''Before the Dead'' is an album by

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

. It is a compilation of early recordings of Garcia playing

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

and bluegrass music with various other musicians. The recordings were made from 1961 to 1964, before Garcia co-founded the rock band the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

. Produced as a four-CD box set, and also as a five-LP limited edition box set, it was released on May 11, 2018.

Recording

In the early 1960s, the

American folk music revival The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Billie Holiday, Richard Dyer-Benn ...

was in full swing, and the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

had its own folk scene. In 1961, after getting out of the Army, Jerry Garcia started playing

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

and other old-time songs. Garcia would sing and play

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

as a member of various ensembles and bands. Over the next few years, Garcia also become interested in

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...

, and learned to play the

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

. As his music skills evolved, he continued to play in different bands with similarly inclined musicians. A number of these performances were captured on reel-to-reel tape. In 1965, after a dalliance with

jug band A jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of conventional and homemade instruments. These homemade instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, bones, stovepipe, ...

music, Garcia co-founded the rock band the

. ''Before the Dead'' includes performances by several musicians who also collaborated with Garcia in later years. Robert Hunter wrote the lyrics for many Grateful Dead songs; David Nelson was a member of the

New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco in 1969 and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. The band is sometimes referred ...

; and Nelson and

Sandy Rothman Sandy Rothman (born January 30, 1946, Miami, Florida) is an American, San Francisco Bay Area bluegrass multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He plays mandolin, dobro and banjo, and he also sings. Rothman was a friend and colleague of Grat ...

were members of the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band.

Production

''Before the Dead'' was produced by Dennis McNally, an author and former publicist for the Grateful Dead, and Brian Miksis, a documentarian and audio engineer. The two worked together to track down some of the original recordings from Jerry Garcia's formative years as a musician. They also assembled many new short essays about the songs and the early '60s folk scene in the Bay Area, along with photographs from that time. The 1962 performance by the Hart Valley Drifters, at the studio of

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

radio station

KZSU KZSU is a freeform FM radio station broadcasting from the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, United States. KZSU broadcasts in stereo at 90.1 MHz FM with an effective radiated power of 500 watts. The station is owned b ...

, was previously released as the album ''

Folk Time ''Folk Time'' is an album by the Hart Valley Drifters, an American folk music band. It was recorded in 1962 at the studios of KZSU, a radio station at Stanford University. It was released by ATO Records on November 11, 2016. The Hart Valley Drif ...

''.

Critical reception

In ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', David Browne wrote, "... Garcia spent several years immersed in bluegrass and folk, playing in a succession of Palo Alto-area bands with oddball names like the Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers. To date, only a small portion of the recordings he made with those combos has been released, making the multi-disc ''Before the Dead'' the deepest – and most educational – dive yet into Garcia's pre-Dead musical life. Right up to his death, Garcia would periodically revisit his bluegrass roots, from the wonderful but short-lived

Old & In the Way Old & In the Way was a bluegrass group formed in 1973. It was composed of Peter Rowan (guitar, vocals), Vassar Clements (fiddle), Jerry Garcia (banjo, vocals), David Grisman (mandolin, vocals), and John Kahn (string bass). When the group was fo ...

to albums he made with mandolinist

David Grisman David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...

. But ''Before the Dead'' reveals, in more detail than ever before, when and how that appetite began and why numbers like "Deep Elem Blues" and "Rosa Lee McFall", both heard here, made their way into the Dead's repertoire." In ''

