Friday, May 06, 2016

May 6 - Samson & Delilah

It's time to get back to the "proper" jam bands, and why not get to one of the originals? The Grateful Dead was indeed one of the first band with hordes of fans following them from concert to concert, and many of them brought tape recorders that were allowed in - even encouraged. Tape trading led to an unprecedented documentation of their live evolution - and documented both great nights and the crappier ones. Archive.org has collected and digitized many of these shows, so what once was for tape traders is now available for just about anyone to listen to. On top of that, The Grateful Dead has been publishing a string of records even after the band disbanded.

It is also very fitting that the link between the old guard and the new guard was made 100% when The Grateful Dead had their Fare Thee Well concerts in Santa Clara and Chicago last year. Following Jerry Garcia's death in1995, several constellations of members of The Grateful Dead had been getting together, but the band decided to have one final run as The Grateful Dead and invited Trey Anastasio to sit in for Jerry Garcia.

But today I have a song from the Closing of Winterland album - a song recorded live on New Year's Eve in 1978. Please enjoy Samson & Delilah, sung by guitarist Bob Weir.


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