READY FOR A JAM SESSION? First Time Hearing Grateful Dead - Franklin's Tower Live 1980 Reaction!

Welcome to our channel, where we bring you first-time reactions to iconic music performances. In this video, we are diving into the world of Grateful Dead with our first-time hearing of "Franklin's Tower" live in 1980. Get ready for a jam session that will transport you back in time!
The groovy instrumentals and Jerry Garcia's mesmerizing guitar skills will leave you in awe. It's a true masterpiece that showcases the band's ability to create an atmosphere like no other. The energy is palpable, and it's clear that this performance is a special moment in music history.
Join us on this musical journey as we experience the Grateful Dead's "Franklin's Tower" live in 1980 for the first time. Whether you are a die-hard fan or new to their music, this video promises to be an unforgettable experience filled with goosebumps, smiles, and moments of pure joy.
Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe to our channel for more incredible reactions to timeless music performances. Help us spread the love for Grateful Dead and share this video with your friends who appreciate great music. Let's celebrate the magic of music together!
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You can find Grateful Dead - Franklin's Tower - 10/31/1980 on KZbin at the link below:
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[@gordonfreligh1182]

The beauty of this band is you could hear them perform this song 100 times and it would be different all 100 times.

[@colinjackson3662]

Maybe because they were too stoned/crap to concentrate?

[@jazzzman8050]

@@colinjackson3662 it’s actually more difficult to play music that is deliberately under-rehearsed, allowing the unexpected to happen in real time, forcing the players to concentrate closely on what each other(s) are doing, measure by measure. Carefully rehearsed music allows for autopilot, which is where many bands operate.

[@otherstar1]

@@jazzzman8050 yes indeed. The Dead were very heavily influenced by jazz and the improvisational approach many jazz musicians take.

[@ChickenParm152]

@@colinjackson3662 wrong. they were masters. you're ignorant

[@kevinfredettte2191]

​@colinjackson3662 pretty ignorant comment

[@spyder8267]

Grateful Dead, greatest band of all time

[@jazzzman8050]

The Grateful Dead are a) a bit of an acquired taste, and b) NOT a quick study. Don’t assume anything about them from one performance of one song. But your descriptions of what’s happening here are spot on, and you may enjoy delving into the thousands of hours of live performances from their 30 year career. Many like to disparage them, but they are the most important American rock band.

[@TrianglesAndCircles]

Good piont. The band drifts about a bit from here to there in more ways than any I have seen live.

[@robertpotts2164]

I remember the first time I went to see them in 1982 in Providence Rhode Island. My friend dragged me to the show because I couldn't understand how anybody could listen to them after hearing a couple of songs off of an album. After that live experience I ended up seeing them another 35 times up until 1995 the last 15 in the tapers section there is no band like the Grateful Dead live....

[@TrianglesAndCircles]

@@robertpotts2164 Right on. There's something about the shows that seems just scary enough to be real and just polished enough to shine.

[@milonieto]

Sometimes you folks look a little intense trying to figure it out. Don't over think it. Go with it

[@umpdaddy1]

The Dead were an amazing live band. They would play for hours. Four hour concerts were regular. No show was the same as they had a playlist of around two hundred songs. The rythym guitarist, Bob Weir, is now a greybeard and was still touring last year. Their two radio hits were Truckin' and Touch of Grey. Both really listenable but The Dead were so eclectic that they aren't definitive Dead songs.

[@hopeklemann1]

dude I died a little inside when I heard you say you'd never heard of the dead ...

[@artsatzger2086]

me too. holy cow my heart aches for their loss. But its not to late so there is hope for them.

[@kaess307]

Jerry Garcia is one of my favourite guitarists!

[@Gravitywell57]

Always Live, Always Dead. Unlimited Devotion. Thanks for this tasty concert from Radio City. I was 5th row at the Halloween show, 3 sets with the middle set acoustic. (Album Dead Reckoning). Great show guys, keep up the awesome work.

[@bobschenkel7921]

Very happy to say I was at this show, my second Grateful Dead concert. Jerry Garcia singing and playing his "Tiger" Guitar, my personal favorite of all his axes. Bob Weir on Rhythm Guitar, Phil Lesh on Bass, Brent Mydland on the Keys, and Bill Kreutzman and Mickey Hart on the Drums. A tremendous group of musicians who can do anything with any style of song, Country, Funk, Rock, Modal, Reggae, Psychedelic, Jammy, Americana, anything. This song, "Franklin's Tower" was usually preceded by two other songs, "Help On The Way>Slipknot>Franklin's Tower", denoted by Dead Heads as "Help>Slip>Franklin's" on set lists. Another band with two Drummers is The Allman Brothers Band. They're pretty good too. LOL.

