tag:zendogmusic.com,2005:/blogs/discussionDiscussion2024-02-24T14:24:47-05:00Zendogfalsetag:zendogmusic.com,2005:Post/73566682024-02-24T14:24:47-05:002024-03-26T09:27:59-04:00From Fact to Folklore: Part 2 of 3: Stagger Lee<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/264f517a7baa97d6ae5026130c9768e0e8eb8151/original/stagger-lee.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" height="860" /><p><span class="text-big"><span>Stagger Lee was a pimp. On Christmas Day, 1895, he shot and killed one William Lyons during a dispute which coincidentally, involved a white Stetson hat and politics (no gambling involved). The blast of Stagger Lee’s gun sent the story of that random underground bar scene murder into folksong immortality. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><o:p></o:p></p><u1:p></u1:p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Here is the true story of Lee Shelton a/k/a Stagger Lee which has been pieced together by scholars, authors, eyewitnesses, and research. </span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span><strong>I. <u>ST. LOUIS THIRD WARD: 1895</u></strong></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big">In 1895, St. Louis' Third Ward ("The Bloody Third") was a very vibrant and rough part of town. It was filled with billiard rooms, brothels, gambling houses, theaters, and saloons. The Bill Curtis Saloon was located at 1101 Morgan Street in an area of the Third Ward called “Deep Morgan” and it had a nasty reputation. Today, Eleventh and Morgan is the home of Morgan Street Brewing.</span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/ddc3932767f4db59f47399f19167b653e80b50a8/original/biddle-13.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="823" /><p><span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><u>Nearby Intersection 11th and Biddle circa 1900</u></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/bc1f461e51a61ce5102c7d11ed9ebc760d069810/original/18staggerleesitegooglemaps.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="1024" /><p style="text-align:center;"><u>11th and Morgan Today</u></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Politics played a large role in Third Ward culture. Abraham Lincoln’s Republican party had historically held African American support. There were local night clubs (such as The Henry Bridgewater Club) which served as headquarters for the local Republican scene. William Lyons had strong connections to The Henry Bridgewater Club. However, some folks were disillusioned with the Republican Party and supported the rival Democrat Party. Lee Shelton was the president of the local Four H Club which supported the Democrats. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>On December 25, 1895, Billy Lyons and his friend Henry Crump entered The Bill Curtis Saloon. Before doing so, Lyons asked Crump if he had a weapon - not because Lyons planned to use it, but because he knew the bar was a dangerous place. Crump handed Lyons a knife and the two entered the bar to the sounds of a rag time band playing loudly in the background.</span></span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/4fa1f0d757f83fbfd1afe1a79d4904050cc74e75/original/146091523-1415752282100716-2470656708076143126-n.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="243" /><p style="text-align:center;"><u>Similar style saloon circa 1900</u></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Later in the night, Lee Shelton, who the locals called “Stack Lee” entered the bar. Lee Shelton belonged to a gang of pimps called The Macks (the formal name was The </span><i><span>Maquereau</span></i><span> which is French slang for "pimp" - probably originating in New Orleans). He was wearing a pair of “St. Louis Flats”; shoes that had long toes pointed upwards. There were small mirrors on each toe tip which reflected light like a disco ball. He wore grey striped pants, a long black box-back coat opened enough to display a patterned red vest, and yellow embroidered shirt with a standing collar. He wore gold rings and held an ebony walking cane. Last, and certainly not least, he wore a stunning white Stetson hat with an embroidered picture of his mistress.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>According to one witness, Shelton yelled “</span><i><span>Who’s treating</span></i><span>?” Unfortunately, for Billy Lyons somebody threw him on front street and yelled “</span><i><span>This guy</span></i><span>.” Lyons was a good sport though. By all accounts, he and Stack got along well drinking together and laughing; until, that is, the conversation turned to politics. However, there is another theory as to why the two men fell out of favor. Billy Lyons' step-brother, another patron of the rival Henry Bridgewater Club, shot and killed Lee Shelton’s friend three years earlier. Whether this is just coincidence, we will never know.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big">In the heat of the argument, Stack Lee grabbed Billy Lyons' derby hat and broke its form. Naturally, Lyons was upset and demanded payment for his ruined hat. Then, Billy Lyons grabbed Stack Lee’s Stetson hat and when Lyons refused to return it, Stack threatened to shoot him. Not only did Stack threaten, but he also pulled out and cocked his .44 Smith & Wesson revolver. Then, Lyons pulled out the knife he had in his pocket and said, “<i>You cockeyed son of a bitch, I'm going to make you kill me</i>.” <strong>Bang!</strong> William Lyons lay dying on the floor with a bullet in his abdomen. </span><o:p></o:p></p><u1:p></u1:p><p><span class="text-big"><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Stack Lee brushed the dust off of his sleeve, stood over Lyon’s dying body and said calmly “</span><i><span>N***** I told you to give me my hat</span></i><span>.” He snatched his Stetson from Lyons’ grasp and placed it neatly back on his head. Then, Stack Lee calmly collected himself, picked up his ebony walking cane and exited the bar with his head high. He walked straight to his house and went right upstairs to sleep until the police banged down his door.</span></span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/f975055efe0ff570f535c362f96f407888f596de/original/thumbnail-attachment-1-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="933" /><p><span class="text-big"><span>The December 26, 1895 St. Louis Globe Democrat reported:</span></span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/da4513b4931be71cdc93a92483d7b3bbe55c720d/original/145490175-1415736288768982-8458184991127780703-n-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="572" /><p><span class="text-big"><span><strong>II. <u> LEE SHELTON</u></strong><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Lee Shelton was born on March 16, 1865 in Texas. He was thirty years old at the time he shot Billy Lyons. Shelton was light skinned and cross-eyed. He was not a tall man, only five foot seven. Not only was Shelton a pimp, but he was a also a club owner (The Modern Horseshoe Club) and a carriage driver. As a carriage driver, Shelton picked up fares from the river boats and directed them to the best women and booze in The Bloody Third. It is a sure bet that most of his customers ended up at The Modern Horseshoe Club.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Perhaps we will never know exactly how Lee Shelton got his nickname, but all theories seem to point to the name of a Mississippi River steamboat called “The Stacker Lee.” </span></span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/895c26229303c853c92eb8307c7de522b7b0dd9e/original/attachment-2.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="708" /><p><span class="text-big"><span>The Stacker Lee was owned by the wealthy Lee family from Memphis. Some scholars say Shelton once worked on the boat. Others say that Shelton may have been the illegitimate son of one of the Lee family members (would have made for an odd name Lee Lee). Some scholars suggest that Lee Shelton ran a prostitution ring on the boat.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Lee Shelton was arrested shortly after the shooting and charged with murder. Shelton retained a well-known St. Louis lawyer named Nat Dryden who claimed that Shelton shot Lyons in self-defense. </span></span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/d0b35a59e39241dafb8c7de14c7002bb25cc4b09/original/dryden.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" height="1500" /><p><span class="text-big"><span>The first trial ended in a hung jury. There were three jurors who felt that Shelton should have been acquitted. No court records exist for the second trial. However, Shelton was admitted to the Missouri State Penitentiary at Jefferson City on October 7, 1897 with a 25 year sentence. He was paroled in 1909, but he returned to prison in 1911 after being charged with assault. At that time, Shelton was sick with tuberculosis and died shortly after returning to prison. He was buried in an unmarked grave.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span><strong>III. <u>BILLY LYONS</u></strong><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>There is not much known about the life of William Lyons. There seems to be disagreement between an 1860 census and paper written by a scholar who studied St. Louis race relations. My research shows that, the 1860 census lists a William Lyons as being ten years old.</span></span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/1d9d16b2ed217dd26562dfd5650c936ae0b6df77/original/005170230-00215.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="1842" width="2670" /><p><span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>At that time, ten year old Billy Lyons lived with his father George Lyons a bookkeeper, and four other individuals: Marie Lyons (age 26) a boat chambermaid, Eliza Lyons (age 12), George Lyons (age 7), and Annie Lyons (age 22). A scholar places Billy Lyon’s birth as 1864 and identifies Marie Brown as being his step-mother. Marie had a son named Charles, who as noted above, killed one of Lee Shelton’s friends. Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>At the time of Billy Lyons' death, his step sister Eliza was married to Henry Bridgewater who was the wealthy business man in The Bloody Third and owner The Henry Bridgewater Night Club. He also owned the St. Louis Black Stockings Negro League Baseball Club. </span></span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/76f644c8cc17172f49649ed6fdf3a6f9147c428e/original/bridgewater-henry-grave-marker-nlbgmp-2021-705x476.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="476" /><p><span class="text-big">Billy's step-mother Marie and step-sister Eliza were very active in seeking to keep Lee Shelton behind bars. They wrote the prison commission several times demanding that he not be freed early.</span></p><p><span class="text-big">Billy Lyons was not married. He did, however, have three young children. Their names were Florence, Marie, and Buddy. </span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/daa4c61da4d7f70e563c39b693cff174f1209221/original/thumbnail-attachment-1-3.