Passing
Jerry Garcia died on August 9, 1995 of heart trouble exacerbated by sleep apnea. Garcia, who struggled with drug addiction and sleep apnea for much of his adult life, was staying at the Serenity Knolls drug rehabilitation center in Forest Knolls, CA at the time. On his passing, he was honored by President Clinton as being "an American icon." Memorial services were held in Golden Gate Park on August 13, 1995. Along with the band members, his family and friends, thousands of fans were present, many singing and playing in drum circles.

Career with the Grateful Dead
On the Grateful Dead’s first, self-titled LP, Jerry’s guitar work displayed the speed of the fingers of his left hand and also a great deal of musical energy, but it was also clear that he had not yet developed a broad range of guitar-playing concepts. A lot of the playing is repetitive, relying on a few rock and blues licks and clichés. However, this soon changed as he mastered the techniques and styles of his key influences, and put in more time as a jamming musician and recording artist. Before long Jerry was able to play with intent, flexibility, and control – as well as high energy.

Jerry Garcia's mature guitar playing melded elements from the various kinds of music that had enthralled him. Echoes of "hillbilly" and bluegrass playing (such as Arthur Smith and Doc Watson) could be heard. But the "roots music" that sits behind hillbilly and bluegrass had its influence, too, and melodic riffs from Celtic fiddle jigs can be distinguished. There was also early rock (like Lonnie Mack, James Burton and Chuck Berry), contemporary blues (such as Freddie King), country & western (such as Roy Nichols and Don Rich), and jazz (like Charlie Christian) to be heard in Jerry's style. Don Rich was the sparkling country guitar player in Buck Owens's "Buckaroos" band of the 1960s. But besides Rich's style, both Jerry's pedal steel guitar playing (on Grateful Dead records and others) and his standard electric guitar work, were influenced by another of Owens's Buckaroos of that time, pedal-steel player Tom Blumley.

Jerry's style varied somewhat according to the song or instrumental he was contributing to. His playing had a number of so-called "signatures" and, in his work through the years with the Grateful Dead, one of these was lead lines making much use of rhythmic triplets (examples include the songs "Good Morning Little School Girl," "New Speedway Boogie," "Brokedown Palace," "Deal," "Loser," "Truckin'," "That's It For The Other One," "U.S. Blues," "Sugaree," and "Don't Ease Me In").

Young people were attracted to Jerry not only because of his talent and his tendency to good cheer and general goodwill, but for his obvious intelligence, libertarian sort of attitude, and willingness to speak his mind. Though he was widely regarded as a kind of guru figure in the San Francisco psychedelic scene, Jerry couldn’t take the role seriously himself.

From 1965 to 1995, the Grateful Dead toured almost constantly, developing a fan base known as deadheads, renowned for their intensity and devotion. Some fans dedicated their lives to the band, following the Grateful Dead from concert to concert, making a living by selling handmade goods, arts, crafts and other items in the parking lots of venues before the shows. It was no secret that drugs, especially psychedelics, were condoned in this scene. Jerry’s tendency to use hard, addictive drugs was evident to those who knew him by the mid 1970s.

[This message was edited by Jelle Biel on 11 January 2006 at 01:35 PM.]

quote:

---

It's all about composition

---

b0b already quoted this, and I will as well.

quote:

---

Every steel player should rejoice because this is a perfect example of why you don't have to play as good as (fill in a pro name) to compose and play good music

---

Well that's the problem. No matter how hard it is to technically play well, it is several orders of magnitude more difficult to compose something that is musically interesting. Playing licks is not composition. The TYC solo is.

I asked him once if he composed those licks in a song he was playing.

He said no, I just made them up!

i.e. a long line of licks taking you on a voyage in parallel
to the theme melody and it's emotional tangent.

Does the musical backing in counter or echoed melodic work support and augment
the front melody.

This is very admirably done by Garcia on TYC.
Added to the fact the melody is done in supurb harmonies,
this gave him an actually bigger chalenge to augment
and yet not step on the melodic work.

He also produced and mixed the song with CSNY blessing.

"He nailed it. It's timeless."

Terry you are a genious... THAT is what its all about,,,Jerry had music in his soul..

quote:

---

.... All the time JC was tearing up the 5 string(dont forget the missing digit!),he was looking at my spare steel sitting in the corner.

---

Mike Cass, I know some folks think Jerrry Garcia is God, but let's not confuse JC with JG. I don't think JC played a five string!

Terry

After reading this I have to say that the CSN album with Teach Your Children was one of the "oddball" albums I bought when I was a kid. I bought all the Beatles records, then onto the Rock guitar hero guys from Woodstock. To purchase the CSN album was a stretch for me as a kid, but there was something about the sound that I just liked. TYC was a part of what I liked. Unlike many of you though, I'm a little surprised that the PSG on the song never really "hit" me. I liked it and still do. But, it just sort of is in there blending with the song and it did not make me want to honor my father's request about taking up the PSG (like the guys on Hee Haw). No way!... at the time. I was just so into Rock Rock Rock. I'm so glad that something happened to me over 30 years later and I finally "got it". I'd love to see all the Hee Haw clips now! Wish my father could have been around longer to take to Steel shows and such.

Back to topic..... yes, JG would be welcome. I think JC would be too.

Bob P.

Bob (Carlucci,) I can't believe you said that.

[This message was edited by Barry Blackwood on 13 January 2006 at 12:04 PM.]

Db

------------------

"Promat"
~when tone matters~
http://hometown.aol.com/damirzanne2/PROMAT.html

------------------
www.natelapointe.net

On their live work they could get as far into left field
as most any jazz solist. If not into true atonal and be bop territory.
And still bring it back into the song at the end, or another as was often the case.
No song list, one or the toehr would just yell out a song name, and off they went.

Ears WIDE open, very adventurous, no fear,
and their fans supported that, yet to be traveled, voyage at eacc concert.

If Jerry wanted to play another instrument on a song, then the normal choice, he just did.

quote:

---

Is it my imagination, or was he using the C pedal a whole bunch?

---

Arty

[This message was edited by Arty Passes on 15 January 2006 at 04:38 PM.]