[@dixiechatty958]

Also The Doobie Brothers.

[@susanbrynt]

The end of the song the two drummers are transitioning to the next section of Grateful Dead concerts. It is called Drum/Space. In every concert there is a drum/percussion solo. Brill Kreucthmann is a drummer, while Mickey Hart is a percussionist. When Franklin's Tower is the song, it almost always ended transitioning into drum/space.

[@ziusthefirst5387]

To love this band is a pure love.

[@markhodge7]

The Dead. Enigma. Not easy to put into any genre. Truly a positive band. The Heads caught onto their vibe, and never let go. Simply a good time band that were not pretentious. Let's just have a party and have a good time!

[@orangeandblackattack]

his guitar was a custom Irwin..auctioned recently for over $1 million

[@gkiferonhs]

I went to a Dead concert in Iowa City and they didn't stop jamming until 2:30 am.

[@cosmonaut9942]

One drummer (Billy Kreutzman) and one percussionist (Mickey Hart).

[@segan63]

"If you plant ice, you're gonna harvest wind"

[@gentryxc]

Franklin's Tower was the Dead's homage to the U.S. bicentennial in1976. Franklin's Tower is, of course, Independence Hall in Philly.

[@TrianglesAndCircles]

Definitely a faster paced Franklins Tower but well done. Another bell rang for all to hear that night. Love😊❤

[@georgelynch6139]

They really pushed it to the point of a constant steady predictable up tempo forced unfeeling groove, not their usual style of a meandering hunt to eventually find a groove that fits what the band feels like at the moment. That’s what happens when they are forced to tour to pay debts that roll in when stopped performing but still had their “family” on the monthly payroll.

[@regularsizeruss3874]

Ha! I JUST listened to this show in my car this morning! Nice!

[@prophet7229]

This is the second dead song I've listened to on this channel. Both times Phil says "Well, I wonder how much of that was really improvised". Keep listening, Brother. You'll get it.

[@Kevin041357]

Good choice! I was there for 6 shows.

[@pamhunter-to4xs]

Saw them live a few times. Life changing. RIP Jerry. I miss your guitar daily. ❤️

[@mamaflush9945]

Oops!... my bad...😳🤭sorry about the volume I didn't realize it was so low. My apologies🙏 Here's another song by The Grateful Dead, but this is a studio version, if interested. "Grateful Dead - Scarlet Begonias" (by the channel: Ben Tenney) All their albums are works of art, wonderful to look at. I really appreciate both of your reaction's thanks so much for sharing.

[@Tijuanabill]

This came out when I was 6, and they were still touring every single year, when I was in college.

[@mikeconway9849]

Dang hippie music! Seriously though, the Grateful Dead was a unique, eclectic group. Their performances always seemed so joyous and relaxed.

[@g.e.5723]

Uncle Jer! King of the Hippies, Jerry Garcia. Sounded great that night

[@jeffreyu2818]

Great live version of Franklin's Tower, especially musically, which was the Dead's forte. Deadheads attended G.D. concerts to boogie and revel in the music versus hangin' on the lyric and how it was sung (as songs were sung differently each and every time). Thanks for doing a Grateful Dead video reaction...much appreciated!

[@Mossb3rg206]

Tiger, Wolf, and Alligator are 3 custom built Jerry Garcia guitars

[@waltercrain2910]

that guitar is called "tiger". every time i express gratitude for life's joys, i include thanking jerry. been with me for 40 years.

[@hog7203]

Don't neglect their studio releases /tunes. Their live performances are of course extremely popular, especially with the Deadheads. But you may enjoy some of their studio work even more. They had several tunes that were played on the radio that are very good. Some of their many popular hits that you would occasionally hear over the airways are Uncle John's Band, Friend of the Devil, and my favorite, Sugar Magnolia. Fell in love with that last song the first time I heard it many many years ago.

[@submandave1125]

Many rightfully push their voluminous live offerings as the quintessential Dead, but "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty" are two of the best studio albums by any band. The Dead were very focused on producing the best sound, and these albums include some of the most complex and intricate harmonies ever that could never fully be captured in their live performances.