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="1410" /><p><span class="text-big">Perhaps Billy had a girlfriend or was romantic with his children's mother. However, no sources seem to confirm that there was a “Delia” in the picture. Billy was 45 years old when he died- if you believe the 1860 census. Or, he was 31 years old if you believe his death certificate. </span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/470442d4c30dcd70c2ce95a3d340ac10409f9f36/original/thumbnail-attachment-1-2.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="786" /><p><span class="text-big"><strong>IV. <u>THE LEGEND AND MUSIC</u></strong></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Scholars have asked … why? Why did this murder, one no different than hundreds if not thousands that have occurred in the dingy ranks of red-light neighborhood bars and bordellos in the late 19th and early 20th centuries draw such cultural attention? Believe it or not, Ph.d thesis papers have been written on the topic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>According to author Cecil Brown in his book </span><i><span>Stagolee Shot Billy</span></i><span>, the beginnings of the Stagger Lee (or Stagolee or Stack Lee or Stacker Lee) folksong spurred as a field holler sung on farms and plantations. Then, it poured over into southern prisons as a work song. The story survived because people passed it down. The label “Stagger Lee” took on a meaning of its own. People would comment “</span><i><span>He’s just another Stagolee</span></i><span>” or “</span><i><span>there’s no shame in Stagolee’s game.</span></i><span>” Cecil Brown posits that to understand why the legend spread, one must appreciate that Stagger Lee earned the respect of generations to come because he “wouldn’t allow anybody to touch his hat.” </span></span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/b33fad046c0d8dcf4fe6dd8db2d8ced59013fc40/original/thumbnail-attachment-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="1782" width="1396" /><p><span class="text-big"><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Swagger, respect, bling, and power fuels the ethos of Stagger Lee. In a time when racism and oppression gnawed at the soul of society, the image of a member of an oppressed people possessing such swagger, respect, bling, and power was something to be idolized. This concept exists in modern times such as in the form of Ron O’Neil’s character Youngblood Priest in the 1972 film Super Fly. </span></span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/ff11bf7eeb0a289a89857edcc7b95ed7c005a20e/original/15266000421349.webp/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="3214" /><p><span class="text-big"><span>Cecil Brown posits that the image of Stagger Lee’s swagger, respect, bling, and power is also an element of modern hip hop and gangster rap.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big">The story of Stagger Lee has been recorded about </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1c8ed_lGoLHixWBmsvvxV_wzz_2oKCmMH_mL63zw3eUk/edit#gid=1945735071" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">325 times.</span></a><span class="text-big"> Notable artists include, Mississippi John Hurt, Taj Mahal, The Clash, The Black Keys, Ma Rainey, Neil Diamond, The Grateful Dead, and perhaps … </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/ZenDog2023-02-18.SBD/05+-+Stagger+Lee.wav" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">ZenDog</span></a><span class="text-big">. The earliest version is in instrumental recorded in 1923 by </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-3fQDqoi8s" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">Waring's Pennsylvanians</span></a><span class="text-big">. Ma Rainey recorded the first version of </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyaeJEWiAik" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">Stack O'Lee Blues</span></a><span class="text-big"> in 1926. Here is an interesting version recorded in 1926 by the </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP-APaq-nyM" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">Fruit Jar Guzzlers</span></a><span class="text-big">. My favorite, however, is Mississippi John Hurt's version of </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv_THWZ8-T8" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">Stagolee</span></a><span class="text-big">. </span></p><p><span class="text-big">With Stagger Lee we have another folk song which stems from a tragedy. A father of three young children was shot and killed for no reason other than wrath and pride. How can we sing and dance to that? Well, Hunter and Garcia were able to transform Stagger Lee from a song about human tragedy into one about love, revenge, and redemption. In pure folklore tradition Hunter and Garcia introduced us to Delia who took the law into her own hands and brought Stagger Lee to justice all in honor of her late husband. So, when we hear that guitar walk up and those lyrics, “</span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/ZenDog2023-02-18.SBD/05+-+Stagger+Lee.wav" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">1940 Xmas Eve with a full moon over town</span></a><span class="text-big">” we can dance, sing, and smile because we know this story has a happy ending.</span></p><p><span class="text-big">I never knew that Stagger Lee had such deep meaning and was the subject of extensive scholarly study. Now, when we see movies or hear music depicting that swagger, respect demanding, sparkle and blinging, power type personality, we know that the ethos of that character was created on a cold Christmas night in 1895 when Billy Lyons grabbed Stagger Lee's Stetson hat. </span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/3bc2181a5ed50c7d4aca2a03d1e0ad056b39cdd6/original/hat130.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="263" /><p><span><o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span><o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></p>Zendogtag:zendogmusic.com,2005:Post/73054052023-11-17T23:34:38-05:002024-02-24T14:24:38-05:00From Fact to Folklore Part 1 of 3: Dupree's Diamond Blues<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/fffb0fa2801ceb345bd60e2af329e7bf753aa45b/original/dupre.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Frank Dupre is not remembered in song as a thug, but for a short period of time he tried to be one. He was only eighteen years old the day he committed the horrific crimes we all sing about in </span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/gd1989-04-05.145037.UltraMatrix.sbd.cm.miller.flac1644/08+Dupree's+Diamond+Blues.flac" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>Dupree’s Diamond Blues</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span>. The State of Georgia hung him a year later. His story is by no means deserving of a folksong. By today’s standards we would not glorify anything about Frank Dupre. Instead, the legacy would belong to the man he killed; Irby Walker, his widow Gladys Walker, and their seven year old daughter Alda. We would also sympathize with Graham West, the bystander who Frank Dupre shot in the face as he fled down Peachtree Street. The community would donate to gofundme platforms to help the Walkers make ends meet and help Mr. West pay out of pocket medical bills.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>Instead, during a time when morals were different, when the story of a police manhunt had folks rooting for the bad guy, and when a dysfunctional love story outshined true human tragedy; Frank Dupre earned himself a song. The best that can be said about Frank Dupre is that he never intended to hurt anyone. Yet, he did. He admitted his crimes and accepted his punishment. He paid the ultimate price.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>It could also be said that Frank Dupre was a product of the philosophical aphorism, </span><i><span>society prepares the crime; the criminal commits it</span></i><span>. Were circumstances different, I don’t think Frank Dupre would have dabbled in jewelry store smash and grabs. However, in the 1920’s Atlanta experienced a crime spree attributed to an economic depression. The south did not enjoy the economic boom associated with the country’s mobilization for World War I. If you ever drive down I95 or I76 south of Philadelphia and see the dilapidated ship yards; well, in 1918 those ship yards were booming. Bethlehem steel was shipped to those Philadelphia shipyards where boats were constructed to carry our troops to Europe to finish off the first world war. The south, however, was devastated by the Boll Weevil which decimated cotton production, caused migration to the cities, and oversaturated the urban job market. Charlie Patton’s 1929 </span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tt6_Jlw5Zo" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>Boll Weevil Blues</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span> memorializes that plight.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Let's turn back the clock to December of 1921.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span><strong>1. <u>THE CRIME</u></strong></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Frank Dupre was not born bad. His mother died from Spanish influenza in 1918. He, his father, and brother moved to the Atlanta area in search of work. Frank obtained work at a film company, but was laid off. He described his situation as being “half starved” without any thing to wear. His downfall began the day he met a distant uncle who provided him a hotel room so that he could sleep in a bed. Frank accepted the offer, but over the course of the night he stole $140 from his uncle and snuck away. When that money ran out, Frank robbed a jewelry store (not the one we sing about). He stole two rings; one he sold for $125 and the other for $300 to a local “bootlegger.” The bootlegger suggested to Frank that he could earn a living doing more jewelry store jobs. This sounded better than begging for odd jobs and handouts. With his newly found money, Frank bought a .32 caliber Colt hammerless pistol</span></span><span>.</span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/72a17046b686e9f2ffacaf91e0e68e72bdd23c94/original/23978-a.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Frank also bought new clothes and rented a room at the Childs Hotel in downtown Atlanta. There in the lobby, he saw a young woman playing piano. He walked up next to her and said, “</span><i><span>You sure do play fine</span></i><span>.” Her name was Betty Andrews.</span></span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/4491d72dbc33abd781579c5a51a015193bd13e13/original/dupre-betty-aj.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Betty was, in 1920’s terms, a “Flapper.” She told Frank that she was a dancer in a racy musical called “Chu Chin Chow.” </span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/9fcbb0d2e74b1c9a250c03ae9a70f04d30f7ffb9/original/350px-chu-chin-chow.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>This was later proven to be a lie, but to Frank, Betty was a dream. During the week that they knew each other (before the infamous crime), they went on a few dates. As the song says, Betty told Frank that he needed to buy her nice things if he wanted to court her. Frank (paraphrasing) said “</span><i><span>name your price</span></i><span>”, and Betty told him that she wanted a diamond ring. During the subsequent criminal investigation, the police tried to link Betty as a conspirator and contended that she took Frank to the jewelry store and picked out the ring she wanted him to steal. However, Frank denied this accusation all the way to the gallows.