''May 1977: Get Shown the Light'' is a live album by the American 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, ...

. It contains four consecutive complete concerts, recorded on May 5, 7, 8, and 9, 1977, on eleven CDs. It was released on May 5, 2017. The album was produced as a box set, in a numbered limited edition of 15,000 copies, and includes the previously unpublished book ''Cornell '77: The Music, the Myth and the Magnificence of the Grateful Dead's Concert at Barton Hall'', by Peter Conners. It was also produced as an "all music edition" without the book. The May 8 show, recorded at

Barton Hall Barton Hall is an on-campus field house on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. It is the site of the school's indoor track facilities, ROTC offices and classes, and Cornell Police. For a long time, Barton Hall was the largest ...

in Ithaca, New York, was also released on May 5, 2017 as a stand-alone album called ''

Cornell 5/8/77 ''Cornell 5/8/77'' is a live album by the American rock band the Grateful Dead, recorded on May 8, 1977, at Barton Hall, Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. In 2011, the recording was selected for inclusion in the National Recording Registry ...

''. The May 9 concert at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and the May 7 concert at Boston Garden were released separately on vinyl for Record Store Day in 2020 and 2023 respectively. ''May 1977: Get Shown the Light'' was nominated for a Grammy Award for

Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package The Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package has been presented since 1995 to an album's art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, ...

. The artwork and package design are by Masaki Koike.

Concerts

The album includes these concerts: *May 5, 1977 – Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, Connecticut *May 7, 1977 – Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts *May 8, 1977 –

, Ithaca, New York *May 9, 1977 – Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York

Critical reception

On '' Pitchfork'', Jesse Jarnow said, "Though Cornell '77 is neither the Dead's most adventurous nor creative performance, it also remains arguably the Best Ever for several enduring reasons. Perhaps chief among them is that it is live Grateful Dead at its most accessible, with the Dead sounding vivid and tight and full of pep, characteristics shared by all four shows on ''May 1977: Get Shown the Light''. Compared to most Grateful Dead shows, Cornell '77 (and its chronological neighbors) are excellent places for (some) newbie listeners to start."

Track listing

May 5, 1977 – Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, Connecticut

Disc 1 :''First set:'' #" Promised Land" ( Chuck Berry) #" Sugaree" (

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 ...

Robert Hunter Robert Hunter may refer to: Arts * Robert Hunter (painter) (died 1780), Irish portrait painter * Robert Hunter (encyclopædist) (1823–1897), British editor of the ''Encyclopædic Dictionary'' *Robert Hunter (author) (1874–1942), American sociol ...

) #" Mama Tried" ( Merle Haggard) #" El Paso" ( Marty Robbins) #"Tennessee Jed" (Garcia, Hunter) #"Looks Like Rain" (

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...

, John Perry Barlow) #"Deal" (Garcia, Hunter) #"Lazy Lightning" > (Weir, Barlow) #"Supplication" (Weir, Barlow) #" Peggy-O" (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) #"The Music Never Stopped" (Weir, Barlow) Disc 2 :''Second set:'' #"Bertha" (Garcia, Hunter) #"Estimated Prophet" (Weir, Barlow) #"

Scarlet Begonias "Scarlet Begonias" is a song by the Grateful Dead. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music by Jerry Garcia. The live debut of "Scarlet Begonias" came on March 23, 1974 at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. The song begins in ...

" > (Garcia, Hunter) #" Fire on the Mountain" > (

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 ...

, Hunter) #" Good Lovin'" ( Rudy Clark, Arthur Resnick) #"

St. Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

" > (Garcia,

Phil Lesh Philip Chapman Lesh (born March 15, 1940) is an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career. After the band's disbanding in 1995, Lesh continued the tradition of ...

, Hunter) #"

Sugar Magnolia "Sugar Magnolia" is a song by the Grateful Dead. Written by Robert Hunter and Bob Weir, it is one of the most well-known songs by the band, alongside such hits as "Truckin'", "Casey Jones", "Uncle John's Band", "Touch of Grey", and fellow sugar-a ...

" (Weir, Hunter) :''Encore:'' #

Johnny B. Goode "Johnny B. Goode" is a 1958 rock song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry. Released as a single, it peaked at number two on ''Billboard'' magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart and number eight on its pre-Hot 100 chart. "Johnny B. Goode" is con ...

" (Berry)

May 7, 1977 – Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

Disc 1 :''First set:'' #"Bertha" (Garcia, Hunter) #"

Cassidy Cassidy may refer to: Personal names * Cassidy (given name) * Cassidy (surname) People * Cassidy (musician) (born 1979), lead singer of Antigone Rising * Cassidy (rapper) (born 1982), American rapper * DJ Cassidy (born 1981), New York DJ * Jame ...

" (Weir, Barlow) #"Deal" (Garcia, Hunter) #" Jack Straw" (Weir, Hunter) #"Peggy-O" (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) #"New Minglewood Blues" (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) #"Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo" > (Garcia, Hunter) #" Big River" (

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

) #"Tennessee Jed" (Garcia, Hunter) #"The Music Never Stopped" (Weir, Barlow) Disc 2 :''Second set:'' #"Terrapin Station" (Garcia, Hunter) #" Samson and Delilah" (traditional, arranged by Weir) #"

Friend of the Devil "Friend of the Devil" is a song recorded by the Grateful Dead. The music was written by Jerry Garcia and John Dawson and the lyrics are by Robert Hunter. It is the second track of the Dead's 1970 album '' American Beauty''. The song is lar ...

