Jerry Garcia Band

The Jerry Garcia Band was a San Francisco Bay Area rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia founded the band in 1975; it remained the most important of his various side projects until his death in 1995. The band regularly toured and recorded sporadically throughout its twenty-year existence, generally, but not always, during breaks in the Grateful Dead's schedule.

History Although the name Jerry Garcia Band only properly applies from late January 1976, this Garcia side-band's actual history and repertoire really began with local club gigs in 1970 featuring Garcia, Merl Saunders, John Kahn and various others, including Tom Fogerty on rhythm guitar (1971–72), Martin Fierro on tenor sax and flute (1974–75), and briefly (October–December 1975) Nicky Hopkins on piano, as well as drummers Bill Kreutzmann, Bill Vitt, Gaylord Birch, and Paul Humphrey. Garcia and Kahn met in 1970 playing together at Monday jam sessions hosted by Howard Wales at the small San Francisco club, the Matrix.

Over the years, the lineup of the Jerry Garcia Band changed many times. The one constant member besides Garcia himself was bassist John Kahn, who served as Garcia's principal musical collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead after 1970. Melvin Seals had the next longest tenure, serving as keyboardist from 1981 onward.

Jerry Garcia's musical interests were famously varied, and this was reflected in the diverse music played by his band. Like the Grateful Dead, the Jerry Garcia Band played rock music that was influenced by blues, folk, country, and jazz in an improvisatory milieu that largely served as a framework for Garcia's solos. However, the group eschewed the former band's avant-garde and world music influences in favor of a slower, groove-based "bar band" approach strongly oriented toward rhythm and blues (the band often featured female backing vocalists characteristic of the genre), gospel music and reggae. Rock versions of contemporary Americana were also prominent. The relatively languorous tempos were dictated by Garcia and Kahn, much to the chagrin of longtime drummer David Kemper: "[I]t bothered me from the very beginning. I’d say, ‘You know we need some uptempo material, it’s just putting me to sleep; the band is putting me to sleep.’ At first I'd say these things, and then I just decided to go with it. It is what it is, and who was I to say anything? This band preceded me; the whole concept of the band preceded me."

Staples of the band's repertoire included Holland–Dozier–Holland's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" (widely perceived as the group's signature song and their most-performed song), Peter Rowan's "Midnight Moonlight", Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come" and "Sitting in Limbo", the Sensational Nightingales' "My Sisters and Brothers", Hank Ballard's "Tore Up Over You", Bob McDill and Allen Reynolds' "Catfish John", John Lennon's "Dear Prudence", Jesse Stone's "Don't Let Go", Allen Toussaint's "I'll Take a Melody" and "Get Out of My Life, Woman", Little Milton's "That's What Love Will Make You Do", Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock" and "You Never Can Tell", Bruce Cockburn's "Waiting for a Miracle", Irving Berlin's "Russian Lullaby", Smokey Robinson's "The Way You Do the Things You Do" and "I Second That Emotion", Peter Tosh's "Stop That Train", Bob Marley's "Stir It Up", Robbie Robertson's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", the Manhattans' "Shining Star", Van Morrison's "And It Stoned Me" and "Bright Side of the Road" and Norton Buffalo's "Ain't No Bread in the Breadbox". The band also performed Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's "Ol' Man River" and Miles Davis' "So What" on one occasion apiece. As with the Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia regularly covered many songs by Bob Dylan with the group, including "Tangled Up in Blue", "Simple Twist of Fate", "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", "Forever Young", "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)", "Tears of Rage", "I Shall Be Released", "Tough Mama", and "When I Paint My Masterpiece".

The group did not perform between November 1978 and October 1979; during that year, Garcia, Kahn and keyboardist Merl Saunders (who performed with Garcia and Kahn from 1971 to 1975 in the Saunders/Garcia Band and Legion of Mary) briefly performed in Reconstruction, a more egalitarian jazz-funk ensemble.

According to Linda Kahn in a 2017 Reddit Ask Me Anything prompt, much of the band's repertoire was curated by her husband: "[H]e did bring most of the cover material to the table. He has a big record collection and they're all in really good shape, he was pretty anal about his records. I think as far as picking songs, he listened to records all the time, so it depends on whoever was in the band and whatever group was playing at the time and that influenced John a lot."

Although the repertoire was strongly tilted toward covers, several Garcia-Robert Hunter originals (including "Run for the Roses", "Mission in the Rain", "Gomorrah", "Cats Under the Stars", and "Reuben and Cherise") were performed exclusively or near-exclusively by the Jerry Garcia Band. Some of the band's original repertoire (most notably "Deal", "They Love Each Other", "Sugaree", and "Friend of the Devil") was shared with the Grateful Dead.

During Garcia's lifetime, the Jerry Garcia Band released one studio album, Cats Under the Stars, and one live album, Jerry Garcia Band. A number of additional live albums were released posthumously.

The group was an indirect beneficiary of the commercial success of the Grateful Dead's In the Dark (1987); as the latter group transitioned to summer stadium tours and multi-night arena engagements during their autumn and spring tours, the tour itineraries of the Garcia Band (hitherto confined to clubs and small theaters) came to encompass arenas (primarily in Garcia's key northeastern United States market) and outdoor amphitheaters favored by the Grateful Dead in the early 1980s. During this period, the group continued to play as many as fifteen concerts a year in an informal residency at The Warfield, a 2,300-capacity theater in San Francisco. Clarence Clemons also guested with them on tour for a brief time in 1989 and 1990.

