"Uncle John's Band" is a song 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, ...

that first appeared in their concert setlists in late 1969. The band recorded it for their 1970 album ''

Workingman's Dead ''Workingman's Dead'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Grateful Dead. It was recorded in February 1970 and originally released on June 14, 1970. The album and its studio follow-up, '' American Beauty'', were recorded back-to-back ...

''. Written by guitarist

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 ...

and lyricist Robert Hunter, "Uncle John's Band" presents the Dead in an acoustic and musically concise mode, with

close harmony A chord is in close harmony (also called close position or close structure) if its notes are arranged within a narrow range, usually with no more than an octave between the top and bottom notes. In contrast, a chord is in open harmony (also c ...

singing. The song is one of the band's best known, and is included on the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

. In 2001 it was named 321st (of 365) in the

Songs of the Century The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America's musical and ...

project list.

Music and lyrics

"Uncle John's Band" has one of the Dead's most immediately accessible and memorable melodies, set against a bluegrass-inspired folk arrangement with

acoustic guitars 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, ...

. Specific lyrics ("It's a buck dancer's choice my friend; better take my advice", "the fire from the ice", "don't tread on me", "It's the same story the crow told me") allude to various folk, mountain, or bluegrass tunes known to be in band members' repertoire.

Single and album history

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

released "Uncle John's Band," backed with "New Speedway Boogie," as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in 1970, receiving only limited airplay due to its length. Garcia worked with Warners to cut it down, though he later called the mix "an atrocity."Woodward, Jake; et al. ''Grateful Dead: The Illustrated Trip'', Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2003, pg. 120. "I gave them instructions on how to properly edit it and they garbled it so completely," Garcia commented. The original album version ended up getting more air play than the revised Warner Bros. version. While the single was the group's first chart hit (peaking at No. 69 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

), it had a greater impact than its chart performance indicates, receiving airplay on progressive rock radio stations and others with looser playlists. At a time when the Grateful Dead were already an underground legend, "Uncle John's Band" (and to some degree its albummate "

Casey Jones John Luther "Casey" Jones (March 14, 1863 – April 30, 1900) was an American railroader who was killed when his passenger train collided with a stalled freight train at Vaughan, Mississippi. Jones was a locomotive engineer for the Illinois Ce ...

") was the first time many in the general rock audience actually heard the band's music. Moreover, the song affected the mainstream because of first using the word "goddamn" in the unedited single, which many radio stations played instead of the edited version; together with the reference to

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

in "Casey Jones," the two songs made the band a "thorn in the side of

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

that became a badge of honor to the masses."Jackson, p. 190.

Cover versions

*It was covered by

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...

on his 1994 album ''

Fruitcakes Fruitcake (or fruit cake or fruit bread) is a cake made with candied or dried fruit, nuts, and spices, and optionally soaked in spirits. In the United Kingdom, certain rich versions may be iced and decorated. Fruitcakes are typically served ...

.'' *Reggae musician

Joe Higgs Joseph Benjamin Higgs (3 June 1940 – 18 December 1999) was a reggae musician from Jamaica. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was part of the duo Higgs and Wilson together with Roy Wilson. He was a popular artist in Jamaica for four decades and is ...

recorded a version of the song for the 1996 compilation " Fire on the Mountain: Reggae Celebrates the Grateful Dead." *It was covered by the

Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part o ...

for the 1991 Grateful Dead tribute compilation ''

Deadicated ''Deadicated: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead'' is a 1991 tribute album with music of the Grateful Dead performed by various artists. According to the liner notes, the compilation is a rainforest benefit album, with significant proceeds from its ...

.'' The recording also appeared on their album '' Rarities.'' *

Crosby, Stills & Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member, ...

covered the song live during their 2009 US concert tour. *

Stanford Marching Band The Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band (LSJUMB) is the student marching band representing Stanford University and its athletic teams. Billing itself as "The World's Largest Rock and Roll Band," the Stanford Band performs at sporting ...

has covered this song. *

Day Of The Dead The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely obser ...

, a 2016 Red Hot compilation, includes a cover by

Lucius Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from ''Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames (''praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from L ...

. * Dispatch initially covered this song during their 2017 acoustic tour, and continued to play it live through their 2019 tour.

References

{{Authority control 1970 singles Grateful Dead songs Jimmy Buffett songs Songs written by Jerry Garcia Songs with lyrics by Robert Hunter (lyricist)