</span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>On the morning of December 15, 1921, Frank Dupre strengthened his nerves with whisky and put on a grey overcoat and newsboy cap (shown in the photo above). In his right pocket, he hid his Colt hammerless pocket pistol. He walked into Kaiser Jewelry store on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta (shown in the bottom right, note “Kaiser’s” on the clock).</span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/e2c4134931a77e3263004862291b41d3710ef2a3/original/kaiser.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>Frank was nervous and told the young clerk that he’d like to buy a diamond ring. The clerk showed Frank some inexpensive rings, but he told her he wanted to see the one in the window: a 3.25 karat $2,500 ring ($30,000 today). The clerk asked the boss to handle this one. The boss held the ring and showed it to Frank. Then, Frank said “I’ll take it,” grabbed it out of the owner's hands, and darted for the door.</span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>Kaiser's, however, retained the Pinkerton security guard and detective agency to staff a plain clothed guard on premises. That day, twenty-nine year old Irby Walker was assigned to Kaisers. He positioned himself by the door as Frank drew suspicion to himself. When Frank tried to run, Irby pushed him down to apprehend him. Frank then drew his pistol and shot Irby twice. Irby cried for medical help, but shortly died in the arms of a store clerk. Irby left behind his widow Gladys and their seven year old daughter.</span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/e263994816c1ee8d8c20ef057c3298cd9ec097df/original/thumb200s.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span class="text-big"><span><strong><u>Irby C. Walker</u></strong></span></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span class="text-big"><span><strong><u><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/a70c68ef9a42cbd85f95d98382b3c20f70d3ed8b/original/gladys-walker.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></u></strong></span></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span class="text-big"><strong><u>Gladys Walker</u></strong></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>Frank ran down Peachtree Street. A bystander, Graham West, tried to stop the fleeing murderer. Frank shot him in the face.</span></span><span><o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>Frank ran back to the Childs Hotel and told Betty what he did. He then ran off to find the “bootlegger” to see if he could pawn the ring for some quick getaway cash. The bootlegger told Frank “</span><i><span>That sure took some guts kid</span></i><span>,” but he knew the ring was too hot to sell in Atlanta. The bootlegger knew a pawn shop broker in Chatanooga who might be interested and set Frank up with a driver to take him there overnight for $90. The driver worked for a taxi company and swiped the keys to a Packard Twin Six</span></span><span>.</span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/d7b6aa12603b2e230cb4aea0c98af2fb29f3a85e/original/download-1.jfif/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>Frank was on his way out of town.</span></span><span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>Upon arrival in Chatanooga, the pawn broker only offered Frank $400 for the ring. That was all the cash he had on hand. To sweeten the deal, the pawnbroker gave Frank a ticket voucher that could be redeemed for another $200 if Frank decided he did not want to purchase the ring back. Frank gave the driver his $90 and headed to the train station to make his way to Norfolk, VA (a place he lived when he joined the military for a brief stint). Frank Dupre was now a fugitive.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span><strong>2. <u>THE MANHUNT</u></strong><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>The getaway driver’s employer reported to the Atlanta police that the Packard cab had been stolen. However, the employer called off the report when the driver returned in the morning with the Packard. The driver told his boss that he took a customer to Chatanooga. The police, however, were suspicious. A murderer had escaped downtown Atlanta and taxi company advised that they took a passenger to Tennessee overnight. The driver cracked. He told the police everything. When the police searched the Packard, they found a .32 caliber Colt pistol stuffed behind the seat. It was not long before the police were at the pawn shop’s doorstep in Tennessee.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>Did I mention that Frank was not smart? Well, he wasn’t. It is not comical though because as we will see shortly that his low intelligence resulted in his death sentence through a violation of his constitutional rights. However, whether lovesick or dumb, Frank sent a telegram to the getaway driver. The telegram included $40 wire for Betty Andrews and instructions for her to board a train for Norfolk. The police intercepted it and got a hold of Betty. A few days later, Frank wrote a letter to Betty the substance of which discussed his crimes. Betty gave the letter to the police.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>The murder of Irby Walker and the Kaiser Jewelry Store robbery were front page news in Atlanta. The press was very critical of the Atlanta police for just about everything; especially letting the murderer get away. The press called the murderer “</span><i><span>The Peachtree Bandit</span></i><span>” and published story after story bringing attention to the manhunt.</span></span><span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>Dupre caught on that the police had gotten to Betty and were now searching for him in Norfolk. He escaped to Detroit (perhaps because it was near Canada?). When he got to Detroit he searched out the Atlanta newspapers and saw that the press was all over his story. Empowered, Frank wrote a letter to the Atlanta press. This is not the first or last time a criminal on the loose taunted law enforcement. In 1877, Charles Bolton, a.k.a Black Bart, wrote a poem to law enforcement after a stagecoach hold up: </span><i><span>“I’ve labored long and hard for bread, for honor, and for riches. But on my corns too long you’ve tread, you fine haired sons of bitches.” </span></i></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><i><span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/3cfcc02766b007201681571761c4b9bbd0168cd5/original/blackbart.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></i></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span class="text-big"><strong><u>Black Bart</u></strong></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>Jack the Ripper also taunted police. So to did the Zodiac Killer and Son of Sam. Unfortunately for Dupre, his letter would also be fodder to support his death sentence. Dupre said “</span><i><span>I would like to say that I think Atlanta has a bunch of boneheads for detectives</span></i><span>.” He also tried to exonerate the driver and the bootlegger. However, he did not apologize for killing Irby Walker. Dupre signed his letter “</span><i><span>The Peachtree Bandit</span></i><span>.” Clearly, Dupre was caught up in the buzz. </span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>Atlanta was also caught up in the buzz. The love story between Dupre and Betty gained attention. However, Betty’s game was exposed. She was not an actress in a touring musical. She was just an unruly young girl who liked to drink, dance, and sleep around. The press hounded her. She denied any wrongdoing, denied that she loved Dupre, and denied asking for a diamond ring. Nonetheless, </span><i><span>Bettymania</span></i><span> gripped the Atlanta tabloids.</span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>Back to the hunt for Dupre. Remember the $200 pawn voucher that the Chatanooga broker gave Dupre? Well, he tried to cash it in. He sent it to the pawn shop with instructions to wire the money to a location in Detroit. The broker informed the police, the police set up a sting, and Dupre was nabbed. In custody, Dupre confessed everything. He even asked the Detroit police if Georgia used </span><i><span>the chair</span></i><span> or </span><i><span>the rope</span></i><span>. It wasn't long before the Atlanta Sheriff escorted Dupre back to Fulton County where he would stand trial for the murder of Irby Walker</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span><strong>3. <u>THE TRIAL</u></strong></span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>The Atlanta District Attorney announced he would seek the death penalty in the case of Frank Dupre. Given Dupre’s multiple confessions, his attorney really had no viable defense. The defense lawyer's only hope was to beat a murder charge by proving that Dupre only resorted to deadly force because Irby Walker used deadly force to stop him; which he did not.</span></span><span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>Dupre still talked to reporters. He asked for forgiveness and mercy because he was young, dumb, and drunk. Dupre made multiple public pleas for mercy and it struck up a movement to save him. After all, Frank Dupre was a young white man in Georgia. Betty Andrews, caught up in the excitement, changed her tune and gave interviews professing her love for Dupre and even said she would marry him if he beat the murder rap.</span></span><span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>Under Georgia law as it existed in 1921, the crime of murder did not require premeditation. If found guilty, death was the penalty. However, the jury or the judge could grant mercy in their discretion. Georgia also had a law which prohibited an accused criminal from testifying under oath in their own trial. The theory being they would simply lie to save their neck. However, the law permitted a criminal defendant to “speak” to the jury. In this process, the defendant's lawyer was not permitted to ask questions or help guide his client. Likewise, the prosecution was not permitted to question the accused. Many years later, this law was declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court. The high court deemed it a violation of due process to permit uneducated people to speak directly to the jury without the assistance of counsel. </span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>This was Frank’s only chance to tug at the heart strings of the jury that was about to deliberate on his life. Frank’s speech (as it is not considered testimony), was a prime example of why this law was unconstitutional. Frank’s only hope was to heartfully apologize to Gladys Walker who was present in the courtroom. He needed to ask for her forgiveness and that of her daughter. He needed to ask the jury for mercy and to express remorse for his crime. However, he did none of the above. Instead, Frank Dupre recounted the events of his crime and even seemed to brag a little. The jury’s verdict was unanimous; guilty of murder and no mercy recommended. The judge addressed Dupre; </span><i><span>“Let the defendant stand up. It is the Order of this court that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead on the tenth day of March 1922 by the sheriff of Fulton County in the common jail between the hours of 10am and 3pm. God have mercy on your soul.”