DownBeat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'', Jesse Jarnow said, "An illuminating new box set, ''Before the Dead''... shines light on Garcia's earliest music – recordings between 1961 and 1964 – most often remembered as his "bluegrass period" for his virtuosic banjo playing. But the four-CD/five-LP collection reveals a far richer picture.... No casual player, the nearly four hours of music uncover a musician filled with ambition and energy. By a year after the earliest recording, Garcia had turned to banjo. That, too, became a progression, from the ghostly frailings of the Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers, recorded in June 1962 ("Little Birdie"), to the shredding Bill Keith style he'd accentuated by his time with the Black Mountain Boys in 1964 ("Salt Creek"). The sequence resulted in Garcia's instantly recognizable electric guitar playing with the Dead, each crystalline, articulated note picked with a banjoist’s precision." In ''Glide Magazine'', Doug Collette wrote, "In roughly three and half hours of live and studio recordings, captured in various ways at a variety of locales between 1961 and 1964, ''Before the Dead'' documents the late Jerry Garcia's formative years as a musician. Overflowing with meticulous attention to detail in sound, text and graphics, this 4-CD/5-LP box set reveals how this iconic musician nurtured those attributes that eventually stood him in such good stead as titular leader of the Grateful Dead... If ''Before the Dead'' proves anything, it is that this man's passion for playing, as well as his insatiable curiosity about a diversity of styles, traditional and otherwise, was well-established long before the coalescence of the Grateful Dead."

Track listing

Disc 1 :''Bob and Jerry – May 26, 1961:'' #"

Santy Anno "Santianna", also known as "Santiana", "Santy Anna", "Santayana", "Santiano", "Santy Anno" and other variations, is a sea shanty referring to the Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna. The song is listed as number 207 in the Roud Folk Song ...

" (traditional) – 2:15 #"I Got a Home in That Rock" (traditional) – 1:46 #" Oh, Mary Don't You Weep" (traditional) – 3:31 #"

All My Trials "All My Trials" is a folk song which became popular during the social protest movements of the late 1950s and 1960s. Alternative titles it has been recorded under include "Bahamian Lullaby" and "All My Sorrows." The origins of the song are unclear ...

" (traditional) – 4:01 #"I Was Born Ten Thousand Years Ago" (H. C. Verner, Harry C. Clyde) – 2:12 #"Blow the Candles Out" (traditional) – 2:02 #" Rake and a Rambling Boy" (traditional, arranged by

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

) – 1:31 #" Trouble in Mind" (

Richard M. Jones Richard M. Jones, born Richard Marigny Jones (sometimes written Richard Mariney Jones), (June 13, 1892 – December 8, 1945) was an American jazz pianist, composer, band leader, and record producer. Numerous songs bear his name as author, includi ...

) – 3:10 :''Jerry Garcia, Marshall Leicester, and Robert Hunter – July 1961:'' #

"Brown's Ferry Blues" ( Alton Delmore, Rabon Delmore) – 2:51 #"

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained stro ...

" (traditional) – 4:13 :''Jerry Garcia and unknown musician – summer or fall 1961:'' #

Down in the Willow Garden "Down in the Willow Garden", also known as "Rose Connelly" is a traditional Appalachian murder ballad about a man facing the gallows for the murder of his lover: he gave her poisoned wine, stabbed her, and threw her in a river. It originated in the ...

" (traditional) – 1:48 #"Long Lonesome Road" (traditional) – 2:39 #"Railroad Bill" (traditional) – 3:17 #"The Wagoner's Lad" (traditional) – 3:00 #" Katie Cruel" (traditional) – 3:40 Disc 2 :''Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers – June 11, 1962:'' #"Cannonball Blues" (

A. P. Carter Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter (December 15, 1891 – November 7, 1960) was an American musician and founding member of The Carter Family, one of the most notable acts in the history of country music. Biography Life A.P. Carter was born to Robe ...

) – 3:02 #"Little Birdie (traditional) – 3:17 #"Sally Goodin" (traditional) – 2:06 #"Hold That Woodpile Down" ( Edward Harrigan,

Tony Hart Norman Antony Hart (15 October 1925 – 18 January 2009),Debrett's People of Today 2008, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 2007. known professionally as Tony Hart, was an English artist best known for his work in educating children in art through his role ...