[@hog7203]

@@submandave1125 👍👍 all I had access to back in the 70's was their studio albums. The first time I heard a "bootleg live album" from a hardcore deadhead, I thought it sounded like crap 😆 Of course I've heard some good ones since, but at the time, I didn't see what the big fuss was about. The two albums you mentioned are definitely classics, right up there with other classic rock albums by other artists.

[@submandave1125]

@@hog7203 Yeah, a lot of those bootlegs are in the "you had to be there" quality, but the well done ones do shine. I was mostly a studio album fan until they released "One rom the Vault," which was basically an "approved" bootleg taken from a sound board feed.

[@eddie623]

Thanks for making my lunch you two are amazing 👍

[@barsandbarbells2022]

Thank YOU Eddie!

[@eddie623]

@@barsandbarbells2022 pleasures all mine you two make sure you are locked up tight and sweet dreams 👍

[@gentryxc]

The Allman Brothers Band had two drummers. Today Tedeschi Trucks Band has two drummers.

[@WillLlamas]

Just because, listen to the better version. Live from 8/13/75 at the Great American Music Hall in SF.

[@kenjordan5750]

In Franklin's Tower there hangs a bell refers to the Liberty Bell hanging in the bell tower of Independence Hall. Let it ring both night and day! A patriotic song.

[@beezyflippins]

** It can ring, [and] TURN* night to day **

[@johnschall7855]

The best way to listen to this is Help on the Way, Slipknot, and Franklins Tower all together. Tiger is the name of that Doug Irwin guitar.,

[@jackson9282]

The song is more about the birth of Hunter's first born. Rolling away the dew is the process of casting the Liberty Bell in Philly (Franklin's Tower) . The song has to do with hoping his son will have a life of freedom and his concerns for his child's future. The words become far more beautiful that way (You eyes looked from your mother face). BTW the two drummers are for "polyrhythms'" one drum can play one time signature and a different for the other (or onew straight and one swing ext) . Then the rest of the band can pick who to follow. Also, everything is improved by each member except the lyrics.

[@fcorso1313]

Notice each time the lyrics stop and the jamming begins, all 3 guitarists step back from the microphones? The dead were innovators in concert sound and lighting. Starting way back with their "wall of sound", it was very important to the band that people way in the back heard the music as clearly as the people in the front row. They stepped back from the mikes because they had pads on the floor, when they stepped on the pads, the mikes turned on, and visa versa. That way the music didn't get filtered thru the mikes during jams, which greatly cleared up the sound, making it clear and crisp for every note.

[@spyder8267]

It’s impossible to choose a favorite Dead song, they’re all favorites!

[@sheilawudtke466]

If you get confused, listen to the music play - Robert Hunter. Blessed to have seen Jerry and the band members in every lineup since his passing. Not sure where you all live - check out a local GD cover band. Always fun. Also give a listen to Jam and Jam Grass Bands: Billy Strings Moe. Disco Biscuts Greensky Blugrass Umphreys McGee Twiddle Widespread Panic Keep an open mind- you'll dig it 💙✌️

[@robbiehammond3574]

This is about civilwar in atown franklin outside nasville and famous battle.alot of robert hunters music was based on old stories through music.lol never heard of dead .geeze

[@mikepiccione886]

Thank you for this reaction and welcome to the deadhead community❤😊😊

[@barryhull7556]

Happy Thanksgiving !!!

[@tommathews3964]

Jerry’s most notable guitars were all “named”, beginning in 72 with “Alligator” a Stratacaster given to him by Graham Nash. After that came “Wolf”, then a short stint with Travis Bean TB 500s, “Tiger” which you see here, was a custom job built exclusively for Jerry and later had a near identical twin named “Rosebud”. There are others, but those are the highlights. It’s interesting to research them!

[@gregduran8432]

How have you never heard of the Grateful Dead

[@MrBedZeppelin]

Two drummers and 4 musical wizards. Sam hit it, "fullness"!

[@waltercrain2910]

25 of my favorite 29 concerts were dead shows. (zappa) happy to see you getting into them. they do a number of songs with standardish transitions into the next song (e.g., scarlet/fire, china/rider). those and other "blend" songs are really fun, as you try to discern when and what they are transitioning into.

[@diannagarrison3443]

The Dead aways had Great albums and concerts. For clarity of sound check ot songs from 1974 while they traveled to concerts with the 75 ton "YES" Wall of Sound. It was designed by the genius electrical engineer, and chemist Owsley Stanley. Not only did Mr. Stanely manufacture 5 million doses of LSD before it was outlawed, but he built the Dead's sound system which could deliver quality sound out 1/4 mile to 1/2 mile. Best sound for a Dead concert will be from 1974, probably Winterland Ballroom.

