"Dark Star" is a song released as a single by the Grateful Dead on Warner Bros. records in 1968. It was written by lyricist Robert Hunter and composed by lead guitarist Jerry Garcia; however, compositional credit is sometimes extended to include Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, and Bob Weir. "Dark Star" was an early Grateful Dead classic and became one of their most loved and anticipated numbers, often with the group using it as a vehicle for musical improvisation sessions that extended well beyond the original structure of the song. The song is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list and was ranked at number 57 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.
Introduction
Dark Star (song)
Dark Star (song) | Introduction
Jerry Garcia Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, and Bob Weir. Jerry Garcia Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, and Bob Weir
who wrote the lyrics for the grateful dead
user
Robert C. Christie Hunter
assistant
where is he from?
user
San Luis Obispo, California
assistant
what are his famous works?
user
"Dark Star", "Ripple", "Truckin'", "China Cat Sunflower"
assistant
what is the first one about?
user
A song released as a single by the Grateful Dead on Warner Bros
assistant
who composed the song?
user
In May 1967, Garcia composed the preliminary chords of the song, but it was at the time without lyrics. A handful of months later, Robert Hunter, who would become a longtime collaborator with the Grateful Dead, arrived back in California and overheard the band playing around with the track. He immediately sat down and wrote the opening line, contributing the lyrics and name of the song. As Hunter has explained on multiple occasions, he reworded the opening lines of "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" as the chorus. "Dark Star" was initially released as a single in 1968, backed with "Born Cross-Eyed", a track written by rhythm guitarist Bob Weir.
Dark Star (song) | Composition and release
"Dark Star" is a song released as a single by the Grateful Dead on Warner Bros. records in 1968. It was written by lyricist Robert Hunter and composed by lead guitarist Jerry Garcia; however, compositional credit is sometimes extended to include Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, and Bob Weir. "Dark Star" was an early Grateful Dead classic and became one of their most loved and anticipated numbers, often with the group using it as a vehicle for musical improvisation sessions that extended well beyond the original structure of the song. The song is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list and was ranked at number 57 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.
Dark Star (song) | Introduction
The single, to quote Phil Lesh, "sank like a stone." Of the 1600 copies that made up the original shipment in 1968 by Warner Bros., only about 500 actually sold. A classic live version appeared in 1969 on "Live/Dead", the Dead's first live album. It also appeared on later compilations "What a Long Strange Trip It's Been" in 1977 and "The Best of the Grateful Dead" in 2015. It also appears as a bonus track on the 2001 reissue of "Live/Dead". It also features Hunter's only appearance on a Grateful Dead record, reciting a monologue at the end of the song.
Dark Star (song) | Composition and release
Dark Star: The Music of the Grateful Dead is an album by the David Murray Octet released on Astor Place. It was released in 1996 and contains Murray's versions of compositions by the Grateful Dead. The Octet plays on the first six tracks, and the last is a Murray solo, accompanied only by Bob Weir on acoustic guitar.
Dark Star: The Music of the Grateful Dead | Introduction
During the period when the Grateful Dead were mixing their first official live album "Live/Dead", the band played a run of shows at San Francisco's Fillmore West and the performance of "Dark Star" recorded at this venue on February 27, 1969 is highly regarded. The entire show has been released as part of the "" box set, which includes the full four-night run. During this period, "Dark Star" began to take thematic shape and became a cornerstone of the Dead's jamming. Some Deadheads consider February 18, 1971's version at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY to be the best.
Dark Star (song) | Selected performances
A two-and-a-half minute edit of "Dark Star" was released on the soundtrack album for "Zabriskie Point", an Antonioni film for which Garcia created additional music. The album's version of "St. Stephen" appears on the 1977 Grateful Dead compilation "What a Long Strange Trip It's Been", but fades out during the final verse. "Live/Dead" was expanded with hidden bonus tracks as part of the 2001 box set "The Golden Road (1965–1973)", and has a longer intro on "Dark Star". This version was released separately in 2003.
Live/Dead | Release
Due to the relentless touring of the Grateful Dead, and the fact that fans were allowed to tape the band's shows, many live versions of "Dark Star" exist. The studio recording of "Dark Star" lasted only 2:40, yet the song was known for its lengthy live performances, many of which clocked in at 20–30 minutes. Running over 23 minutes (13 minutes of it consisting of Jerry Garcia's guitar solo), the popular rendition as found on the "Live/Dead" live album was a blend of psychedelia, jazz, and jam elements. "Dark Star" defines the Dead's early improvisational music. After 1973, "Dark Star" fell out of the normal rotation at Dead shows; the song was not performed at all between October 18, 1974 and December 31, 1978.
Dark Star (song) | Performance history
Dark Star is a live album by the rock group the Grateful Dead. It was recorded on May 4, 1972, at the Olympia Theatre in Paris, France. It contains only one song from that concert — a version of "Dark Star" that, including an embedded drum solo, is almost 40 minutes long. It was produced as a vinyl LP in a limited edition of 4,200 copies, and released on April 21, 2012, in conjunction with Record Store Day. The entire May 4, 1972 concert, like all of the shows from the Dead's 1972 tour of Europe, was released on CD in 2011, both as a separate album and as part of the boxed set "".