) – 3:32 #"Legend of the Johnson Boys" (traditional) – 3:10 #" Shady Grove" (traditional) – 2:49 #"Sweet Sunny South" (traditional) – 3:13 #" Man of Constant Sorrow" (traditional) – 2:26 :''Hart Valley Drifters – fall 1962:'' #

Band introductions – 1:12 #"Roving Gambler" (traditional) – 3:46 #"Ground Speed" (

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-fin ...

) – 1:29 #"Pig in a Pen" (

Fiddlin' Arthur Smith Fiddlin' Arthur Smith (April 10, 1898 – February 28, 1971) was an American old time fiddler and a major influence on the old time and bluegrass music genres. Biography Smith was born and raised on a farm near Bold Springs, Tennessee, U ...

, arranged by Jerry Garcia) – 2:15 #"Standing in the Need of a Prayer" (traditional) – 2:09 #"Flint Hill Special" (Earl Scruggs) – 2:00 #"

Nine Pound Hammer Nine Pound Hammer is an American cowpunk band formed in 1985 by vocalist Scott Luallen and guitarist Blaine Cartwright in their hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky. Nine Pound hammer was one of the first rural hardcore punk bands to substantially i ...

" (traditional) – 2:42 #"Handsome Molly" (

G. B. Grayson Gilliam Banmon Grayson (November 11, 1887 – August 16, 1930) was an American Old-time fiddle player and singer. Mostly blind from infancy, Grayson is chiefly remembered for a series of sides recorded with guitarist Henry Whitter between 1927 a ...

, Henry Whitter) – 2:19 #"Clinch Mountain Backstep" ( Ralph Stanley, Ruby Rakes) – 1:18 #"Think of What You've Done" ( Carter Stanley) – 2:41 #" Cripple Creek" (traditional) – 1:24 #"All the Good Times Have Past and Gone" (traditional) – 3:07 #"Billy Grimes, the Rover" (traditional) – 2:42 #"Paddy on the Turnpike" (traditional) – 1:38 #"Run Mountain" (

J. E. Mainer J. E. Mainer (July 20, 1898 – June 12, 1971) was an American old time fiddler who followed in the wake of Gid Tanner and his Skillet Lickers. Biography Joseph Emmett Mainer grew up on a farm in the mountains near Weaverville, North Caroli ...

) – 4:11 #"Sugar Baby" (

Dock Boggs Moran Lee "Dock" Boggs (February 7, 1898 – February 7, 1971) was an American old-time singer, songwriter and banjo player. His style of banjo playing, as well as his singing, is considered a unique combination of Appalachian folk music and Af ...

) – 3:52 #" Sitting on Top of the World" ( Walter Vinson, Lonnie Carter) – 3:37 Disc 3 :''The Wildwood Boys – February 23, 1963:'' #"

Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms "Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms" is an American traditional song. It seems to have developed from lyrics in the cowboy song "My Lula Gal", itself a development of bawdy British and Appalachian songs generally known as "Bang Bang Rosie" or "Bang Away ...

" (Buster Carter, Preston Young) – 3:25 #"Jerry's Breakdown" (Jerry Garcia) – 2:08 #"Standing in the Need of Prayer" (traditional) – 2:39 #"

Mule Skinner Blues "Blue Yodel no. 8, Mule Skinner Blues" (a.k.a. "Muleskinner Blues", and "Muleskinner's Blues") is a classic country song written by Jimmie Rodgers. The song was first recorded by Rodgers in 1930 and has been recorded by many artists since then, ac ...

" (

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...

, George Vaughn) – 3:23 #"Saturday Night Shuffle" (

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic expl ...

) – 2:05 #"Pike County Breakdown" (Rupert Jones) – 1:44 #"My Little Sparrow" (traditional) – 3:25 #"

We Shall Not Be Moved "I Shall Not Be Moved", also known as "We Shall Not Be Moved", is an African-American slave spiritual, hymn, and protest song dating to the early 19th century American south. It was likely originally sung at revivalist camp-meetings as a sla ...

