"Fire on the Mountain" is a
song
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...
by 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, ...
. It was written by lyricist
Robert Hunter and composed by drummer
Mickey Hart
Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...
.
It was commercially released on the album ''
Shakedown Street
''Shakedown Street'' is the tenth studio album by rock band the Grateful Dead, released November 15, 1978, on Arista Records. The album came just over a year after previous studio album '' Terrapin Station''. It was the final album for Keith and ...
'' in November 1978. An earlier instrumental version titled "Happiness is Drumming" appeared in 1976 on Mickey Hart's album ''Diga'' with the Diga Rhythm Band.
Prior to the Dead recording, the song premiered at a concert on March 18, 1977 in San Francisco.
That night, as almost always, it was coupled with "
Scarlet Begonias" during live performances, producing lengthy musical improvisations. The paired songs were soon nicknamed "Scarlet Fire".
The sequence typically timed from 20 to 25 minutes. The November 1, 1979 performance at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, likely the longest, clocks in over 34 minutes.
"Fire on the Mountain" was performed in concert by the Grateful Dead 253 times between 1977 and 1995. It appears on numerous Grateful Dead albums. An outtake of the song appeared as a bonus track on the 2004 reissue of ''
Terrapin Station
''Terrapin Station'' is the ninth studio album by the Grateful Dead, released July 27, 1977. It was the first Grateful Dead album on Arista Records and the first studio album after the band returned to live touring, following a nearly two-year ...
''.
This song is also featured as downloadable content for the video game ''
Rock Band
A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...
''.
Cover versions
*
Leftover Salmon
Leftover Salmon is an American jam band from Boulder, Colorado, formed in 1989. The band's music is a blend of bluegrass, rock, country, and Cajun/Zydeco. Over their thirty years as a band Salmon have released seven studio albums and three li ...
parodied the song with a version called "Pasta On the Mountain", which appeared on their 1993 release ''Bridges to Bert''.
*In a 2000 show at Solebury High School in New Hope, Pennsylvania, the band
Ween
Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band are ...
played a cover of the song live.
*In 2008,
Keller Williams
Keller Williams is an American singer, songwriter and musician who combines elements of bluegrass, folk, alternative rock, reggae, electronica/dance, jazz, funk, along with other assorted genres. He is often described as a 'one-man jam-band' d ...
released a
bluegrass version of the song on the album ''
Rex (Live at the Fillmore)''.
*Daniel Donato covered the song on his 2020 album A Young Man's Country
*
Mt. Joy played a cover of the song at the
Capitol Theatre on April 11, 2022.
See also
*
Dark Star
References
External links
Dead.net the official site of 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, ...
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1978 songs
Grateful Dead songs
Songs with lyrics by Robert Hunter (lyricist)