" (Garcia, John Dawson, Hunter) #"Estimated Prophet" (Weir, Barlow) Disc 3 #"Eyes of the World" > (Garcia, Hunter) #"Drums" > (Hart, Bill Kreutzmann) #"The Wheel" > (Garcia, Hunter, Kreutzmann) #"Wharf Rat" > (Garcia, Hunter) #" Around and Around" (Berry) :''Encore:'' #

"U.S. Blues" (Garcia, Hunter)

May 8, 1977 – Barton Hall, Ithaca, New York

Disc 1 :''First set:'' #"New Minglewood Blues" (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) #"Loser" (Garcia, Hunter) #"El Paso" (Marty Robbins) #"They Love Each Other" (Garcia, Hunter) #"Jack Straw" (Weir, Hunter) #"Deal" (Garcia, Hunter) #"Lazy Lightning" > (Weir, Barlow) #"Supplication" (Weir, Barlow) #"Brown-Eyed Women" (Garcia, Hunter) #"Mama Tried" (Haggard) #"Row Jimmy" (Garcia, Hunter) Disc 2 #" Dancing in the Street" (

William Stevenson William Stevenson may refer to: Government and politics * Sir William Stevenson (colonial administrator) (1805–1863), Governor of Mauritius * William E. Stevenson (1820–1883), American politician, Governor of West Virginia * William Ernest St ...

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

Ivy Jo Hunter George Ivy Hunter (August 28, 1940 – October 6, 2022), known as Ivy Jo Hunter, was an American R&B songwriter, record producer and singer, most associated with his work for Motown in the 1960s. Life and career Raised in Detroit, Michigan ...

) :''Second set:'' #

"Scarlet Begonias" > (Garcia, Hunter) #"Fire on the Mountain" (Hart, Hunter) #"Estimated Prophet" (Weir, Barlow) Disc 3 #"St. Stephen" > (Garcia, Lesh, Hunter) #" Not Fade Away" > ( Norman Petty, Charles Hardin) #"St. Stephen" > (Garcia, Lesh, Hunter) #" Morning Dew" ( Bonnie Dobson, Tim Rose) :''Encore:'' #

" One More Saturday Night" (Weir)

May 9, 1977 – Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York

Disc 1 :''First set:'' #"Help On the Way" > (Garcia, Hunter) #"Slipknot!" > (Garcia, Keith Godchaux, Kreutzmann, Lesh, Weir) #"Franklin's Tower" (Garcia, Hunter) #"Cassidy" (Weir, Barlow) #"Brown-Eyed Women" (Garcia, Hunter) #"

Mexicali Blues Mexicali Blues may refer to: * Mexicali Blues (company), an American company founded in 1988 * "Mexicali Blues" (song), a 1972 song by Grateful Dead {{Disambiguation ...

" (Weir, Barlow) #"Tennessee Jed" (Garcia, Hunter) #"Big River" (Cash) #"Peggy-O" (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) #"Sunrise" ( Donna Jean Godchaux) #"The Music Never Stopped" (Weir, Barlow) Disc 2 :''Second set:'' #"Bertha" > (Garcia, Hunter) #"Good Lovin'" (Clark, Resnick) #"Ship of Fools" (Garcia, Hunter) Disc 3 #"Estimated Prophet" > (Weir, Barlow) #"The Other One" > (Weir, Kreutzmann) #"Drums" > (Hart, Kreutzmann) #"Not Fade Away" > (Petty, Hardin) #"Comes a Time" > (Garcia, Hunter) #"Sugar Magnolia" (Weir, Hunter) :''Encore:'' #

Uncle John's Band "Uncle John's Band" is a song by the Grateful Dead that first appeared in their concert setlists in late 1969. The band recorded it for their 1970 album ''Workingman's Dead''. Written by guitarist Jerry Garcia and lyricist Robert Hunter (lyrici ...

" (Garcia, Hunter)

Personnel

Grateful Dead *

– guitar, vocals * Donna Jean Godchaux – vocals * Keith Godchaux – keyboards *

– drums * Bill Kreutzmann – drums *

– bass *

– guitar, vocals Production *Produced by Grateful Dead *Produced for release by David Lemieux *Recording:

Betty Cantor-Jackson Betty Cantor-Jackson (born 1948) is an American audio engineer and producer. She is best known for her work recording live concerts for the Grateful Dead from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, including the '' Cornell 5/8/77'' album. She is noted ...

*Mastering: Jeffrey Norman *Tape restoration and speed correction: Jamie Howarth, John Chester *Packaging manager: Amanda Smith *Art direction, design: Masaki Koike *Photos: Doran Tyson, James R. Anderson, Lawrence Reichman, Peter Simon, John Reis, Dean John Smith *Liner notes essay "Get Back Home where You Belong": David Lemieux *Liner notes essay "The Road to Ithaca: Five Days in May": Nicholas G. Meriwether *Hardcover book ''Cornell '77: The Music, the Myth, and the Magnificence of the Grateful Dead's Concert at Barton Hall'': Peter Conners *Executive producer: Mark Pinkus *Associate producers: Doran Tyson, Ivette Ramos *Tapes provided through the assistance of: ABCD Enterprises, LLC *Tape research: Michael Wesley Johnson *Archival research: UC Santa Cruz Grateful Dead Archive

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2017 live albums Grateful Dead live albums Rhino Records live albums