</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>The movement to save Dupre ramped up. Preachers visited the jail and petitions flooded the court and governor's office. Here is where “Dupre’s Diamond Blues” crosses with another song, Ramble on Rose. Preacher Billy Sunday (“</span><i><span>Just like Billy Sunday</span></i><span> …”), wrote the governor and asked for mercy for Dupre. </span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/2b0d5f0b23432d4e5fa16a403b7b79162f5aeada/original/download-2.jfif/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span class="text-big"><strong><u>Billy Sunday</u></strong></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>However, the efforts were to no avail. Dupre lost his appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court. The governor also denied Dupre's request to commute his sentence to life in prison. The governor explained that Dupre's crime was horrible. Not only did he kill a man, but he shot a man in the face while trying to get away. Dupre bragged about his crime and taunted law enforcement calling them “boneheads.” The governor said Dupre showed no remorse until he was caught. Lastly, the governor acknowledged the community outcry, the petitions, the preachers' pleas, but said that would all be best directed to support Gladys Walker and her orphaned daughter.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span><strong>4. <u>THE EXECUTION</u></strong></span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>On September 1, 1922, Frank Dupre was held at the Fulton County jail. The gallows were constructed on the top of the building below the bell tower. </span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/a5dcedc6d565716b3feb05d82470fcf7b51aab9f/original/tower-swift-30s.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>A crowd had gathered outside the jail. Coincidentally, Betty Andrews was also being held in the jail for unrelated reasons. Betty’s problems stemmed from being unruly and being placed in the custody of the state. Back then, the state could hold a young unruly woman in detention for her own good.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>The one person who was at Frank Dupre’s side during the trial, during appeals, and on the day of his death was his father, Frank Dupre Sr. Frank Sr. cried when the sentence was handed down. He knew Frank was not a monster, but just a child who did not deserve to be killed. He brought Frank his last meal, ham, eggs, toast, potatoes, and coffee. Frank Jr. just picked at it. After prayers, Frank Sr. said “</span><i><span>I can’t stand it</span></i><span>” and hugged his son through the bars. He told Frank Jr. to be brave. He left in tears and turned and said “</span><i><span>I’ll see you sometime.</span></i><span>”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>To get to the rooftop, Frank Dupre had to ride the jail’s open door elevator. In doing so, he passed by the floor where Betty Andrews was detained. The warden allowed Betty to stand in front of the elevator to see Frank as he ascended to the roof. Frank, in shackles, gave Betty a wave and said “</span><i><span>I’ll see you in heaven</span></i><span>.” Betty cried inconsolably. </span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span>Frank Dupre was hanged at 1:50 pm on September 1, 1922. Frank's father died three years later. They are buried together in a grave next to Frank's mother in Abbeville, SC.</span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/e79b102c22e9ad10af0b0737d82870d7287f8b61/original/86877083-138836045873.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/c735fe612471700f647f76d480ccfed4bfdfc586/original/86877113-138836013048.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big"><span><strong>5. <u>THE LEGACY</u></strong></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Having read the true story of Frank Dupre in Tom Hughes' book “</span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.amazon.com/Hanging-Peachtree-Bandit-Atlantas-Infamous/dp/1626194165" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>Hanging the Peachtree Bandit</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span>” I was a little bit concerned that Dupree's Diamond Blues was ruined. How could we (ZenDog) sing a song that glorified the events that resulted in the death of a young man (a husband and father) who was just doing his job to earn extra money during the Christmas season? </span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>However, Garcia and Hunter left ambiguities in the lyrics to soften the tragedy. We don't know if our Dupree killed the "jewelry man", all we know is that ”</span><i><span>Dupree said I think Ill pay this one off to you in lead.</span></i><span>" Perhaps our Dupree just threatened the "jewelry man". Consequently, our Dupree certainly does not kill Irby Walker. Likewise, we don't really know if the judge sentenced our Dupree to death or life in prison. All we know is that the judge told our Dupree “</span><i><span>Fact, it's going to cost you your life</span></i><span>.” The real story of Frank Dupre is tragic. The song, Dupree's Diamond Blues however, has evolved over the years into a jovial tale that is disconnected with the historical truth.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>If you read Hanging the Peachtree Bandit, you may agree with me that Frank Dupree should not have been hanged. He never intended to kill anyone. He did express remorse for his crimes over and over. Although, he failed to do it at the critical time as a result of an unconstitutional law. In fact, Frank told reporters that he wanted to live so that he could dedicate every waking hour to helping Gladys Walker and her daughter. In all of the accounts of interviews, Frank Dupre never spoke with malice. He seemed aloof of the gravity of his situation and all of his ticks (the smiling in court, fidgiting, etc.) seemed to be a product of an incredibly scared teenager. In fact, a court ordered psychologist assessing his competency deemed him to be a “high grade idiot.” Frank never denied his crimes and accepted his punishment ("</span><i><span>Well you know judge that seems to me to sound about right</span></i><span>.") However, Frank's case was political. In fact, the Ku Klux Klan was involved in trying to persuade the governor not to hang a white man. Also, Frank shot and killed a law enforcement officer. The governor had a difficult decision.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>We can enjoy Dupree's Diamond Blues, just remember the legacy is dedicated to Irby Walker and his family.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/729e2483dcacc4a68b28c660089a6267f3e81fe4/original/24623017-1399121438.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Dupre as a folk legend began in 1925 when Blind Andy Jenkins recorded “</span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://rsa.fau.edu/album/6676" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>The Fate of Frank Dupree</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span>.” In 1931, Kingfish Bill Tomlin recorded “</span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://open.spotify.com/track/60uuz2r4iyeSk5dE3SYjcL?go=1&sp_cid=e404d6744c5bafdfe9a3afaa8a58fdfb&utm_source=embed_player_p&utm_medium=desktop&nd=1&dlsi=77fd0ee9e2a84c65" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>Dupree Blues</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span>”. In 1958, Chuck Willis recorded “</span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5MFfkUxkF4" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>Betty and Dupre</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span>.” ZenDog performed “</span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/ZenDog2023-10-21.SBD/04+-+DuPree's+Diamond+Blues.wav" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>Dupree's Diamond Blues</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span>” a bunch of times. None of the song versions tells the story accurately. But after all, that's folk music.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span><strong>6. <u>EPILOGUE: BETTY</u></strong></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big">Betty Andrews was actually born Margaret “Peggy” Guest in 1903. As noted she was an unruly child and her parents did not want her at home. Her unruliness landed her in jail, but not for having committed any crime. It was in one of these detentions, that a reverend helped her get on her feet.</span></p><p><span class="text-big">In 1932, Betty resumed using her real name and moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas. She married a military man named Maurice Blaustein. She had no children, but she and her husband raised a foster child. The "Betty Andrews" we sing about died with Frank Dupre in September of 1922. The real Margaret Blaustein died in 1972. I'm sure her past life as “Betty” haunted her all of her days.</span></p><p><span class="text-big"> <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/f373544b39d510e70c144415afa1738b7c6fbec5/original/uncem-1487104025733.jfif/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span><o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Zendogtag:zendogmusic.com,2005:Post/72004482023-04-30T22:45:49-04:002023-11-17T21:21:39-05:00The Real Story of Catfish John<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/dce86f76e68c62c51cd49e42540a257a6bbbfd42/original/screenshot-224.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p><p> </p><p><span class="text-big"><span>“</span><i><span>Catfish John was a real person. He was a friend of my Dad's. I resurrected him." </span></i><span>Bob McDill </span></span><br><br><span class="text-big"><span>Catfish John is a heavy song that we should enjoy responsibly. That means being mindful of the powerful sentiment expressed in the words: </span><i><span>Though he never spoke in anger, but his load was hard to bear. </span></i></span></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://bittersoutherner.com/a-hardworking-man-named-bob-mcdill-country-music" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">Country Music singer Bob McDill</span></a><span class="text-big"> wrote Catfish John. He also wrote 31 songs that went to number one on the charts. On his 1972 album “Short Stories”, McDill released Catfish John. </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx3utINrTbg" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">Click here to listen</span></a><span class="text-big">. <span>The intro harmonies drenched in reverb are haunting. As the intro fades out, the song takes on a gentle and reminiscent tone (like a John Denver tune) expressing a fondness for a long-lost friend. </span></span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/0471c2302fa762593db3175cd5fe871ac7fa7334/original/bob-mcdill-short-stories.