concert from September 30, 1993, at the Boston Garden. He discusses various songs, including 'Here Comes Sunshine' and 'Spoonful,' while also touching on the band's history and the contributions of key figures like Vince Wellnick and Candace Brightman. The episode also delves into current music news, including a review of Lake Street Dive's performance and updates on marijuana legislation in Ukraine and the U.S.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to the Deadhead Cannabis Show

03:39 Here Comes Sunshine: A Grateful Dead Classic

09:47 Spoonful: The Blues Influence

14:00 Music News: Rich Girl and Lake Street Dive

24:09 Candace Brightman: The Unsung Hero of Lighting

38:01 Broken Arrow: Phil Lesh's Moment to Shine

42:19 Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds: A Beatles Classic

48:26 Marijuana News: Ukraine's Medical Cannabis Legislation

54:32 Bipartisan Support for Clean Slate Act

01:00:11 Pennsylvania's Push for Marijuana Legalization

01:04:25 CBD as a Natural Insecticide

01:10:26 Wave to the Wind: A Phil Lesh Tune

01:13:18 The Other One: A Grateful Dead Epic

Boston Garden

September 30, 1993  (31 years ago)

Grateful Dead Live at Boston Garden on 1993-09-30 : Free Borrow & Streaming : Internet Archive

INTRO:                                 Here Comes Sunshine

                                                Track #1

                                                0:08 – 1:48

Released on Wake of the Flood, October 15, 1973, the first album on the band’s own “Grateful Dead Records” label.

The song was first performed by the Grateful Dead in February 1973. It was played about 30 times through to February 1974 and then dropped from the repertoire. The song returned to the repertoire in December 1992, at the instigation of Vince Welnick, and was then played a few times each year until 1995.

Played:  66 times

First:  February 9, 1973 at Maples Pavilion, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

Last:  July 2, 1995 at Deer Creek Music Center, Noblesville, IN, USA

But here’s the thing:

                        Played 32 times in 1973

                        Played 1 time in 1974

                        Not played again until December 6, 1992 at Compton Terrace in Chandler, AZ  - 18 years

                        Then played a “few” more times in 1993, 94 and 95, never more than 11 times in any one year.

I finally caught one in 1993 at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago with good buddies Marc and Alex.

My favorite version is Feb. 15, 1973 at the Dane County Coliseum in Madison, WI

SHOW No. 1:                     Spoonful

                                                Track #2

                                                :50 – 2:35

"Spoonful" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon and first recorded in 1960 by Howlin' Wolf. Released in June, 1960 by Chess Records in Chicago. 

 Called "a stark and haunting work",[1] it is one of Dixon's best known and most interpreted songs.[2]Etta James and Harvey Fuqua had a pop and R&B record chart hit with their duet cover of "Spoonful" in 1961, and it was popularized in the late 1960s by the British rock group Cream.

Dixon's "Spoonful" is loosely based on "A Spoonful Blues", a song recorded in 1929 by Charley Patton.[3] Earlier related songs include "All I Want Is a Spoonful" by Papa Charlie Jackson (1925) and "Cocaine Blues" by Luke Jordan (1927).

The lyrics relate men's sometimes violent search to satisfy their cravings, with "a spoonful" used mostly as a metaphor for pleasures, which have been interpreted as sex, love, and drugs.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed Howlin' Wolf's "Spoonful" as one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".[9] It is ranked number 154 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2021 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time",[10] up from number 221 on its 2004 list.

In 2010, the song was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame "Classics of Blues Recordings" category.[12] In a statement by the foundation, it was noted that "Otis Rush has stated that Dixon presented 'Spoonful' to him, but the song didn't suit Rush's tastes and so it ended up with Wolf, and soon thereafter with Etta James".[12] James' recording with Harvey Fuqua as "Etta & Harvey" reached number 12 on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart and number 78 on its Hot 100 singles chart.[13] However, Wolf’s original "was the one that inspired so many blues and rock bands in the years to come".

The British rock group Cream recorded "Spoonful" for their 1966 UK debut album, Fresh Cream. They were part of a trend in the mid-1960s by rock artists to record a Willie Dixon song for their debut albums.

Sung by Bob Weir, normally followed Truckin’ in the second set.  This version is rare because it is the second song of the show and does not have a lead in.  Ended Here Comes Sunshine, stopped, and then went into this.  When it follows Truckin’, just flows right into Spoonful.

Played:  52 times

First:  October 15, 1981 at Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Last:  December 8, 1994 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA, USA

MUSIC NEWS:                              Lead In Music

                                                Rich Girl

                                                Lake Street Dive

                                                Lake Street Dive: Rich Girl [4K] 2018-05-09 - College Street Music Hall; New Haven, CT (youtube.com)

                                                0:00 – 1:13

"Rich Girl" is a song by Daryl Hall & John Oates. It debuted on the Billboard Top 40 on February 5, 1977, at number 38 and on March 26, 1977, it became their first of six number-one singles on the Billboard</