Dark Star (album) | Introduction
He joined the Grateful Dead at a concert in Rio Nido, California, where he wrote the lyrics that later became "Dark Star". Hunter played a minimal role in the Grateful Dead's next album, "Anthem of the Sun", but he and Garcia worked together to write every song on "Aoxomoxoa", which came after it. Although their musical style was developing, the album produced several popular songs, including "China Cat Sunflower", which became an enduring part of the Grateful Dead's repertoire. A few months before "Aoxomoxoa" was released, Hunter and his then-partner Christie Bourne began sharing a house with Garcia, his wife, and his step-daughter.
Robert Hunter (lyricist) | Grateful Dead
His memorial, held in Kenilworth, Illinois, was attended by the many musicians he had befriended during his musical career including Donna Jean Godchaux of the Grateful Dead. He was eventually replaced on keyboards by former keyboardist for the Other Ones and the Dead, Rob Barraco.
Scott Larned | Dark Star Orchestra
"Dark Star" was often the basis for jamming during the Dead's live shows, allowing the band to employ techniques typical of improvisational jazz.
Dark Star (song) | Introduction
Live/Dead is the first official live album released by the rock band Grateful Dead. Recorded over a series of concerts in early 1969 and released later the same year, it was the first live rock album to use 16-track recording. In 2005 the tracks "Dark Star", "St. Stephen", "Death Don't Have No Mercy", "Feedback" and "We Bid You Goodnight" were released, in their original sequence and with a new mix, on the respective February 27, 1969 and March 2, 1969 discs of the "" box set (the first 1:34 of "Dark Star" can be found on the previous track, "Mountains of the Moon").
Live/Dead | Introduction
If you have never heard the February 13 performance of Dark Star / That's It for the Other One / Lovelight, you must be living in a cave or have never seen the Grateful Dead. It's one of the most amazing performances they ever did. Over 90 minutes of pure bliss that is sure to convert the unconverted."
Dick's Picks Volume 4 | Critical reception
The music for "Dark Star" is chiefly a pure electronic score created by Carpenter using a modular synthesizer. The song played during the opening and closing credits is "Benson, Arizona." The music was written by John Carpenter, while the lyrics were written by Bill Taylor, concerning a man who travels the galaxy at light speed and misses his beloved back on Earth. The lead vocalist was John Yager, a college friend of Carpenter's who was not a professional musician, "apart from being in a band in college." Not coincidentally, there is actually a Dark Star Road in Benson, Arizona.
Dark Star (film) | Soundtrack
During the course of working on it, I went to a couple of Grateful Dead concerts, but other than that, I haven't listened to anything except these hundred versions of "Dark Star" that I found in the vaults. On another occasion Oswald said that he had been asked by musician and journalist David Gans to produce something very short, he explained his response to this suggestion: What interested me most about the Grateful Dead was their extended playing style. I wrote a counter-proposal to David saying, 'Well, I've been thinking about it and all I can hear is the opposite - something very long.
Grayfolded | Production
Shortly after, performing as the Grateful Dead, Dark Star returned on October 16, 1989 in a performance at the Meadowlands Arean (FKA Brendyn Byrne Arena) which later was released as "Nightfall of Diamonds". After its 1989 revival, this song would become a dreadnought, performed frequently through 1990, and occasionally through the rest of the band's career. A memorable post-revival "Dark Star" is from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, on March 29, 1990, with jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis sitting in with the band. One of these performances was featured in the syndicated "The Grateful Dead Hour" radio program, extending the song's legend somewhat outside the inner circle of Deadheads; the entire show appears as the vault release "Wake Up to Find Out".
Dark Star (song) | Performance history
Talking about the music, then going right out to play the music, then talking about it some more was something that we really should've done more often — the analysis served the songs and the camaraderie served the band. It really put us in a good spot."
In the Dark (Grateful Dead album) | Production
Dark Star Orchestra is a Grateful Dead cover band formed in Chicago, Illinois. They serve as a tribute band to the rock group the Grateful Dead. Since 1997, the band has been "celebrating the Grateful Dead concert experience."
Dark Star Orchestra | Introduction
Over 14 minutes of the 2/13/70 version of "Dark Star" was included on the Grateful Dead / John Oswald plunderphonics collaboration project "Grayfolded". The section of music used was the jam in between the first and second verse, affectionately called the "Feelin' Groovy Jam" by Deadheads, because of the musical similarity to Simon & Garfunkel's ""The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)"". The section of "Grayfolded" where this can be found is on Disc 2, track 2 called "73rd Star Bridge Sonata".
Dick's Picks Volume 4 | "Grayfolded"
The jam that appears on the set list after "Dark Star" is generally referred to as "Tighten Up Jam" by collectors due to its similarities to the Archie Bell & the Drells tune "Tighten Up". The Grateful Dead would jam on the theme only a handful of times, mostly from 1969 until 1971. Also notably rare is a "Cold Rain and Snow" tease on the way back into playing "Not Fade Away" from "Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad". The Grateful Dead were known for teasing bits of songs, often they would play a song they teased at a different show.