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big">Johnny Russell covered a version of the song on his album “Here Comes Johnny Russell.” </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlS4JZPXwYg" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">Click here</span></a><span class="text-big">. That version has a cool harmonica intro, also drenched in reverb. ZenDog played Catfish John recently. </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/ZenDog2023-04-21.SBD/08+-+Catfish+John.wav" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">Click here to listen</span></a><span class="text-big">. We kept the reverb to a minimum. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Catfish John was many things: a song, a character, and a real person. We all know Catfish John as a </span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cfkB__YW-Y" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>JGB staple</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span>. We also know that the character “Catfish John” was a “river hobo” and that he was a freed slave from Mississippi. But, did we know that Catfish John actually lived? In an </span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.cmt.com/news/aaowx0/songwriter-bob-mcdill-talks-about-his-many-hits%20" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>interview</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span>, Bob McDill said that “</span><i><span>Catfish John was a real person. He was a friend of my Dad’s. I resurrected him</span></i><span>.” </span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>So, who was this young man who walked the river banks with Catfish John?</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Bob McDill was born in 1944 in Beaumont, TX to Guy Vernon McDill and Ruby Lee McCauley seen in the picture below. That man knew Catfish John! </span></span><span> </span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/201a2e910475126af43e8443eb1bba817cd28e44/original/mcdill.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34631406/ruby-lee-mcdill" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>Ruby Lee</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span> was from Beaumont, TX. </span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98251945/guy-vernon-mcdill" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>Guy Vernon</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span>, however, was born in 1910 in Conehatta, Mississippi which is about an hour and a half drive east from Vicksburg and a forty minute drive west from Meridian.</span></span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/822b80161c057dede75fc6e695b1c30da63111ac/original/miss.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Conehatta is not in the Mississippi Delta region (so there was no walking in the “</span><i><span>sweet Delta dawn</span></i><span>”). I think Emmylou Harris' song </span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9LyXYvHBRE" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>Red Dirt Girl</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span> describes the area better; "</span><i><span>just a red dirt town across the line [on the other side] from Meridian</span></i><span>." The 1920 census shows that, Guy Vernon McDill age 9, lived in Beat 3, Newton, Mississippi. </span></span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/581108045b98d28eb0e618fb916ac0e37abeb8f9/original/screenshot-217.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>A “Beat” was a territory for census takers and “Newton” is the county wherein Conehatta lies. Guy Vernon's father, Robert McDill, is recorded as a farmer. Guy Vernon's mother's name was Lydia Adele McDill. Now, whenever we hear the lyrics “</span><i><span>Mama said don’t go near that river</span></i><span>” we know that was Lydia Adele McDill disciplining he son, Guy Vernon. But, what river was she referring to?</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big">The best way to figure that out is to narrow down where the McDill farm was located in the early 1900s. Unfortunately, “Beat 3” is a large area and not an address. Guy Vernon McDill's father, </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/88966139/robert-nathaniel-mcdill" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">Robert McDill</span></a><span class="text-big">, was born in 1860 and died at the age of 93 in Newton County, MS. His </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/88966139/robert-nathaniel-mcdill" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">obituary</span></a><span class="text-big"> states that he was a life long member of Sulphur Spring Baptist Church which is near Sebastopal, MS and located in Scott County on the county line next to Newton County. Back then, Robert McDill would either have had to walk or take a horse and buggy to church. It is reasonable to deduce that the McDill farm was located somewhat near the church and close to the Scott County line, and north of Conehatta. Another clue is that there is a road in Newton County called “McDill Road." Coincidence? I think not. In all likelihood, the McDill family lived on the road the U.S. Postal service eventually named “McDill Road” (they were probably the only ones on that road). </span></p><p><span class="text-big">So, here is the area where we can search for Catfish John's whereabouts beginning with Sulphur Springs Baptist Church in the north, Conehatta in the southeast, the Newton-Scott county line bordering the west, and McDill Road running through the middle.</span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/b44fa14d21d4b65e2250b5784058516baaeab767/original/screenshot-229.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big">If we zoom in, we see that the road running through the middle of the area is indeed McDill Road and we see a label for Tuscolameta Creek.</span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/20d27c1c48be8f9bd9d1688c66f66abec79c8201/original/screenshot-233.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big">The book “</span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/HistoryOfNewtonCountyMississippiFrom1834To1894" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">History of Newton County from 1834-1894</span></a><span class="text-big">” advises that “Newton County has no very large streams, northing more than what would be called creeks”, but that the “Tuscolameta", was ”a large creek." Perhaps it was large enough for some folks to refer to it as a “river”? But, that body of water as it existed in Catfish John's time is no longer there. The “Tuscalometa Creek” we see in the above satellite image is not a natural waterway. It is one of two canals that was </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscolameta_Creek" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">channeled from the original Tuscalometa in 1924</span></a><span class="text-big">. Most likely to contend with flooding. That does not mean that any trace of the original is lost. An 1888 map of Mississippi shows a river called “Young Warrior” located on the Newton-Scott County Line right where our area of interest is. Mississippi was once Choctow Nation, and </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscolameta_Creek" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">the Choctow word</span></a><span class="text-big"> for “Young Warrior” is "Tuscalometa".</span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/fed0f33593b655107a8e2e9b350f9b472d781770/original/screenshot-236.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big">That river, The Tuscalometa <u>before it was channeled</u>, is where I believe a young Guy Vernon McDill met his friend Catfish John over his mother's caution. </span></p><p><span class="text-big">But, who was Catfish John? The 1920 census records for Beat 3 identify two individuals of African descent whose first names are “John” and whose last names are “Brown.” However, they both have large families and are listed as “farmers.” So, I don't think that either John Brown is our Catfish John; at least as we know him. If Catfish John truly was a “river hobo” then I don't think the census takers had any means to locate him, and I don't think Catfish John had any desire to be located. We will have to be more creative to learn who Catfish John might have been since identifying who he was is lost to history.</span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Fifty-five years had passed since the Civil War ended and the time when Guy Vernon McDill was old enough to venture in the wilderness on his own. This would put the age of the real Catfish John in about his 60’s or 70’s in 1920. It is worth mentioning that Bob McDill, Guy Vernon's son who wrote Catfish John, was university educated. He studied literature at Lamar College in Beaumont, TX. As an aside, in college he played in a local band that performed at a club called The Taproom. Janis Joplin also went to Lamar, and would come to the taproom and listen to McDill’s band while doing her homework, but I digress…</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>It's McDill’s foundation in literature which I think is important to understand who Catfish John might have been; at least the type of person he might have been. There are many authors who wrote about the lives of freed slaves in post-Civil War south, more commonly referred to as the “Reconstruction Period”. W.E. DuBois and Charles Chestnut are some authors that come to mind. As the song goes, Catfish John was born a slave in Vicksburg, MS and he was traded for a horse. Given that Catfish John had to be a young boy no more that ten at the most before slavery ended, that transaction more likely than not ripped him from his family. After the War, Catfish John was reduced to being a “river hobo” scrounging a life for himself; probably catching fish in the Tuscalometa and bartering or selling his yield to survive. The 1924 channeling of his river (which undoubtedly disrupted the ecosystem) was probably the beginning of his death as he was most likely bound to that river. Not bound in an existential or spiritual sense. Rather, bound to the river as a result of the psychological institutionalism caused by slavery and the oppression that lingered after Emancipation.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Charles Chestnut’s writings are a close parallel to the story of Catfish John. In his 1899 book, The Conjure Woman, Chestnut wrote a series of short stories about a white northern couple who relocated to the South after the Civil War to take advantage of the mild climate and cheap property market of abandoned plantations. </span></span><span> </span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/05b613c41c707f9b77bc7cad9c5aa9095e86818b/original/screenshot-222.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/4daebdcc1838b3adfaebd461ef21d86e3ad6b08d/original/screenshot-223.