Grateful Dead - Death Letter Blues 10-30-68

Live at The Matrix on 10-30-68

[@gratefulmisfit6663]

This is my favorite dead track hands down..... I took the audio and looped it like a nerd for while I'm at work (8

[@davegrabowski6123]

THIS IS NOT THE GRATEFUL DEAD

[@gratefuldrifter6588]

Nothing wrong with a deadnerd,stay safe brother.

[@mattn1936]

Heard this on a bootleg about twenty five years ago, glad to have found it again!

[@dianestockton3089]

The sunrise has started----blown away----holy shit things are still moving-------I am very grateful for the dead

[@davegrabowski6123]

Not the dead

[@thepackardconspiracy3536]

This isn’t a dead song

[@thepackardconspiracy3536]

It’s a traditional

[@TheOferwexenfeld]

we all are

[@davegrabowski6123]

Its not. I told you. Jerry ,mickey and Jack casdidy

[@DEADHEAD712]

Never knew the Dead played this. I believe its a Son House tune. I remember the Derek Trucks Band recorded it with Warren Haynes on vocals. Great tune.

[@davegrabowski6123]

THIS IS JERRY GARCIA,MICKEY HART AND JACK CASSIDY

[@davegrabowski6123]

Derek truck Warren Haynes. Jerry was very aggressive when he wanted. NEITHER ONE IF THEM HAVE AGGRESSIVE TENDENCY

[@MrBigLeaves]

Damn...absolutely fantastic Dead!!! Thank You!

[@davegrabowski6123]

Not the grateful dead dude

[@amy8159]

sooooo gooooood

[@clancykobane9102]

these guys were a great blues band

[@bluesriot2]

love the punchy bass and cymbolic drums on early dead blooz

[@davegrabowski6123]

This isn't the dead

[@bluesriot2]

@@davegrabowski6123 who ?

[@edlawrence5059]

@@bluesriot2 Mickey and the Hartbeats

[@veek.6463]

Thank you Mr Gray

[@rainbowpagun]

ty for this jem

[@darinphilips4419]

Thank! My actual birthday! I am grateful to you.

[@johnmeyers8585]

Damn! I have been listening daily to the GD for over 35 years and I have never heard this! Great post! Thanks for posting! Kindof sounds like China Cat in the making.

[@davegrabowski6123]

Its garcia cassidy and hart!!!!!

[@davegrabowski6123]

YOU OBVIOUSLY ARE ONE IF THOSE GUYS THAT STILL GOES TO SEE PHIL AND PHRIENDS. THAT IS A JOKE

[@davegrabowski6123]

I can't stand watching the other ones or Phil and friends. THEY HAVE NOTHING ON JERRY

[@bookmedia67]

@DEADHEAD712 Yeah you can listen to most of these shows on the Archive. They are good, but there is definitely a big hole where Bobby and Pig used to be. I really couldn't imagine the dead without Bobby's rhythm work.

[@DEADHEAD712]

@folkhippy Thanks for the Dead History Lesson. I did not know that.

[@tarheel387]

I'm wondering if I'll ever hear everthing they recorded, doubt it.

[@garrettwilliams7979]

We can certainly try our best man haha

[@smartluck100]

That’s why I listen to the Grateful Dead channel on Sirius XM as much as I possibly can! Always something new sprinkled in with studio tracks etc. It is the greatest channel known to mankind. ALWAYS hear cuts I never knew existed. In a perfect world, I would listen to it 24 hours a day seven days a week. That way, eventually, it would come full circle and I would’ve heard everything ever produced. But that won’t happen for me. I just enjoy the trip. I’m a caveman. I make cassettes from the channel to listen to in my car

[@gratefuldrifter6588]

The good old loaded Grateful dead,pure fine Dope.Love and Peace world wide.Stay loaded deadheads,where ever where.

[@TheOferwexenfeld]

it is always nice to find a good thing

[@bookmedia67]

@DEADHEAD712 This isn't really the Grateful Dead. During the Fall of '68, Bob and Pigpen were briefly fired from the band and the remaining members performed a string of shows under the names "Mickey and the Heartbeats" and "Jerry Garrceeah and His Friends." The shows consisted of mostly instrumental jams and instrumental blues standards, hence the performance of this song. I'm glad they ended up bring Bob and Pig back!