Dick's Picks Volume 2 | The jam
Dark Star Orchestra has been playing live shows together since 1997, after guitarist John Kadlecik contacted keyboardist Scott Larned with a concept (introduced by a common friend Andrew "Tiny" Dofner): performing complete Grateful Dead shows out of history. When Scott mentioned having the same idea, John knew they were on to something. Since forming, the band has performed over 2,500 shows. On lead guitar and vocals, John Kadlecik used amp rigs and equipment to imitate guitar tone of Jerry Garcia from the show being recreated. When a 70s show is being performed, vocalist Lisa Mackey provides Donna Godchaux's female harmonies.
Dark Star Orchestra | History
Dark Star Orchestra performs shows from among the nearly 2,500 performances of the Grateful Dead during their 30-year tenure as fathers of improvisational rock. On most, though not all of their performances, Dark Star Orchestra presents the complete original set list, song by song, and in order, while adapting their phrasing, voice arrangements and specific musical equipment for the various eras of the Grateful Dead shows in which they perform. Members of the Grateful Dead themselves, including rhythm guitarist/singer Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh, drummer Bill Kreutzmann, vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux, and keyboardists Vince Welnick and Tom Constanten, have all appeared on stage and performed with Dark Star Orchestra.
Dark Star Orchestra | Overview
Danny Elfman comments on many of the selections in the liner notes that accompany the album, writing that "Edward Scissorhands" is one of his personal favorite scores, he wrote ten themes for "The Nightmare Before Christmas," he performed guitar on "To Die For", "Dead Presidents" was his first percussion-based score, and "Freeway" was his first "improvised" score.
Music for a Darkened Theatre: Film &amp; Television Music Volume Two | Liner notes
"Born Cross-Eyed" is an original composition by the San Francisco psychedelic rock group the Grateful Dead. It was written by rhythm guitarist Bob Weir during the band's sessions creating the album "Anthem of the Sun", produced by David Hassinger, in 1968. It was released as a B-side with the single "Dark Star", one of the band's best-known musical excursions. The single was first released in April 1968 by Warner Bros. Records and is a different mix than the version included on the "Anthem of the Sun" album. The single was re-released in the UK in 1977 as a promotion distributed with the Dark Star magazine.
Born Cross-Eyed | Introduction
Dark Star is a soundtrack by John Carpenter for the 1974 film of the same name. While recorded in 1973, it wasn't released by Citadel until 1980, after the 1979 re-release of the film and the success of Carpenter's 1978 film "Halloween". A limited expanded edition was released in 2016 through We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records.
Dark Star (soundtrack) | Introduction
Scott Larned (3 July 1969 – 24 April 2005) was the keyboardist and founding member of Dark Star Orchestra, a popular Grateful Dead tribute band. He also played with Brother Brother, Freddy Jones Band, Citrus, Smoking Fish, and Hackenwheeze.
Scott Larned | Introduction
After the Grateful Dead had completed their contract with Warner Bros. and begun self-releasing their recordings, the label released "Skeletons from the Closet". The compilation of tracks from their back catalog was successful, and when the band moved onto Arista Records in 1977 to record "Terrapin Station", Warner Bros. released a second, larger compilation of tracks from the 1967–1972 period. "What a Long Strange Trip It's Been" is a two-record set, with mostly studio tracks collected on the first disc and all live tracks on the second. Sixteen of the tracks are taken from previously released albums. Two tracks are single versions previously unavailable on album: the studio version of "Dark Star", and its B-side, the single mix of "Anthem of the Sun's" "Born Cross-Eyed".
What a Long Strange Trip It's Been | Content
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. Knowing this, the Dead would sometimes tease the song's introduction before switching into another song, finally bringing it back in the end of the seventies on New Years 1978, at the closing of Winterland. Semi-regular guest pianist Bruce Hornsby would later incorporate such teases into his own concerts, knowing a good number of Deadheads might be in attendance. After the New Years 1981 show "Dark Star" would only appear once more in the first half of the eighties (at the Hearst Greek Theatre on July 13, 1984) and would lie dormant until revived at the legendary ""Formerly the Warlocks"" two-day run at Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia on October 9, 1989.
Dark Star (song) | Performance history
In 2005, Barraco toured with Dark Star Orchestra after the death of keyboardist Scott Larned and continues to play with them at the present time, although he also played sporadically with Phil Lesh and Friends in 2005 and continuously through 2006. Rob has also collaborated with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter on seven songs recorded on his 2007 solo release, "When We All Come Home".
Rob Barraco | Introduction
"In the Dark" was recorded between January 6th and 13th, 1987 at Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium, San Rafael, California, with production by Jerry Garcia and John Cutler. Most of the songs had been played by the Dead since 1982 or 1983, which gave them a five-year edge on perfecting them for the album. After the critically panned "Go to Heaven", which contained songs that were mostly under a year old, the maturity of "In the Dark" was significantly more appreciated. Since the band had been playing the songs for some time, they decided to record the baseline tracks for the album in a darkened theater ("In the Dark") that was empty (no audience), on a stage with the same lighting as they would use on tour (just to have the band perform in a more comfortable, familiar setting).
