What is the Signature Song of the Grateful Dead w/poll!

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by ianuaditis, Oct 22, 2016.

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  1. ianuaditis

    ianuaditis Matthew 21:17 Thread Starter

    Location:
    Long River Place
    I've seen a few signature song threads here, and figured 'why not a Grateful Dead signature song thread?'

    Here are my picks and a brief blurb on each. Make your choice on whatever the phrase 'signature song' means to you.

    I thought about adding an 'other' option, but I decided not to. Please vote from the list and put your choice in the comments if you don't find it here.

    Dark Star - the quintessential jam song, opener of their iconic Live/Dead LP and vehicle for many of their furthest out musical explorations.

    Uncle John's Band - Opener of their best studio album, the classic Workingman's Dead. A reviewer called it 'the Dead's own jingle,' and it was a staple of both AOR and Dead concerts.

    Playin' in the Band - The most frequently played song in the time signature of 10/8 in rock history. A vehicle for some of their deepest jams in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

    Touch of Grey - Their only top 20 single, a concert staple in the 80s and 90s. I like the song, but my faith in humanity will dim significantly if you pick this.

    Fire on the Mountain - a late debut, since the band's best period was 68-74, but its insistent groove and mutron guitar effect have become iconic of the Dead for many.

    Morning Dew - poignant lyrics and vocals, that great unison passage leading up to the guitar solo, the Phil Bombs, the worrying Bob would ruin it with his next song pick...

    Sugar Magnolia - Speaking of which. Among their most played songs ever, a nice country rocker on the American Beauty album and a common concert closer. I used to love this one when I was 14.

    Truckin - Another AOR staple, written by the band, first appearing on American Beauty. In concert it featured some of their best vocal improvisation, as well as being a taking-off platform for 2nd set jams.

    Not Fade Away - Based on the Rolling Stones version of Buddy Holly's classic, among their most played and best loved covers.

    Turn on Your Lovelight - Another Live/Dead cut. Many thought Pigpen was the heart and soul of the Dead, and although he died in 1973, I had to include his main showpiece. It was revived in later years, but no need to consider that.

    Terrapin Station - a song suite that made its debut in 1977, since a beloved live number and fairly ubiquitous in GD inconography.

    The Other One - Another song suite, the middle section of which proved far more enduring. Popular as the basis of some deep and crazy jams in the early 70s, it became a well-known theme that could turn up anywhere in later years. Feel free to consider both the full suite and the much more common middle section in your voting.

    Casey Jones - Closer to the outstanding Workingman's Dead album. Maybe their most famous song, although Bob Dole was not a fan. A concert favorite early on that the band burned out on, it almost disappeared in later years, but to this day can be heard on classic rock radio.
     
    Last edited: Oct 22, 2016
  2. Erik B.

    Erik B. Fight the Power

    I voted Terrapin, but only because it's my Jill Stein vote. I'm not voting Dark Star to vote against Truckin. Neither Of those float my boat as much as a great Terrapin
     
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  3. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    From the list, Truckin'.
     
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  4. ianuaditis

    ianuaditis Matthew 21:17 Thread Starter

    Location:
    Long River Place
    thanks for voting. Whenever I say I don't like post-hiatus Dead I have to amend that for Terrapin.
     
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  5. ianuaditis

    ianuaditis Matthew 21:17 Thread Starter

    Location:
    Long River Place
    If there is a not on the list answer, I would love to hear it.
     
  6. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I would say Casey Jones is their most famous song.
     
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  7. hardknox

    hardknox Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    Casey Jones
     
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  8. zephyr25

    zephyr25 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    Had to go with playin', and yes I do love Donna versions too.
     
  9. ianuaditis

    ianuaditis Matthew 21:17 Thread Starter

    Location:
    Long River Place
    yes that's probably the glaring omission here. I will see if i can add it, but I left it out originally because they're a band that stretched things out and that was one song they always played more or less 'as is.'
     
  10. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Gotta pick Truckin', although it's close between Casey Jones and Uncle John's Band too.
     
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  11. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    Went with The Other One. A staple of their live shows from 68 to 95 with no gaps. Pretty sure that is not true of any other original song. Plus every version was its own adventure.

    This does not refer to the larger That's It For the Other One suite.

    Surprised you did not list Me and My Uncle, which was their most performed song.
     
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  12. jimtek

    jimtek Forum Resident

    St Stephen or China Cat Sunflower or Ripple
     
  13. brew ziggins

    brew ziggins Forum Prisoner

    Location:
    The Village
    The Dead's music comes at us from so many directions, it's impossible to say any one is a signature.