[@davegrabowski6123]

They werent fired. They just played without them

[@capaneus184]

Does this just apply to fall '68? I can understand why they let PigPen go for a time: he skipped practice, he didn't like to sing on stage and had to be coerced, his focus was perhaps to narrowly blues-focused for the rest of the band .... But seriously, he was the heart and soul of the band, and in their early years, when the rest of the band was still learning how to play their instruments and interact with an audience he WAS the dead.

[@johnnynbk]

showman

[@davegrabowski6123]

JERRY AND PHIL WERE PROGRESSING SO FAST. BOBBY USED TO BE PURPOSELY TURNED DOWN BY SOUNDMAN. SO YOU COULDNT HEAR HIS OFF RYTHYM PLAYING. PIGPEN COULD SING A FEW SONGS AND GET DRUNK..AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE DEAD DID NOT SEE PIG IN THE FUTURE

[@davegrabowski6123]

PIGPEN WAS ONLY THAT IN THE BEGINNING BECAUSE THEY RELIED ON BLUES

[@davegrabowski6123]

1968-1971 TECHNICALLY

[@davegrabowski6123]

No Bobby either

[@rainbowpagun]

excellent

[@markross6818]

After all the years there's still something..Idk..more..?..further.. that seems to... every time I hear... Yeah, you know ✌️🙂

[@richiemabie]

Top Shelf !!

[@bookmedia67]

@DeadAir1369 No, there's only Jerry. Listen closely. Don't worry though, I'm sure your not the only person that has heard Jerry play and thought it was actually two guitarists ;) Deadbase lists this night as "Mickey & The Heartbeats."

[@isaacs5738]

Born under a bad sign ~ if it wasnt for bad luck i wouldnt have any luck at all! if anything ever went right i would think something's wrong, the truth.

[@Heretic_Hero]

If it wasn’t for real bad luck

[@bookmedia67]

Correct, this minus-Bobby & Pig lineup was only for the fall '68 tour. They were back in the band by Dec '68, if I recall correctly. Bobby promised he would practice more (I thought he sounded pretty freaking good in '68 despite this) and so did Pig, but they brought in TC to play B3 anyway. It's a shame, because I love Pigs organ on View from the Vault. Just listen to The Eleven from that show. '69 was great with TC though, but Pig brought a punchier style to his keys.

[@Zatchamoe]

I agree, in the recordings, early September around 9-2-68, bob and pig sound on point imo so i dont know why theyd consider that, to be fair tho jer and phil where both alot older and experience, as phil was advant garde level and jerry already been in many multiple acts🤷🏻‍♂️

[@bookmedia67]

Zack Also remember they were young, and there was some big ego going around. Garcia taught Bobby a lot, but Bobby developed his own very unique style early on. Since it was cutting edge, it might not have suited Phil and Jerry, the already-master musicians who were classically trained. Phil was into orchestra and Jerry was an American standards folk player. I think they would go on to realize the errors of their ways in ‘69 though lol.

[@Zatchamoe]

@@bookmedia67 thats a great point to, up until bob, rhythm guitar was pretty much a situated part, he looked at jazz piano players for that improv flair and flavor lol, his growth change from like the first 9 years, 65-74 is phenomenal.

[@davegrabowski6123]

Its NOT THE "DEAD" MICKEY AND THE HARTBEATS. JACK CASSIDY .MICKEY HART. JERRY GARCIA. SOMETIMES PHIL PLAYED BASS.

[@frankwallop6512]

Whoever's playin bass on this track is killing it! Love the Jack Bruce feel

[@JasonCunliffe]

@@frankwallop6512 >>> Jack Casady

[@porkchopspapi5757]

Is no one going to mention the elephant in the room? A rock band playing with the U.S flag in 1968?! So uncool it was cool.

[@johnnynbk]

bob dylan did it in '66

[@garrettwilliams7979]

Kesey and the pranksters turned into a prank of its own. The dead were all inherent pranksters too

[@smartluck100]

@@sgg6927 That’s the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard in my life.