In the Dark (Grateful Dead album) | Production
The music for seven of the songs on the album was written by David Nelson, with lyrics by Robert Hunter, who wrote the lyrics for many Grateful Dead songs. Four of the other five songs were also written by current band members. In 2010, a version of the song "Olivia Rose", written by Ronnie Penque, appeared on his album "Only Road Home".
Where I Come From (New Riders of the Purple Sage album) | Introduction
Album - "Billboard" Singles - "Billboard"
In the Dark (Grateful Dead album) | Charts
Note: "My Brother Esau" was omitted from the LP and CD releases of "In the Dark", but was included on the cassette and on international releases, as well as the 2004 reissue.
In the Dark (Grateful Dead album) | Original release
Garcia served as lead guitarist, as well as one of the principal vocalists and songwriters of the Grateful Dead for its entire career. Garcia composed such songs as "Dark Star", "Franklin's Tower", and "Scarlet Begonias", among many others. Robert Hunter, an ardent collaborator with the band, wrote the lyrics to all but a few of Garcia's songs. Garcia was well-noted for his "soulful extended guitar improvisations", which would frequently feature interplay between him and his fellow band members. His fame, as well as the band's, arguably rested on their ability to never play a song the same way twice. Often, Garcia would take cues from rhythm guitarist Bob Weir, remarking that "there are some [...] kinds of ideas that would really throw me if I had to create a harmonic bridge between all the things going on rhythmically with two drums and Phil [Lesh's] innovative bass playing.
Jerry Garcia | Career with the Grateful Dead
A 15-minute "Not Fade Away" veers into deep, melodic abstraction before languidly seguing into Garcia's heart-wrenching ballad "Stella Blue"."
Grateful Dead Download Series Volume 1 | Critical reception
Credits adopted from Allmusic:
Star Trek Into Darkness (soundtrack) | Personnel
On AllMusic, Timothy Monger said, "Later [in 1973, the Grateful Dead] would launch their own record label with the release of their sixth studio album, "Wake of the Flood", and... [they] were still honing a number of that album's cuts here, including the luminous "Here Comes Sunshine" and the lovely "Stella Blue". An air of poignant uplift surrounds parts this Philadelphia show – included here in its entirety – which took place just a couple of weeks after the death of founding member Ron "Pigpen" McKernan." In "Glide Magazine", Doug Collette wrote, "No inclusions are more striking, however, than the segues of "He’s Gone"> "Truckin'"> "Jam"> "Dark Star"> "Sing Me Back Home"...
Dave's Picks Volume 32 | Critical reception
Cats Under the Stars is an album by the Jerry Garcia Band. Released in 1978, it is the only studio album credited to the band. It was Jerry Garcia's first album on the Arista label and his first LP using the band name Jerry Garcia Band. It includes only one song that was performed by the Grateful Dead. Keith and Donna Godchaux, who were at the time members of the Garcia Band, contributed to the music. The album was the first to be recorded at the Grateful Dead's Club Front in San Rafael, a warehouse space that had been acquired for band rehearsals and then converted to a studio.
Cats Under the Stars | Introduction
Credits for "Death of a Pop Star" adapted from the album liner notes and AllMusic. Musical personnel Technical personnel
Death of a Pop Star | Personnel
As such, "Volume 2" functions brilliantly as a complement to that seminal inclusion in the Grateful Dead discography. Instead of the tightly structured material that dominated the triple album (on its release designed to fulfill the band's commitment to Warner Bros Records so they could start their own label), this two CD release is filled with cover songs like "Me & My Uncle" and original material that by and large lends itself to improvisation, such as the nearly thirty-minute set of segues from "Dark Star" to "Drums" and into "The Other One."" Writing on JamBands.com, John Patrick Gatta said, "For the cash-strapped [i.e.
Europe '72 Volume 2 | Critical reception
The idea was to capture the "feel" they had for the songs as if they were playing them to a live audience. This was done at Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael, California. Drummer Bill Kreutzmann reminisced, "We ran all the electric instruments through amplifiers in the basement, in isolation rooms, and kept the drums bright and loud on stage. Everything was fed to a recording truck parked outside the venue. Everybody played their parts in real time, together. When we took breaks, we'd go into the wings by the stage door and sit there and talk about what we'd just done.
In the Dark (Grateful Dead album) | Production
Though it went unused, it finally saw light in 1995, more than two decades later, as the middle section of the instrumental "VROOOM VROOOM" on "THRAK". "Starless" was originally written by Wetton, with the intent of it being the title track for "Starless and Bible Black". At the time, the piece consisted only of the vocal section of the song, and Wetton claims that it got a "cold reception" from both Robert Fripp and Bill Bruford. Later, an introductory theme was written by Robert Fripp and performed on violin by David Cross, and two additional sections were added after the vocal, one being contributed by Bruford.