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>The husband makes a living growing grapes and making wine. In the short story “</span><i><span>The Goophered Grapevine</span></i><span>”, the couple was surveying an old abandoned plantation, which consequently had an overgrown and unattended-to grapevine, when they approach an old man sitting on a log. The old man, a former slave, warned the couple not to buy the plantation because the grapevine was “</span><i><span>goophered</span></i><span>” or cursed. It had been </span><i><span>goophered</span></i><span> by a “conjure woman” years before as a means to stop the slaves from eating the grapes. The old man, whose name was Uncle Julius, explains in great detail the nature of the curse and stories of its victims whose strength and life waxed and waned with the life cycle of the vine. Undeterred, the couple buys the plantation anyway and learns that Uncle Julius had worked the plantation his entire life before being freed after the war. He then became a hobo and squatted on the land scrounging his living by selling the meager yield of grapes from the withering vine. His “goophered grapevine” tale was just his way of protecting his livelihood from the prospect of new landowners. There is a passage where the narrator describes the institutionalization (a concept not known at that time) of Uncle Julius. </span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span class="text-big"><i><span>Toward my tract of land and the things that were on it – the creeks, the swamps, the hills, the meadows, the stones, the trees- he maintained a peculiar personal attitude that might be called predial [owned by] rather than proprietary. He had been accustomed, until long after middle life to look upon himself as property of another. When this relation was no longer possible, owing to the war, and to his master’s death and the dispersion of the family, he had been unable to break off entirely the mental habits of a lifetime, but had attached himself to the old plantation, of which he seemed to consider himself an appurtenance.</span></i></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>I think that more likely than not describes Catfish John. A man who had lived part of his life in bondage as property, ripped from his family and sold to market as a child, then lived as an outcast unable to adapt to life as a freed person in the South. There was certainly still oppression and with no family support he simply couldn't cope and lived the the life of a hermit. Then, society diverted the flow of his river into two artificial channels and destroyed his home and livelihood. Imagine the desperate pleadings, warnings, or tales Catfish John may have told the excavators to deter their rerouting of his river; just like Uncle Julius. We can't imagine the types of stress disorders and mental health afflictions that affected the real Catfish John. There were no resources for him to turn to for help; especially in the the Reconstruction South. Once we understand Catfish John's cruel reality, the last line of the song rings ever so powerful: </span><i><span>Though his load was hard to bear.</span></i></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>So, when we hear Catfish John we should recognize the humanity and kindness that he expressed to young Guy Vernon McDill, even though he had every right to speak in anger. We now know that Lydia Adele McDill warned Guy Vernon to stay away from Tuscalometa Creek in Newton County, MS and not to hang around that river hobo outcast. Catfish John, like Uncle Julius, was bound to the river as a result of being unable to break off entirely the mental habits of a life of enslavement and oppression. Most importantly, we should be mindful that the hardships Catfish John faced and his personal struggles were unimaginable and that he had no support system to rely upon. As such, that one line, </span><i><span>though his load was hard to bear</span></i><span>, captures the most important message of the song. Catfish John was real and so too were his struggles. Let his song bear witness to his memory and that of the countless others whose lot in life was the same and to some degree worse or perhaps better; but still hard to bear.</span></span></p><p><o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></p>Zendogtag:zendogmusic.com,2005:Post/71828032023-04-02T13:54:56-04:002024-01-13T17:36:28-05:00The Folklore of Dire Wolf<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/cdab75981a4bf093b7b3f92597ac169bf10c21ea/original/books.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big"><i><span>“A curse has hung over the Baskerville family for generations, ever since the lecherous Sir Hugo Baskerville met a terrible end while pursuing a young maiden across the Devonshire moors. Sir Hugo had his throat torn out by a fearsome black beast, a creature ‘larger than any hound that ever mortal eye has rested upon.’ The latest victim is Sir Charles Baskerville, whose contorted expression indicates the sheer terror that brought on a fatal heart attack. Nearby footprints suggest that the hell-hound of legend is abroad once more.”</span></i></span></p><p><span class="text-big">Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,</span><br><span class="text-big"><i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>So begins the third book of the Sherlock Holmes novels; and so begins the story of Dire Wolf.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>One night in 1969, Robert Hunter and Carolyn Garcia watched the 1959 film “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” This inspired Hunter to write Dire Wolf. The song begins as a tale told in the third person by a narrator describing the setting. Then, the storytelling changes to the first person and the protagonist tells a story of the Dire Wolf, pleading for mercy, and a card game for the ultimate prize. The song ends by returning to the third person perspective with the narrator depicting the dead which have been collected by the Dire Wolf singing around a fire.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>The story's concept has its roots in folklore as countless tales abound of a person pleading for mercy from Death or the Devil. So, what is the Dire Wolf? A monster, Death himself, the Devil? Perhaps folklore can unlock some of the mystery.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Our (the human race) beliefs, superstitions, customs, performances, rituals, and habits have been shaped in no small part by folklore. These are the stories that were once passed down through oral tradition and then memorialized in writing. They shape a culture's understanding of the world as well as the concepts to which there are no true understanding. Folklore solidifies cultural ties and defines communities.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Folklore "motifs" are the common themes that reappear throughout different world cultures. These motifs have been </span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://ia800408.us.archive.org/30/items/Thompson2016MotifIndex/Thompson_2016_Motif-Index.pdf" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>catalogued</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span> by scholars and each motif has been given an alpha-numerical assignment. Catalogued at E341 is the folklore motif for “grateful dead.”</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>We’ve all heard how The Grateful Dead chose their name. Disheartened at seeing a record in a local record store by The Warlocks, the band needed a new identity. While brainstorming at Phil Lesh’s house in Palo Alto, Jerry picked up a folklore dictionary and randomly opened to page 463. </span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>The book was volume one of Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend. </span></span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/a1a72501df0722313452e7532e889f7b15a4bd67/original/screenshot-198.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>It was first published in 1949 and is one of two books in a series. In the top right corner of page 463 in capital letters are the words “Grateful Dead.” </span></span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/6b410cf176b05ff13cda7d9f2043562c5808807d/original/top.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><span class="text-big"><span>Jerry shared it with the gang and the rest is history. Funk and Wagnall's explains the following: </span></span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/bbff916393fa11a4726a2259f16a4826d8a5c835/original/2.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big"><span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/4dd743f85ba372e64078d51f1c482f8efbe03b0f/original/3.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" />As we see, “grateful dead” is a motif in folklore that reappears in many cultures. </span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>So too is gambling for one’s soul which is catalogued at E756.2. This folklore motif appears in connection with the Devil laying claim to someone and accepting a challenge from the condemned to play cards, chess, dice, or answer riddles. The winner takes all. These tales also appear in the form of Death (whether the Angel of Death or Death personified) coming to claim a life. The condemned pleads Death for mercy and challenges Death to a game; again cards, chess, or dice. How these stories resolve tells us a bit about the identity of the Dire Wolf.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Let’s take Death first. Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal is a 1957 movie about a knight's return from the Crusades. He is met along the way by Death. It is considered one of the greatest movies of all time (although, I find it pretty weird; but a cool depiction of thirteenth century life). The knight pleads Death for mercy and challenges Death to a game of chess. Death accepts. </span></span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/29d9327056bcdc5356beeb73354eb984be8b186f/original/the-seventh-seal-chess-scene-1108x0-c-default.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>There is a chilling scene where after moving a piece Death looks up from the chess board at the knight and with an expressionless face and macabre tone says: “</span><i><span>No one escapes me.</span></i><span>” </span></span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/b251c319befa08889b00985464607e0fb9024387/original/images.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>Indeed, the knight does not succeed and he and his companions are ultimately led off on “Death's Dance” or ”</span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danse_Macabre" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><i><span>Danse Macabre</span></i></span></a><span class="text-big"><span>"; which is an artistic theme in paintings depicting Death and his victims passing on to the next world.</span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>The folklore motif involving Death personified, like seen in The Seventh Seal, teaches us that we cannot defeat Death; only delay his claim. </span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>As for the Devil laying claim to a soul, there is always a chance to outwit. This is seen in an etching that once hung in the Louvre called “Checkmate”. Friedrich Moritz August Retzsch made this this piece in 1831. It depicts a man playing chess with the Devil and being lured into checkmate. We see the man pondering in despair and an angel overlooking with pity. The Devil’s patience is wearing thin, and his hell hound eagerly awaits the victim's capitulation.