    Truckin and Touch are the radio 'hits' and are touchstones for casual fans.

    Dark Star is an 'Acid Test' metaphor and the symbol of the 'jams that go on forever' that get criticized by the unconverted and people who can't digest music in chunks longer than 180 seconds.

    But for me, when I was at a show, I felt most in the presence of 'the Grateful Dead', whatever the **** that was, during Uncle Johns Band

    Also, where's China>Rider?
     
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  14. ianuaditis

    ianuaditis Matthew 21:17 Thread Starter

    Location:
    Long River Place
    I took the other one to mean both the full suite and the Weir sung verse, voter's choice, with the knowledge that the Weir part was far more 'signature.'

    Me and my uncle I left out as being too 'inside baseball.'
     
  15. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    I'd say the full TIFTOO suite is far less known than Me & My Uncle.

    It was on one non hit album and was only performed from 68 to 71. Most folks who got into the band when they got real big in the 80s and saw them to the end were not real familiar with it at all other than the Weir part thst stayed in their repertoire.

    Uncle was on a much better selling album and was their most played song for the whole 30 year run.
     
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  16. qwerty

    qwerty A resident of the SH_Forums.

    Whenever I think of the Dead, I think of "Friend of the Devil".
    But I can't consider myself to be a DeadHead.
     
  17. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    Does that mean that by Terrapin Station you mean the side long composition they never performed rather than the part that was a concert staple for 18 years?
     
  18. JRM

    JRM Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eugene, Oregon
    Truckin'

    Not my favorite on this list by any means, but I think it is a signature tune for the band.

    "Over and above the face-value autobiographical fun of the song and the stories it tells or hints at, several of the band members also express the idea that Truckin' appealed to the band’s listeners in a special way. (Lesh notes that it was the closest they came to a hit on American Beauty.) It expressed the feeling, and the reality, of being out on the road in America—a rite of passage in those days. It gives expression to the impulse to explore America, to find adventure, to do something with, as Garcia put it, “no commercial potential.” It captures the ups and downs we all feel as we make our way through life: it “takes time--you pick a place to go, and just keep Truckin’ on,” with the light shining on you sometimes, and sometimes picking your way along in the dark. Lesh, thinking back on the times captured in the song, says “And I see a group of much younger people doing things in a way that I envy now, looking back on it.”

    This is the band’s own story song. Other bands have written their own story songs through the years, but I can’t think of any that really captures the feeling of adventure, fearlessness, longing for home, and recognition of the cycles of our existence in the same way as “Truckin’.” (dead.net)

    Honorable mention: The Music Never Stopped
     
  19. dkurtis

    dkurtis sonoftheFather

    Dark Star has been the song that has had entire albums dedicated to it. Grayfolded as well as a recent RSD release were both solely dedicated to that one song. "Being present for a "Dark Star" performance became a "Holy Grail" for Deadheads. The song became so legendary that it was often referred to as "IT" by dedicated Heads." (from Wikipedia - Dark Star)
     
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  20. thgord

    thgord In Search of My Next Euphoric Groove

    Location:
    Moorpark, CA
    My flip of the coin pick would be either Playin' in the Band or The Other One. Both tunes showcase the band's excellent improvisational style of playing that usually takes them to previously unexplored regions and scenery that usually leave the listener's jaw and ears agape. Would be okay with Truckin' as well assuming it was a selection from the 70's and not the predictable and truncated 80's and (even more so) 90's versions. I'd recommend the version from 4/26/72 Frankfurt Germany included within the Hundred Year Hall release or the entire show also available as part of the E72 tour set.
     
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  21. the sands

    the sands Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oslo, Norway
    Truckin'
     
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  22. davenav

    davenav High Plains Grifter

    Location:
    Louisville, KY USA
    Uncle John's Band lyrically and musically sums up who the Dead were, what they were about, the time period they encapsulate, the place they inhabited, and why they did it.
     
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  23. giantleech

    giantleech Lord of all fevers and plagues

    Truckin', easily. Enduring classic sorta-hit radio staple + self-referential band tale lyrics = signature song.
     
  24. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    Grateful Dead does not HAVE a signature song. Their music doesn't fit into a nice little niche.

    (When will these "signature song" threads end? Soon I hope!)
     
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  25. ianuaditis

    ianuaditis Matthew 21:17 Thread Starter

    Location:
    Long River Place
    Originally I had placed an asterisk by the end of the first sentence that was to read 'If anyone thinks it is a bad idea, I'm sure I'll hear about it in the comments.'

    It has not surprised me that yours is the first objection on record.
     
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