Red (King Crimson album) | Writing and recording
In the Dark is the twelfth studio album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded in January 1987, and released on July 6, 1987. "In the Dark" was the band's first album in six years, and its first studio album since 1980's "Go to Heaven". It became unexpectedly popular, achieving double platinum certification in the U.S. It reached No. 6 on the "Billboard" 200 chart, the Grateful Dead's only top ten album. The peppy "Touch of Grey" peaked at No. 9 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, the band's only top forty single; it also became a frequently played music video on MTV.
In the Dark (Grateful Dead album) | Introduction
The Grateful Dead's most recognizable song at the time, "Truckin'," is the only track used on both compilations. "St. Stephen" appears again, though this time in a live version (an excerpt of the "Live/Dead" track). Of the nine original Warner Bros. albums, the only one unrepresented is "Anthem of the Sun" (aside from its associated single).
What a Long Strange Trip It's Been | Content
"Touch of Grey" is a 1987 single by the Grateful Dead, and is from the album "In the Dark". The song is known for its refrain "I will get by / I will survive". It combines dark lyrics in the verses with upbeat pop instrumentation. The music was composed by Jerry Garcia, and the lyrics were written by Robert Hunter. It was also released as a music video, the first one by the Grateful Dead. First performed as an encore on September 15, 1982 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, it was finally released on "In the Dark" in 1987.
Touch of Grey | Introduction
Bill Browning, the Forgotten Man Behind “Dark Hollow” By Edward Morris Alas, even this small mention manages to get three things wrong: His first name was Wilmer, not William; he was not bluegrass but rockabilly; and Jimmie Skinner, with his No. 7 country hit on Mercury Records in 1959, popularized the song eleven years before the Grateful Dead began performing it in concerts and fourteen years before the band recorded it on an album.
Bill Browning | References
An additional track"Sugaree"also appears on the movie's bonus DVD). Most songs were left intact without editing. The exception is "Black-Throated Wind" with its early fade-out. Of the fourteen songs, seven appeared on Grateful Dead albums in studio form. One was released on Weir's solo album, and two on Garcia solo albums. Four others are covers, including two by Chuck Berry. Band chronicler Blair Jackson explained the reasons Lesh's method for song choice didn't mesh with Deadhead expectation: "[It] had none of the natural flow of a Grateful Dead concert. It was as if someone threw all the songs into a hat, then pulled them out randomly, which is not the way the Grateful Dead operated at all.
Steal Your Face | Release and response
Hornsby also co-performed the improvisation "Silver Apples of the Moon" for the Grateful Dead's "Infrared Roses".
Bruce Hornsby | Grateful Dead
On the originally prepared artwork, the writing for the top of the album cover read "In the land of the dark, the ship of the sun is drawn by the Grateful Dead", a passage taken from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. As the book had become more widely read, some had mistakenly assumed that the band had taken their name from the quote: "We now return our souls to the creator, as we stand on the edge of eternal darkness. Let our chant fill the void in order that others may know. In the land of the night, the ship of the sun is drawn by the grateful dead." They hadn't, and because Garcia worried that it seemed "pretentious", and the band were uneasy about being seen as beholden to any specific philosophy or doctrine, they asked the artist, Stanley Mouse, to stylize the script so that all but the band name were illegible.
The Grateful Dead (album) | Album cover
Grayfolded is a two-CD album produced by John Oswald featuring the Grateful Dead song "Dark Star". Using over a hundred different performances of the song, recorded live between 1968 and 1993, Oswald, using a process he calls "plunderphonics", built, layered, and "folded" all of them to produce two large, recomposed versions, each about one hour long. The first disc of "Grayfolded", titled "Transitive Axis", was released in 1994, and the second disc, "Mirror Ashes", was released in 1995, both on the Swell/Artifacts label. The two discs were released together in 1996. "Grayfolded" was re-released by Snapper Music in 1999, and by Fony in 2004.
Grayfolded | Introduction
"Fingerspitzengefühl" and "What Was In Between" was dedicated to the memory of Dietrich A. Stoermer (1936 - 2015). "Are Your Stars Out?" was inspired by and dedicated to J.D. Salinger.
Dark Arts (album) | Track listing
"Sugaree" is a song written by long-time Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and composed by guitarist Jerry Garcia. It was written for Jerry Garcia's first solo album "Garcia", which was released in January 1972. As with the songs on the rest of the album, Garcia plays every instrument himself (except drums, played by Bill Kreutzmann), including acoustic guitar, bass guitar, and an electric guitar played through a Leslie speaker. The song was first performed live by the Grateful Dead on July 31, 1971, at the Yale Bowl at Yale University, as was the song "Mr. Charlie". They played the song in numerous other concerts, including those later released as "Dick's Picks Volume 3" and "One from the Vault".