[@markr.108]

A 'fast' 80's version. I like how Jerry is barely getting started and you comment 'defintely a jam band'. And Phil's playing an Alembic bass!

[@ticnatz]

Love this band. I went to see their very last concert (Jerry Garcia was already dead) which I think happened in Chicago (could be wrong about that) although I watched it live in Innsbruck, Austria as a simulcast in a movie theater. Great stuff.....

[@neurodiversityininsurance]

The allman brothers, little feat, and widespread panic all have two drummers. Its table stakes here.

[@bobcorbin3294]

Jim Ursay The owner of the Indianapolis colts owns that tiger guitar now

[@kevinmcconnell3641]

A Jerry Garcia story for ya; in 1970 Jerry was asked to play steel guitar on the Song “Teach Your Children Well” by Crosby Stills Nash and Young, CSNY. For payment Jerry asked CSNY to teach the dead to sing harmonies;);)

[@williambaxter4628]

Never heard the name before! WoW! That really threw me.

[@Zentrix-24]

My fav deadhead tune is "Touch Of Grey"

[@kenhoyer8601]

That’s what the Dead do- jam.

[@jodyirvin3156]

The Allman brothers also used two drummers

[@manabiker]

She looks like she wants to dance, I seen the Dead on their first tour in 1967, I'm a DEADHEAD, welcome got the world of the DEAD !!!

[@stovalish6]

Too cool man. My older brother got to see them. I was a little too young. Just out of curiosity, what’s your favorite dead song? Doing a survey. Cheers man!

[@pooldude317]

It's so much fun for Deadheads turning on others to the music, one of my favorite things they did was play a totally different set list the next day, If you like jams a hot one is 6/16/91 good sound and Bruce Hornsby...

[@elishuk9942]

Great reaction. Jerry Garcia on vocals and the "tiger" guitar! Please check out a few more from the Dead.

[@mikepiccione886]

The Grateful Dead aren't just the band Members, we are a family and idea a movement

[@MYKroe]

For years I never got the appeal of the Grateful Dead and then one day I decided to listen to the Grateful Dead channel on Sirius XM and I haven't stopped. I now wish I would have realized how great a band they were when they were all alive and touring. The music is entrancing and I consider the Dead to be America's greatest band. Jerry Garcia would spend hours practicing and all that with a mostly missing right ring finger. He named two of his guitars Wolf and Tiger.

[@beezyflippins]

*Middle finger*, not ring finger (~);}

[@MYKroe]

@@beezyflippins You are correct.

[@tenjed4224]

the reason it was important to check out many Dead shows, the band played many songs and did each a little different than the way it was played, before. Some, very different. There are songs in the bands catalogue that are listed as 5 - 6 minutes, the band played for 15 - 20 minutes, without a dull spot. Some songs, the band played in excess of 25 minutes. Bill Keutzmann and Mickey Hart are the two drummers. Their separate band is called the Rythm Devils They played similar and very distinct/separate sounds in both bands. They worked many of the percussive instrumentals in Apocalypse Now.

[@joeb169]

You've never heard of the Grateful dead. Omg!

[@tkengathegrateful4844]

I based a 2-year D&D campaign on this song specifically, and the Blues for Allah album in general. PS - There's a building called "Franklin Tower" in downtown DC off McPherson Square ("McPherson and revenge, boys! McPherson and revenge!").

[@hankc1208]

i think they may have a future

[@spottedcow4024]

You must listen the the whole thing witch includes help on the way/slipknot

[@redrum482]

Great reaction! Thank You. More GD live reactions, please. :)

[@BRIANZ969]

I will take the studio versions-I had a friend who was a dead head-he said the Jam concerts are the best thing-not for me-Wait until you hear the studio versions-It's like a different band !!!!

[@ChrissiX]

"Tiger" FIRST PLAYED With the Grateful Dead at the Oakland Auditorium in Oakland, CA on 8/4/79 (“Jack Straw”) LAST PLAYED With the Grateful Dead at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL on 7/9/95 (“Box of Rain”) CURRENT LOCATION After winning it in a settlement with the Grateful Dead, Doug Irwin auctioned off Tiger for $850,000 in 2002 to Jim Irsay-owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts. MODIFICATIONS Throughout the years, not many large-scale modifications were made to Tiger. From the beginning, it was a technically complicated instrument due to the electronics that Jerry was interested in, including a five-way pickup selector and master volume control, two separate tone orbit-controls, and three mini toggles-one of which turned on and off his onboard effects loop.