</span></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="text-big"><span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/ac369af5c80dc5a79978e537602acc62c649f431/original/checkmate-painting.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>There was an interesting story about this painting published in the Columbia Chess Chronicle in 1888. </span></span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/1afed4c2dbb92da7015657d8c71e1a371c4ecc16/original/ccc-no-border-morphy.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>A chess master, Paul Morphy, studied the painting, while a guest at a dinner party. At that time, the painting hung in a private residence. After hours of intense scrutiny, Mr. Morphy declared the painting was misnamed because he saw that the man had one move that could place him at the advantage. Mr. Morphy mapped out the board as depicted on the painting, and proved his theory.</span></span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/534c2099917a0a0dbdcf44a93b3ddb9f2440abaa/original/ccc-position-of-the-pieces.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.one-more-move-chess-art.com/One-More-Move.html" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>This story</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span> has been corroborated by first hand accounts from people present at the dinner party when this revelation transpired. </span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>When it comes to the folklore motif concerning dealings with the Devil, hope is possible. If one can surpass the Devil's cunning, they can prevail when all seems lost. Hope, however, has no place in the folklore dealing with Death. As Death’s famous line in The Seventh Seal reminds us, “No one escapes me.” </span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>So where does Dire Wolf fit in with the motif? I venture to say it is more along the lines of the stories where the unfortunate plead with Death rather than then Devil. Here, our poor hero invites the Dire Wolf inside and the two engage in a game of cards. There is but one chance for the hero, cut the deck at a higher card than the Dire Wolf or be murdered. However, the Dire Wolf, or better “Death,” had stacked the deck against our poor hero. All of the cards were the same and therefore, the poor hero of the song never had any hope to win. </span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>The final verse of Dire Wolf, told by the narrator of that little story, depicts the Dire Wolf “collecting his dues” and the souls of the poor deceased singing around a fire. This is a some what similar the "</span><i><span>Dance of Death</span></i><span>" scene in The Seventh Seal. The movie ends with departed dancing behind Death as they are led beyond.</span></span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/8d857a0b9ceb9722712eae92291391261947e301/original/download.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>But, what is not fun about the song Dire Wolf? It seems like a happy song and the chorus just rolls off the tongue. The Dead originally played it in the key of E but over the years changed it to G. The two versions are somewhat different in rhythm and cadence. </span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/ZenDog2023-01-05.SBD/02+-+Dire+Wolf.mp3" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>ZenDog normally plays it in G</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span>, however, we recently did it it in E </span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/ZenDog2023-02-10.SBD/08+-+Dire+Wolf.wav" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>during an acoustic set</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span>. </span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span>But, should we receive Dire Wolf as a silly song? I guess any story about Dire Wolf wouldn't be complete without talking about Deer Creek, July 2, 1995. Before the show, Jerry received a death threat and he sang Dire Wolf to spite the would be attacker </span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/gd95-07-02.aud.unk.12578.sbeok.shnf/gd95-07-02d01t03.shn" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"><span>click here to listen</span></span></a><span class="text-big"><span>. At that time, it seemed a funny snub at an empty threat. However, July 2, 1995 was the last time Jerry ever sang Dire Wolf. No one knew or could even imagine that in only five weeks it would be Jerry's time to leave this world. No, despite its fun melody, Dire Wolf is a serious song. It's foundation in folklore should remind us that in the end, no one escapes.</span></span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/daa2724706c87150061390874bdf417d374b29ef/original/death.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Zendogtag:zendogmusic.com,2005:Post/71739812023-03-17T23:44:15-04:002024-03-26T09:27:59-04:00"Welcome to Terrapin Station": A Story About Bird Song<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/d0e096b75fc817877aa5ca9a202ac4be32d2e3c6/original/11-2-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big">On March 7, 1981, the University of Maryland Terrapins lost to their rival, the University of North Carolina Tarheels. <span> </span>It was the final game of the ACC Tournament and UNC pulled ahead 60 to 61.<span> </span>The Terps played away in Chapel Hill that day; and for a good reason.<span> </span>Their home court, Cole Field House, was temporarily renamed: “Terrapin Station.”<span> </span>The Grateful Dead were in town.</span></p><p><span class="text-big">Now, not a lot happened </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.onthisday.com/date/1981/march/7" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">in history</span></a><span class="text-big"> on March 7, 1981. It was kind of a disappointing day.<span> </span>The weather was cold and blustery.<span> </span>Bob Marley and the Wailers were scheduled to open the show and were listed on the ticket.</span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/770a1f48fb42226671c4e6b7ef9a2f83b187becd/original/march-7.webp/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big">However, Marley injured himself a few months before and unbeknownst to the world, he would pass away two months later on May 11, 1981.<span> </span>The Grateful Dead dedicated “He’s Gone” to Bob Marley the next night: </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/gd81-05-12.sbd.jeffm.1664.sbeok.shnf/gd81-05-12d2t05.shn" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">“This one’s for Marley.”</span></a><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/gd81-05-12.sbd.jeffm.1664.sbeok.shnf/gd81-05-12d2t05.shn" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big"> </span></a><span class="text-big"><span> </span>What a treat it would have been if Bob Marley sat in with the Dead or, if Jerry sat in with the Wailers on that blustery March day in 1981.</span></p><p><span class="text-big">I remember when the Cole Field House show circulated on the 80’s page of DeadNet Central back in the days of dial up modem.<span> </span>You had to sign up for a “vine,” list your address, and in a few days a package arrived in the mail.<span> </span>You’d burn the CD and send it on to the next person on the list.<span> </span>Folks on the site posted about their memories of the show.<span> </span>I remember someone said that there was a mechanical windup bird flying around the venue before the show and that a banner was hung that read “<i>WELCOME TO TERRAPIN STATION</i>.”<span> </span>I also read a post from someone who recalls Phil stepped on stage pre-show to check things out and somebody yelled, “<i>Hey man you guys gotta play Terrapin tonight</i>.”<span> </span>Well, if Phil Lesh saw the mechanical bird flying around the auditorium and then saw a banner boldly laying claim to Terrapin Station and heard some kid demand the band to play Terrapin; what do you think happened?<span> </span>Correct, they didn’t play Terrapin Station.<span> </span>Instead, they played the longest Bird Song in Grateful Dead history; over 17 minutes! <span> Maybe this photo was taken during the song?</span></span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/d507609cb97e778fa2b9da06642113181c1856b4/original/8pz3jl6rkzl81.webp/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big">Bird Song had taken a long winter’s nap from September of 1973 until it was revived for the acoustic shows in the Fall of 1980.<span> </span>The Cole Field House show was only the fifth time since 1973 that the Dead played Bird Song in an electric set.<span> </span>Only an audience recording of the show exists, and the Bird Song was captured very nicely.<span> </span>Jerry’s playing is crystal clear and Brent’s bell-like tones are a great melodic backdrop.<span> </span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/gd81-03-07complete.aud-wise.senn421.22933.sbeok.shnf/gd81-03-07d2t1.shn" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">Click here to listen.</span></a><span class="text-big"><span> </span></span></p><p><span class="text-big">As for the structure of those 1980's Bird Songs, they relocated the chorus so it followed the jam. I do think that building up the E7 jam and walking up to the C#m chorus creates a nice tension and release. <span> </span>That’s pretty much how the structure of Bird Song remained until its final appearance on June 30, 1995- </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/gd95-06-30.schoeps.3376.sbeok.shnf/gd95-06-30d1t07.shn" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">which actually is not a bad version to check out</span></a><span class="text-big">. One of the iconic photos of Jerry was taken at that show.<span> </span></span></p><p><span class="text-big"><span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/240742/9157ccabfdf80c05cbc32ff88b553a9abd5ef503/original/19950630-1683.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span>Bird Song had a different structure in the early 70’s.<span> </span>Back then, verses 1, 2 and the chorus were repeated as bookends around the jam.<span> </span>In the middle of the jam, Jerry played the Bird Song intro and the instruments fell quiet for a round of drum fills.<span> </span>Then, a big Phil open E crashed and the band was back into the jam.<span> </span>I think one of the best examples of this structure is Old Renaissance Fairgrounds, Venetta, OR 1972.<span> </span></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/gd72-08-27.sbd.orf.3328.sbeok.shnf/gd1972-08-27d2t06-orf.shn" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">Click here to listen to that version</span></a><a data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">.</span></a><span class="text-big"> Actually, </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/gd73-06-10.sbd.hollister.174.sbeok.shnf/gd73-06-10d2t01.shn" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">RFK June 10, 1973</span></a><span class="text-big"> is pretty cool too.