Sugaree | Introduction
Grateful Dead Additional musicians Technical personnel
From the Mars Hotel | Personnel
The Best of the Grateful Dead is an album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It is a two-CD compilation of songs recorded in the studio from throughout their career. It includes at least one track from each of their studio albums, recorded from 1967 to 1989 and arranged in chronological order. It was released by Rhino Records on March 31, 2015. "The Best of the Grateful Dead" includes songs from all the studio albums in the band's discography, along with one non-album single "Dark Star" (recorded in 1968 as part of the "Anthem of the Sun" studio sessions).
The Best of the Grateful Dead | Introduction
The cover art for the album was designed by Randy Tuten. The lettering forms the shape of an eye. Inside the lettering are photos of the band members' eyes. On the original LP, the photos were right side up, but when the album was released on CD in 1987, the photos were upside down. Though the band joked that the extra eye belonged to the Ayatollah Khomeini, it actually belonged to their long-time promoter, Bill Graham.
In the Dark (Grateful Dead album) | Cover art
According to Yankovic's official website, Lucasfilm's official response to the song was, "You should've seen the smile on (George Lucas') face." This is the second "Star Wars" song Weird Al has created, with the first being 1985's "Yoda", a parody of "Lola" by The Kinks.
The Saga Begins | History
Grateful Dead Additional musicians Production
Workingman's Dead | Personnel
It's all about the vibrations that make up the infinite universe. In this case, they began as light waves and these light waves are still washing over us. Scientists at Penn State, Lawrence Berkeley Labs, and Meyer Sound have transformed these light waves into sound waves." Hart said that he worked with George Smoot, a scientist who, with John C. Mather, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006 for his work in cosmic microwave background radiation. Seven of the twelve tracks on the album have lyrics written by Robert Hunter, who wrote the words for many Grateful Dead songs.
Mysterium Tremendum | Introduction
On Allmusic, Lindsay Planer wrote, "While the Grateful Dead will always be considered Jerry Garcia's primary outlet, the Jerry Garcia Band often proved the most musically satisfying of the two. "Shining Star" is a double-disc anthology featuring Garcia's "other" band, and is entirely of cover tunes derived from concert recordings made between 1989 and 1993. The late '80s and early '90s were sporadic in terms of performance consistency for the Grateful Dead; however, "the Jerry band" — as Deadheads refer to this aggregate — proved to be vibrant, funky, and alarmingly agile." In "The Music Box", John Metzger said, "Though the music contained on "Shining Star" — the latest release by the Jerry Garcia Band and the second two-disc set from the group in two months — was recorded between 1989 and 1993, it is presented in such a way as to create a 'new' concert.
Shining Star (Jerry Garcia Band album) | Critical reception
Robert Hunter, lyricist with the Grateful Dead, created the names of the tracks for the album. The album cover is by Jerry Garcia, who at the time was creating digital art. Music from "Infrared Roses" was used as the soundtrack for the 18-minute Grateful Dead video "Infrared Sightings".
Infrared Roses | Introduction
Johnny Dee from "Smash Hits" said the song is "superb".
Stars (Simply Red song) | Critical reception
All songs written and arranged by: Christian / Bünning / Corby / Babuschkin, except "Into The Black" by: Martin Christian and "Metal Invaders" by: Kai Hansen
The Dark Legacy | Credits
On the next album, "In the Dark" (1987), Mydland co-wrote "Hell in a Bucket" with Weir and Barlow; he also penned the train song "Tons of Steel." "Built to Last" (1989) featured several more of Mydland's songs: the moody "Just a Little Light", the environmental song "We Can Run," the live-performance-driven "Blow Away" and the poignant "I Will Take You Home," a lullaby written with Barlow for Mydland's two daughters.
Brent Mydland | Grateful Dead
All compositions by Jason Moran except where noted
Black Stars (album) | Track listing
All Music: A. Björler / J. Björler (& Dolving) All Lyrics: Peter Dolving
The Dead Eye | Credits
Danny Elfman, who composed the score for "Darkman", wrote the "March of the Dead" theme for "Army of Darkness". After the re-shoots were completed, Joseph LoDuca, who composed the music for "The Evil Dead" and "Evil Dead II", returned to score the film. The composer used his knowledge of synthesizers and was able to present many cues in a mock-up form before he recorded them with the Seattle Symphony. The score was released during the MondoCon in Austin, Texas, on October 3 and 4, 2015, on Vinyl, over Mondo Records.
Army of Darkness | Music
""Academy of Music, New York City March 1972"" Note
Rockin' the Rhein with the Grateful Dead | Bonus Disc
Grateful Dead Additional performers Production
Birth of the Dead | Personnel
Rob Eaton is an American guitarist. He is best known for his work with the renowned Grateful Dead tribute band, Dark Star Orchestra, of which he has been a member since 2001.
Rob Eaton | Introduction
The video combines footage from the early years of the Grateful Dead with 1997 interviews of former band members and associates. Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bob Weir, Robert Hunter, and David Grisman, among others, discuss the creation of 1968's experimental, psychedelic "Anthem of the Sun" and 1970's folk-rock classic "American Beauty". They also listen to and analyze the original master recordings for the albums, and talk about being in (or working with) the Grateful Dead at that time. Recording engineer Stephen Barncard rolls the original master tape and solos tracks, recalling the recording sessions and highlighting specific moments. Keyboardist Tom Constanten discusses the artificiality of appearing on Hugh Hefner's show "Playboy After Dark".