Kahn briefly led the group (rechristened JGB) following Garcia's death in 1995. Seals became the bandleader after Kahn's death in 1996; as of 2017, he is the only remaining member from the final iteration of the Jerry Garcia Band in JGB.

Personnel

Following are the lineups for the Jerry Garcia Band's live performances.DeadBase XI: The Complete Guide to Grateful Dead Song Lists, by John W. Scott, Mike Dolgushkin, and Stu Nixon, 1999, DeadBase,

August 5 – December 31, 1975 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Nicky Hopkins – piano, vocals Ron Tutt – drums January 9–10, 1976 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass James Booker – piano, vocals Ron Tutt – drums January 26, 1976 – August 12, 1977 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Keith Godchaux – piano, vocals Donna Godchaux – vocals Ron Tutt – drums November 15, 1977 – November 3, 1978 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Keith Godchaux – piano, vocals Donna Godchaux – vocals Maria Muldaur – vocals Buzz Buchanan – drums October 7, 1979 – March 27, 1980 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Ozzie Ahlers – keyboards, vocals Johnny d'Fonseca – drums July 18– November 16, 1980 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Ozzie Ahlers – keyboards, vocals Greg Errico – drums December 20, 1980 – June 1, 1981 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Melvin Seals – organ Jimmy Warren – electric piano, clavinet Daoud Shaw – drums June 25 – August 23, 1981 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Melvin Seals – organ Jimmy Warren – electric piano, clavinet Bill Kreutzmann – drums Essra Mohawk – vocals Liz Stires – vocals September 7, 1981 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Melvin Seals – organ Jimmy Warren – electric piano, clavinet Bill Kreutzmann – drums Julie Stafford – vocals Liz Stires – vocals September 18 – November 20, 1981 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Melvin Seals – organ Jimmy Warren – electric piano, clavinet Ron Tutt – drums Julie Stafford – vocals Liz Stires – vocalsDecember 17, 1981 – June 24, 1982 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Melvin Seals – organ Jimmy Warren – electric piano, clavinet Bill Kreutzmann – drums Julie Stafford – vocals Liz Stires – vocals October 13 – 23, 1982 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Melvin Seals – organ Greg Errico – drums October 24, 1982 – June 5, 1983 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Melvin Seals – organ Greg Errico – drums Jaclyn LaBranch – vocals DeeDee Dickerson – vocals July 20, 1983 – August 28, 1984 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Melvin Seals – organ David Kemper – drums Jaclyn LaBranch – vocals DeeDee Dickerson – vocals September 15, 1984 – September 28, 1985 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Melvin Seals – organ David Kemper – drums Jaclyn LaBranch – vocals Gloria Jones – vocals October 7, 1985 – February 2, 1986 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Melvin Seals – organ Gaylord Birch – drums Jaclyn LaBranch – vocals Gloria Jones – vocals February 21, 1986 – November 19, 1993 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Melvin Seals – organ David Kemper – drums Jaclyn LaBranch – vocals Gloria Jones – vocals February 4, 1994 – April 23, 1995 Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals John Kahn – bass Melvin Seals – organ Donny Baldwin – drums Jaclyn LaBranch – vocals Gloria Jones – vocals

Timeline

Discography +TitleYearRecording date(s)NotesCats Under the Stars1978Studio albumJerry Garcia Band1991April–August 1990How Sweet It Is1997April–August 1990Don't Let Go2001May 21, 1976Shining Star20011989–1993Pure Jerry: Theatre 1839, San Francisco, July 29 & 30, 19772004July 29 – 30, 1977After Midnight: Kean College, 2/28/802004February 28, 1980Pure Jerry: Lunt-Fontanne, New York City, October 31, 19872004October 31, 1987Pure Jerry: Lunt-Fontanne, New York City, The Best of the Rest, October 15–30, 19872004October 15–30, 1987Pure Jerry: Merriweather Post Pavilion, September 1 & 2, 19892005September 1–2, 1989Pure Jerry: Warner Theatre, March 18, 19782005March 18, 1978Garcia Plays Dylan2005(Compilation album with some tracks by the Jerry Garcia Band)Pure Jerry: Coliseum, Hampton, VA, November 9, 19912006November 9, 1991Pure Jerry: Bay Area 19782009February – June 1978Let It Rock: The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 22009November 17 – 18, 1975Garcia Live Volume One2013March 1, 1980June 26, 1981, Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA2013June 26, 1981Garcia Live Volume Two2013August 5, 1990Fall 1989: The Long Island Sound2013September 5–6, 1989(Jerry Garcia Band and Bob Weir & Rob Wasserman)Garcia Live Volume Four2014March 22, 1978Garcia Live Volume Five2014December 31, 1975On Broadway: Act One – October 28th, 1987 2015October 28, 1987(Jerry Garcia Band and Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band)Garcia Live Volume Seven2016November 8, 1976Garcia Live Volume Eight2017November 23, 1991Garcia Live Volume 102018May 20, 1990Electric on the Eel20191987, 1989, 1991Garcia Live Volume 112019November 11, 1993Garcia Live Volume 132020September 16, 1989Garcia Live Volume 162021November 15, 1991Garcia Live Volume 172021November 7 – 13, 1976Garcia Live Volume 192022October 31, 1992Garcia Live Volume 202023June 18, 1982Garcia Live Volume 212024February 13, 1976Live at the Warfield2025February 28 – March 2, 1991Garcia Live Volume 232026August 14, 1993

Jerry Garcia Band

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