[@ericmeacham9532]

Micky’s dad was the manager then right? I’ve never heard this tune or Micky & the heartbeats

[@reforest4fertility]

Was in the other room, busy. Had to rush over here to favorite it, for many happy returns of listening pleasure. Don't like the name much, but the lively intention lifts thru the bluesy feel resonates with our depths and the rhythm takes care of rest of the weight lifting off

[@drgeff1]

I'm fairly sure that is Jack Cassidy of Hot Tuna on bass

[@uncasist]

Good ears! It is certainly Jack Casady on bass. He has a very distinct playing style and sound. Yes, I agree.

[@MrGOW3fan]

It’s weird hearing jack Cassidy in reference to hot tuna, kind of catches you off guard lol

[@lastfirst7371]

If it's Casady, where's that put Lesh? I only hear one electric guitar.

[@BIGRATDOGHEAD]

I can hear his eyebrows

[@davegrabowski6123]

Yes thats correct. Mickey and the Hartbeats

[@davegrabowski6123]

This was 68 to 70

[@theloniouscastaneda]

i’m betting a nickel that’s Phil on bass. and over halfway thru i either heard another drummer or it’s one drummer coming out of right n left speakers. couldn’t tell cause i had to bail. glad some of you dig this but a little sloppy for my tastes. strange to call it the Dead w/o Pig and Bobby, but the Dead doing this blues classic by Son House!? had to check it out! ⚡️🌹⚡️

[@davegrabowski6123]

Jack cassidy is on bass

[@davegrabowski6123]

Not the dead Jerry garcia Mickey hart jack cassidy.

[@davegrabowski6123]

Its jack cassidy. Phil was not that rythmic

[@artdibbs]

c'mon folks, It's Casady.

[@garrettwilliams7979]

They aren’t the dead they’re micky and the hartbeats

[@douglasnorris109]

Supposedly this is The Hartbeats - deadessays.blogspot.com/2011/03/1968-firing.html id's this as Phil playing bass

[@tylercatron9783]

I prefer the white stripes cover and the son house version, but this was good.

[@intrepidtraveller6002]

Isn't this micky and the heartbeats? Not "exactly" the GD. No pig or weir. Jerry and Phil's nitrous hissing fit with their nitrous inflated balloon heads when they wrongly thought the other 2 weren't up to their standards.. which they quickly rectified of course.

[@davegrabowski6123]

I HAD THIS ON METAL CASSETTE IN 95,96. THE TAPE BROKE. THIS SHOW WAS BILLED AS MICKEY AND THE HARTBEATS. THE GRATEFUL DEAD NAME COULD NOT BE USED BECAUSE OF A CONTRACT CLAUSE. (BESIDES, IT WAS JERRY,JACK CASSIDY AND MICKEY HART. 3 PPL. VERY CREAM SOUNDING. WHICH THIS WAS THE TIME PERIOD 68-69 THEY WANTED TO FIRE BOBBY AND PIGPEN.

[@benw-king3380]

Kreutzmann is such a good drummer....swing's like a pair of monkey's nuts.

[@JasonCunliffe]

>>> Jack Casady

[@davegrabowski6123]

Phil lesh is not the bassist

[@TheOferwexenfeld]

so what he is?

[@uncasist]

I have never heard much of this period without Weir and Pigpen. Honestly, it sounds quite mediocre- empty and hollow despite Casady's very full bass. Gracia was not a strong enough player to pull of a one-guitar lineup. Few people are able, except Hendrix and Clapton and even they repeated themsleves and got bored.

[@daveinOR1]

You should check out the Jerry Garcia Band, that guy could carry a one-guitar band.

[@BIGRATDOGHEAD]

Boy howdy

[@smartluck100]

@@daveinOR1 Well said

[@biblebear6795]

@@daveinOR1 Yes indeed! And Jerry could even hold his own all by himself as he once did on April 10th, 1982 at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ. tomorrowsverse.com/story/video-jerry-garcias-only-solo-performance-as-a-member-of-grateful-dead-32722.html