Anthem to Beauty | Synopsis
Credits adapted from "The Night the Sun Came Up" liner notes.
In the Dark (Dev song) | Credits and personnel
In keeping with the tributary nature of the original record, three of the four tracks feature lead vocals by McKernan.
History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One (Bear's Choice) | Release
But this installment is hardly short on familiar Dead numbers... There are also some relatively little-heard originals... Fans of their spaciest psychedelic excursions should be sated by the nearly hourlong jam on "Dark Star" and "The Other One" that opens disc two, though that might test the tolerance of less committed Deadheads. The set features good sound and the kind of loose performances that Grateful Dead fans treasure in live recordings..." On Glide Magazine, Doug Collette said, "Carefully selected by archivist David Lemieux from various tour stops on the Grateful Dead's first trip abroad, this package is deliberately conceived as a companion piece to the original "Europe 72".
Europe '72 Volume 2 | Critical reception
"That's It for the Other One" is a song by the Grateful Dead. The song was initially released as a 'suite' of four sections: Cryptical Envelopment, Quadlibet For Tender Feet, The Faster We Go, The Rounder We Get and We Leave The Castle. It is one of their most-played songs. After 1971, only "The Faster We Go, The Rounder We Get" section of the song would be played.
That's It for the Other One | Introduction
"Hell in a Bucket" and "Throwing Stones" (for which videos were also made) also achieved significant album-oriented rock radio airplay.
In the Dark (Grateful Dead album) | Introduction
I was trying to write a song about dead things coming to life. I was trying to write a song about being enslaved and obsessed by love, not just enchanted and happy with it. It was about the dark side of love; about the ability to be resurrected by it... I just tried to put everything I could into it, and I'm real proud of it. In another interview, Steinman expands on his comments about the song being about the 'dark side of love'.
It's All Coming Back to Me Now | Inspiration
Grateful Dead Additional musicians Technical personnel
Aoxomoxoa | Personnel
Two licensed songs are also featured in the film, though not included on the soundtrack album: Beastie Boys' "Body Movin' (Fat Boy Slim Remix)" and Albert King's "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven". Additional tracks were created by various artists across six countries as region-specific bonus tracks. The various songs played in their respected regions during a scene in which Scotty and Keenser are hanging out at a club. While the instrumental for the track is consistent throughout each of the artists' recordings, composed by J. J. Abrams and Charles Scott, each artist paired up with a music producer to write their own lyrics and melody for the song.
Star Trek Into Darkness (soundtrack) | Development
Grateful Dead Additional personnel Production
Anthem of the Sun | Personnel
Grateful Dead Additional musicians Technical personnel
Grateful Dead (album) | Personnel
Death Is The Answer is the first single by Brooklyn, NY's Early Man. The song starts off in a very Black Sabbath-like manner: slow and heavy. As the song progresses, it steps up into a speed metal song, complete with multiple solos. Near the song's conclusion, it returns to the original tempos and riffs. PopMatters complimented the pair on a "seamless shift from first generation metal to the more streetwise NWOBHM style" within the song. The music video for "Death is The Answer" is very straightforward: it mainly shows Adam Bennati and Mike Conte playing the song. At parts the video shows a Demolition Derby.
Death Is the Answer | Introduction
Australian songwriter and producer Robert Conley co-wrote a track with Penelope Austin, "The Dark Collide". An expanded soundtrack album was released on July 28, 2014, limited to 6,000 copies.
Star Trek Into Darkness | Music
This song, "Smog Farm", was recorded at the band's first live performance, on July 4, 1996. The words to a few of the songs were written by Grateful Dead lyricists Robert Hunter or John Perry Barlow, including one tune, "Samba in the Rain", that had been part of the Dead's repertoire in the early '90s.
Missing Man Formation (album) | Introduction
The film focuses on the tour Tenacious D made in support of the film and soundtrack and the consequences of their film's poor showing at the box office. Kyle has commented that the new album only has "one to one and a half" songs written for it, and would like to write between twelve and fifteen. Music magazine "Billboard" quoted Black as revealing that "We just laid down a hot [...] we're calling it the bomb track. It's a very powerful recording called "Deth Starr" [...] so it has nothing to do with the "Star Wars" [Death Star]," adding that "It's kind of sci-fi, doomsday rock." Jack Black also stated on the Late Show with David Letterman that he had an idea for a song called "Rize of the Fenix", which he described as a "rise from the ashes" workout song similar to "Eye of the Tiger".
Tenacious D | "Rize of the Fenix" (2008–2012)
(The Dead's second album, "Anthem of the Sun", was an experimental amalgam of studio and live material.)