" (traditional) – 2:41 :''Jerry and Sara – May 4, 1963:'' #

Deep Elem Blues The "Deep Elm Blues" (also spelled "Deep Elem Blues" or "Deep Ellum Blues"Pask, Kevin.Deep Ellum Blues ''Southern Spaces'', 30 October 2007.) is an American traditional song. The title of the tune refers to the historical African-American neighbor ...

" ( Joe Shelton, Robert Shelton) – 3:17 #"Will the Weaver" (traditional) – 3:14 #"I Truly Understand" (traditional) – 3:20 #"

Long Black Veil "Long Black Veil" is a 1959 country ballad, written by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin and originally recorded by Lefty Frizzell. It is told from the point of view of a man falsely accused of murder and executed. He refuses to provide an alibi, ...

" (

Danny Dill Horace Eldred "Danny" Dill (September 19, 1924 – October 23, 2008) was an American country music singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975. Biography Dill, born in Clarksburg, Tennessee, got h ...

Marijohn Wilkin Marijohn Wilkin ( Melson; July 14, 1920 – October 28, 2006) was an American songwriter, famous in country music for writing a number of hits. Wilkin won numerous awards over the years and was referred to as "The Den Mother of Music Row," a ...

) – 4:28 #"The Man That Wrote That Home Sweet Home Never Was a Married Man" (traditional) – 3:38 #"Foggy Mountain Top" (A. P. Carter) – 3:13 Disc 4 :''Black Mountain Boys – fall 1963:'' #"Barefoot Nellie" (Don Reno, Jim Davis) – 3:41 #"She's More to Be Pitied" (Carter Stanley) – 3:26 #"Noah's Breakdown" (Noah Crase) – 2:18 #"Who Will Sing for Me?" (Thomas J. Farris) – 2:07 :''Black Mountain Boys – January 10, 1964:'' #

"Salt Creek" (Bradford Keith, Bill Monroe) – 2:19 #"Jody's Hornpipe" (Bill Monroe) – 1:51 #"Rosa Lee McFall" ( Charlie Monroe) – 2:31 #" John Hardy" (traditional) – 1:26 :''Black Mountain Boys – March 6, 1964:'' #

"Katie Kline" (traditional) – 3:17 #"Walkin' the Dog" (E.M. Grimsley, W.C. Grimsley) – 2:10 #"Paddy on the Turnpike" (traditional) – 3:12 #"Love and Wealth" ( Ira Louvin, Charlie Louvin) – 2:19 #" Sourwood Mountain" (traditional) – 0:45 #"If I Lose" (Ralph Stanley) – 2:16 #"Homestead on the Farm" (A. P. Carter) – 2:20 #"Stony Creek" ( Jesse McReynolds, Jim McReynolds) – 2:24 #"Salty Dog Blues" ( Zeke Morris, Wiley Morris) – 2:28 #"Love Please Come Home" (Leon Jackson) – 2:21 #"

Make Me a Pallet on the Floor "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" (also "Make Me a Pallet on your Floor", "Make Me a Pallet", or "Pallet on the Floor") is a blues/jazz/folk song. It is considered a standard. Jelly Roll Morton explained the title: "A pallet is something that – you ...

" (traditional) – 2:27 #"Darlin' Allalee" (traditional) – 2:08 #"

In the Pines "In the Pines", also known as "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?", "My Girl" and "Black Girl", is a traditional American folk song originating from two songs, "In the Pines" and "The Longest Train", both of whose authorship is unknown and date back ...

" (

Slim Bryant Thomas Hoyt Bryant (December 7, 1908 – May 28, 2010), known professionally as Slim Bryant, was an American country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and radio personality born in Atlanta, Georgia. Biography Bryant was born in Atlanta ...

Jimmie Davis James Houston Davis (September 11, 1899 – November 5, 2000) was an American politician, singer and songwriter of both sacred and popular songs. Davis was elected for two nonconsecutive terms from 1944 to 1948 and from 1960 to 1964 as the ...