[@ricky4214]

watching you dance is great, you might have been a dead head in another time and place

[@jonhanson6507]

U want to listen to the 5/9/77 Cornell version the best 1

[@kevinullsperger1940]

Thank you!!

[@barsandbarbells2022]

You're welcome!

[@danielkelly2234]

They never played the same song twice. Every performance was a new experience

[@christopherhuot2826]

Love the DEADS long jams 😅😊

[@timpafundi6321]

Don’t try to figure out what the lyrics mean in most GD songs. Robert Hunter, who wrote a lot of the GD’s songs was a poet and he didn’t write in a straight linear way. If he was asked about a song’s meaning, he might tell you one thing and tell me another. As this song suggests, if you get confused listen to the music play! ✌️☮️

[@user-qv6uw7yb1g]

You should react to them live in 1989 or 1977 great live years for the Dead.

[@luiscortegano-dd5wc]

Buen video

[@jonathoncarroll9629]

That tiger guitar sold for like $950,000

[@ChickenParm152]

how do you get that old and have never heard of the greatest american band ever...the grateful dead.

[@robertglass1352]

The Grateful Dead are a fantastic live band. A deep rabbit hole to be sure, but well worth the trip.

[@hpb5495]

Bona fide musical Americana.

[@billbeliakoff5589]

If you feel like going deeper into the wonderful rabbit hole that is the Grateful Dead library may I suggest "The Music Never Stopped" and "Sugar Magnolia" ?

[@danielbenincasa770]

They were acid trippers also. Great band

[@FrancisAristotle]

Pleass do Bob Segar,against the wind,their big hits

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

I one of the best live bands with wonderful songs and lyrics. Best period is from 68- 74 imho. The Jerry Garcia Band were also amazing. Jerry just got better and better as a guitarist. Franklins tower is about the Liberty Bell and the ongoing struggle for freedom.

[@ChickenParm152]

the dead before 1980 is the best era

[@RobRager]

A couple of things… There are better versions, not sure if there’s video footage…. If you want to be amazed… Go to your audio streaming service of choice & see the number of live albums… While there may be some similarities to other “genres”, the Dead ARE their OWN genre!

[@waltercrain2910]

"fun" little jerry fact. his brother accidentally chopped of most of jerry's middle finger on his right hand. you can see when they zoom in. jerry literally cannot flip you off... haha . also, there are hundreds of entire concerts on youtube. whereas other bands fans prohibit recording songs/shows. the dead welcomed tapers. they gave tapers an entire section with great acoustics and so forth to record shows. you'd go out in the parking lot and camping area afterwards, and people would play those tapes and tapes from other shows. trade tapes. play hacky sack...

[@spyder8267]

Jack-a-Roe!

[@EdA1]

Well, we’re gonna have to turn you on to the fantastic Allman Brothers band, my favorite two drummer band!

[@eduardoespinoza4824]

Chica hermosa

[@danielkesselring9172]

Kind of you..💀🌺🎸

[@himduncan4106]

Never heard of Grateful Dead?

[@frederickbays]

The DEAD may not have been the3 best of that they were doing but no one else was dioin it. Jerry once siad "when we are finish with the music they can do what ever they want with it. I lost count at 352 shows in 1981 that I had gone to. Never went to a single one with a ticket in my hand. Always bought one at the show from either the box office or someone else. Never paid more then rull price for a tiecket. Once paid just $5 for a$15 ticket. Two show I got front row seats at bozx office 1/2 hr before show time. The seats had been reserved by the band but the ppl they reserved them for did not show and called ahead to say they owuld not. Golden Arena in SD. CA and War mamorial in Sy,r NY actually center front. Most shows bcak then were gen add so no seats. I stop going to shows when they stop doing gen add. Having to seat in one place was not a Dead show to me. Moving arond dancing and talking to many ppl is a Dead show

[@robertgrosek1124]

it’s all improvised. they never play the song the same way twice

[@mikemccabe6258]

Most of their available concert tapes include jams of 45 minutes with 3 to 4 songs.

[@user-km1xq3zs1s]

Cómo

[@peterreist2882]

🙂

[@deanvavra5695]

Not bad for just havin' 9 fingers...

[@johnharkness7114]

barbells def be a spinner

[@largepakalolo]

It has nothing to do with Ben Franklin. It’s more of a light house. They are not a hand you can listen to just once and form an opinion