Grateful Dead discography | Introduction
Giacchino was set to compose the music for his short "Ephraim and Dot", and Kurtzman asked him to provide music for the rest of the shorts as well. Giacchino was busy with film projects at the time, but suggested hiring a diverse group of composers who had not been given such an opportunity which he felt was in the spirit of "Star Trek". Giacchino supervised this group of composers, which consisted of Nami Melumad for "Q&A", Sahil Jindal for "The Trouble with Edward", Andrea Datzman for "Ask Not", and Kris Bowers for "The Girl Who Made the Stars". Two cues from Russo's "Children of Mars" score—"Page" and "Children Of Mars End Credits"—were released on the soundtrack album for on February 7, 2020.
Star Trek: Short Treks | Music
"China Cat Sunflower" is a song performed by the Grateful Dead which was first recorded for their third studio album "Aoxomoxoa". The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music composed by Jerry Garcia. The song was typically sung by Jerry Garcia. The first live recording of this song appeared on "Europe '72", paired (as was typical) with "I Know You Rider". Lyrically, this song has many literary references, including Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland", George Herriman's "Krazy Kat", and Dame Edith Sitwell's "Polka".
China Cat Sunflower | Introduction
In a piece accompanying the list, Robert Christgau wrote of the album:
The Grateful Dead (album) | Critical reception
A reprise of "Definition" titled "RE: DEFinition" can be found on the "Black Star" album.
Definition (song) | Introduction
The soundtrack was composed by Jonathan Davis and Nicholas O'Toole. The album also contains the score by Toad the Wet Sprocket's vocalist Glen Phillips.
After the Dark | Music
Danny Elfman comments on each of the 17 tracks in the liner notes that accompany the album. For the suite from "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" (track 1), Elfman states that it was his first orchestral film score and writes, "Filmmusic fans will undoubtedly hear my tributes to Nino Rota and Bernard Herrmann, the two composers who were responsible for igniting my interest in filmmusic way back when I was a kid." He also writes that the "big, old-fashioned romanticism" of his score to Dick Tracy was inspried by the music of George Gershwin, and that he was influenced by French composer Erik Satie for the Forbidden Zone love theme (track 16).
Music for a Darkened Theatre: Film &amp; Television Music Volume One | Liner notes
Grateful Dead: Production:
Built to Last | Personnel
All music composed by Christopher Drake.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (film) | Track listing
The freeform FM radio format that favored bands like the Dead was still developing. Warner Bros. held an album release party at the Fugazi Hall in North Beach. The label's A & R manager, Joe Smith, is noted for saying he "[is] proud that Warner Bros. is introducing the Grateful Dead to the world." The band used the collective pseudonym "McGannahan Skjellyfetti" for their group-written originals and arrangements. The name was a misrendering of "Skujellifeddy", a character in Kenneth Patchen's comic novel "The Memoirs of a Shy Pornographer", plus the name of then-frontman Pigpen's cat. In an era where true authorship (or public domain status) was more difficult to ascertain, "Cold Rain and Snow" and "New, New Minglewood Blues" were originally credited as band compositions, though they were adaptations of existing songs.
The Grateful Dead (album) | History
On AllMusic, Jesse Jarnow said, "Only one tune from ["Workingman's Dead" or "American Beauty"] gets played here... though they also charge through a six-minute take of the new (and rare) "Mason's Children"... The highlight is unquestionably a 13-plus minute version of Martha & the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street". Garcia, Bob Weir, and Phil Lesh's harmonies are big and enthused, the San Francisco ballroom scene encapsulated in one vocal arrangement. The jam makes its way into deeply spaced jazz, Garcia especially wearing his John Coltrane love... on his sleeve."
Grateful Dead Download Series Volume 2 | Critical reception
All songs written and composed by Stars.
No One Is Lost | Track listing
Credits adopted from Allmusic:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (soundtrack) | Personnel
"Captain America: The First Avenger" features a montage of the titular character and a chorus line touring the U.S., performing a song-and-dance number to the patriotic song "Star Spangled Man". The song was written for the film by Alan Menken and lyricist David Zippel, and recorded by the Metro Voices. Menken had wanted to provide the score for the film as well, but was unable to due to scheduling conflicts, so they wrote the song before the film began principal photography (a process Menken would use on an animated film), and hoped that it would mesh with Alan Silvestri's score.
Music of the Marvel Cinematic Universe | "Star Spangled Man"
The score for "The Last Starfighter" was composed and conducted by Craig Safan. In 1984, a soundtrack album was released on LP by CD by Southern Cross Records. The Southern Cross album includes two songs written for the movie by Safan and Mark Mueller. Two other songs written for the movie ("Satisfy The Night" from Karen Blake and Greg Prestopino and Clif Magness; "Red Eyes") remain unreleased.
The Last Starfighter (soundtrack) | Introduction
Lasting 22 minutes in length, this version of "Dark Star" flowed into the song "Wharf Rat" and then back into "Dark Star". Another well-loved performance considered by many fans to be the peak rendition of "Dark Star" is from the Fillmore East on February 13, 1970. This performance of the song includes the "Feelin' Groovy Jam", so-called because of its passing resemblance to "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" by Simon and Garfunkel.
Dark Star (song) | Selected performances