Clayton McMichen Clayton McMichen (January 26, 1900 – January 4, 1970) was an American fiddler and country musician. Biography Born in Allatoona, Georgia, McMichen learned to play the fiddle from his father and uncle. He moved to Atlanta with his family in 1 ...

) – 3:25 #"Raw Hide" (Bill Monroe) – 2:32 #"Black Mountain Rag" (traditional) – 2:12 #"True Life Blues" (Bill Monroe) – 2:21 #Medley: " Devil's Dream" / "

Sailor's Hornpipe The Sailor's Hornpipe (also known as The College Hornpipe and Jack's the Lad) is a traditional hornpipe melody and linked dance with origins in the Royal Navy. History The tune was first printed as the "College Hornpipe" in 1797 or 1798 by J. Dale ...

" (traditional) – 1:45 :''Black Mountain Boys – spring 1964:'' #

"Drink Up and Go Home" (

Freddie Hart Frederick Segrest (December 21, 1926 – October 27, 2018), known professionally as Freddie Hart, was an American country musician and songwriter best known for his chart-topping country song and lone pop hit "Easy Loving," which won the Cou ...

) – 3:05 :''Asphalt Jungle Mountain Boys – summer 1964:'' #

"These Men of God" (R. Ellis, P. Williams, J. Williams) – 3:14 #"Roll On Buddy" (traditional) – 2:11 #"Goodbye Old Pal" (Bill Monroe) – 1:50 #"Back Up and Push" (traditional) – 1:10

Personnel

Musicians

Bob and Jerry *

– guitar, vocals * Robert Hunter – vocals Jerry Garcia, Marshall Leicester, and Robert Hunter *Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals *Robert Hunter – bass, mandolin *Marshall Leicester – banjo, guitar, vocals Jerry Garcia and unknown musician *Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals *Unknown musician – bass Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers *Jerry Garcia – banjo, guitar, vocals *Dick Arnold – fiddle, vocals *Marshall Leicester – banjo, guitar, vocals Hart Valley Drifters *Jerry Garcia – banjo, guitar, vocals *Ken Frankel – banjo, fiddle, guitar *Robert Hunter – bass, vocals *Norm Van Maastricht – dobro * David Nelson – guitar, vocals The Wildwood Boys *Jerry Garcia – banjo, guitar, vocals *Robert Hunter – mandolin, vocals *David Nelson – guitar, vocals *Norm Van Maastricht – bass, guitar, vocals Jerry and Sara *Jerry Garcia – banjo, guitar, mandolin, vocals *Sara Ruppenthal Garcia – guitar, vocals Black Mountain Boys :''Fall 1963 and January 10, 1964'' *Jerry Garcia – banjo, guitar, vocals *Robert Hunter – bass, vocals *David Nelson – mandolin, vocals *Eric Thompson – guitar, vocals Black Mountain Boys :''March 6, 1964'' *Jerry Garcia – banjo, guitar, vocals *Geoff Levin – bass *David Nelson – mandolin, vocals *

– guitar, vocals Black Mountain Boys :''Spring 1964'' *Jerry Garcia – banjo, vocals *David Nelson – mandolin, vocals *Sandy Rothman – guitar, vocals Asphalt Jungle Mountain Boys *Jerry Garcia – banjo, vocals *

Jody Stecher Jonathan Allan "Jody" Stecher (born June 1, 1946) is an American singer and musician. He is best known as a bluegrass and old time musician, playing banjo, mandolin, fiddle and guitar and two of his albums with Kate Brislin have been finalis ...

– mandolin, vocals *Eric Thompson – guitar * Herb Pedersen – vocals on "These Men of God" *Butch Waller – vocals on "These Men of God"

Production

*Produced by Dennis McNally, Brian Miksis *Mastering: Fred Kevorkian *Art direction, design: Frank Harkins *Liner notes: Dennis McNally, Brian Miksis, Neil Rosenberg, Sara Ruppenthal Katz, Stu Goldman, Sandy Rothman *Painting of Jerry Garcia by Brigid Meier

Recording

Production

Critical reception

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

Production

References

Further reading