</span></p><p><span class="text-big">I went back through some ZenDog archives and I’ve found versions of Bird Song where we played it in a 1980’s structure. </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/Zendog2019-05-11.SBD.Matrix.Flac24/07+-+Bird+Song.flac" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">Here is a nice matrix</span></a><span class="text-big"> from our May 11, 2019 soundboard and Audience recording from our </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/@papaphunk" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">community archivist Rich</span></a><span class="text-big"> from </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.facebook.com/SEPALiveMusicCollective" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">Southeast PA Live Music Collective</span></a><span class="text-big">.<span> </span>More recently, we’ve been playing Bird Song in the early 1970’s structure with the book end verses and the drum break in the middle of the jam. </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/ZenDog2022-11-04.SBD/06+-+Bird+Song.wav" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-big">Click here <span>to listen</span></span></a><span class="text-big">. </span></p><p><span class="text-big">Now, whenever anyone talks about the March 7, 1981 University of Maryland show <i>at the home of the Terrapins</i>, there is an air of sadness because the band did not play Terrapin Station and it was the only time the Dead played at UMD. Also, don't forget the weather put a damper on the parking lot festivities and Bob Marley and the Wailers didn't play.<span> </span>But, don’t despair, they played a beautiful 17 minute Bird Song and that is a song about sadness and letting go of despair.<span> </span></span></p><p><span class="text-big">Bird Song is one of the few songs about which Robert Hunter reveals his intention.<span> </span>In his book Box of Rain, Hunter writes “<i>for Janis</i>” on the pages for Bird Song.<span> </span>Before I knew it was a eulogy, Bird Song made me reflect on the imagery of nature and life in the song: birds, singing, laughing, snow, rain, sunshine, crying, wind, and stars.<span> </span>Basking in the lyrical imagery against the backdrop of the melody, I was always at peace with myself when hearing that song.</span></p><p><span class="text-big">As a eulogy, the song takes on even more beauty. Stringing a few lyrics together the meaning is clear,<span> </span>“<i>All I know is something like a bird within her sang, all I know she sang a little while and then flew off … Anyone who sings a tune so sweet is passing by … sleep in the stars, don’t you cry, dry your eyes on the wind</i>.”<span> It's s</span>adness and resolve in prose.<span> </span>I think we have all known someone who was so full of life, but passed away too early.<span> </span>In that sense, the song expresses a universal lamentation and need to move on that we all understand.<span> </span>I am still at peace with myself when I hear Bird Song.<span> Knowing now that the song is a eulogy, i</span>t’s a different peace. Not better, not worse; but more spiritually enlightening.</span></p>Zendogtag:zendogmusic.com,2005:Post/70080072022-07-05T14:41:31-04:002023-03-17T23:34:14-04:00A Lyrical Suite: Me and My Uncle, Mexicali Blues, El Paso, and Big Iron<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/240742/68e383a7b7567d86cca1eedf619f366a21fbb5a7/original/c484539541d755f8320962be0936fa89.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large">In the 1930’s and 1940’s, people were entertained by a new invention: the radio. Programs such as The Shadow (“<em>who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men … the Shadow knows”</em>) captivated families in the comfort of their home. There were also old western programs such as Six Shooter, Gunsmoke, and Texas Rangers. Back then, the days of the post-Civil War Wild West were only 60 years past. That’s the equivalent of the 1960’s to us. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I submit to you that the songs Me and My Uncle, Mexicali Blues, El Paso, and Big Iron could be sections of a larger musical suite; one that tells an old Western story suitable for old time radio. Pretend you are listening to an old radio program back in the 1930’s. You turn the dial through the static until the program comes in clear. The storyteller begins... </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Chapter 1: Me and My Uncle </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">In the days after the War Between the States, many people left the east for the hope of a new life in the western territories. Hope, however, often proved naught. Lawlessness reigned. In the southern lands of the Colorado Territory, what folks called “South Colorado,” the winters were long and cold and the summers were stifling hot. Life could barely endure. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">He was born in South Colorado. Raised by his mother after his father left to join the Arizona Rangers. His father had a brother who was not a God-fairing man. It would only have been the boy's sixteenth year when his uncle came to town. The man approached the homestead on a black horse. Another smaller horse was tethered and followed, but its rider had fallen to the gun a week before. “<em>Mount up</em>” ordered the Uncle, “<em>It’s time you become a man</em>.” The boy mounted up without hesitation. They rode south towards Santa Fe and were West Texas-bound. It being summer, the dry heat and dusty dirt spared none.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">There was a small West Texas town just north of the big river that the locals called the Grande. It was full of ranch hand cowboys and outlaws. It was Saturday and the Uncle knew the hands were paid on Saturdays. The boy took the horses up to the stall. They went to the bar room and entered as strangers. Eyes peered at them 'neath the brow, but the Uncle quelled the suspicion by ordering drinks for all. Visions of women, liquor, and money were abound. The Uncle sat down at a table to join a game. At his deal he called, “<em>High Low Jack and the winner takes the hand."</em> The game began, but one of the men sat motionlessly and stared. He was not a ranch hand, but a Texas outlaw. They called him Red.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">After the Uncle won three in a row, a ranch hand cried “<em>cheat!</em>” and reached for his Colt. The Uncle raised his hands with a surprised honest face. The boy quickly drew first and shot the cowboy down and then another ending that life before it could grow old. In the confusion, the Uncle grabbed the gold and they both hightailed down towards Mexico. However, during the gunfight, the outlaw Red sat at the table motionless with arms crossed and his eyes fixed on the Uncle and the young boy. Red did not know fear; only vengeance. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">As they rode toward Mexico, the Uncle paused. The spoils were too rich to share. He slowly cocked his six shooter, but before he could turn, the boy shot him down. He grabbed the gold and left his Uncle dead on the side of the road. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Chapter 2: Mexicali Blues </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The boy knew he had to keep moving. He was only three days ride to Bakersfield when he came to a town worse for wear. There were flies and children roaming the dirty streets. As he walked the dusty road, young black-eyed girls giggled when he smiled and a little boy offered to shine his boots. The boy decided to seek board at a saloon. He kept his gold hidden; only a peso in his hand did he show. He traded that peso for a bottle. When he lifted the brim of his hat to thank the bar keep, he saw her there. She was fresh in town and spoke only Mexicali so he didn’t understand her name. He called her Billy Jean. She had raven hair, a ruffled dress, and a necklace made of gold. And, she wore all the French perfume you cared to smell. They shared the bottle. They also shared a room. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">They boy knew, however, that the devil was on his trail. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the cold stare of the outlaw Red. He knew Red would take everything, but the boy stayed idle with his raven-haired girl cherishing every thought keeping a tight grip on his bottle. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Indeed, Red and his posse came to town. There was no sheriff. Red's six shooter was the only law that dusty town knew. Billie Jean alerted the boy to the danger of an outlaw at the door. The boy shot first and killed him, however the outlaw did not have time to draw. The boy knew that to kill a man who hadn't drawn meant to face the gallows. So, he fled and left the raven-haired beauty in that dusty Mexicali town. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Chapter 3: El Paso</strong> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">El Paso was the last outpost of West Texas. When the boy came to town he found Rosie’s Cantina and quickly settled in. Through the smoke filled room he watched a beautiful girl whirl to the music. Her name was Felina and her eyes were black as night. Some said that she could cast a spell with just one look. His love for Felina was deep, but in the end it was in vain.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">One night a wild young cowboy came in and he was wild as the cold West Texas wind. He quickly took to Felina just as all who pass through do. Rage burned inside the boy, and he challenged the stranger for the right to Felina's hand. That challenge was answered and in less than a heartbeat, that handsome young stranger laid dead on the floor. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The stranger was not alone. He rode in Red's posse. The boy stood motionless looking at the lifeless body shocked by the foul evil deed he had done. Just then, Red kicked open the saloon doors; the boy had but one chance and that was to run. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">He ran out through the back door of Rosie’s to the post where the horses were tied. He picked a good one, at least it looked like a good one, and he climbed on its back and started to ride. He rode west out of El Paso towards the badlands of New Mexico. But, after he outran the posse, he turned around. He longed for Felina. Nothing, not even death, was worse than the pain he felt in in his heart. As he was back on the hill overlooking El Paso, the boy saw the front doors of Rosie's Cantina below. He began his way down the hill to see his raven-haired love once more.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Just then, off to his right he saw five mounted cowboys and off to his left rode a dozen or more. They were shouting and shooting and aiming to catch him, and the boy charged down the hill towards Rosie’s back door. Just then, the outlaw Red took aim and let a fatal shot fly. The boy felt a deep burning pain in his side and unable to ride, he fell. Then out of nowhere, Felina found him. She was kissing his cheek as she knelt by his side. The boy was cradled by the two loving arms that he had died for and with one little kiss, he said his good bye. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Chapter 4: Big Iron.</strong> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The outlaw Red fled El Paso. He was wanted for the murder of that young boy who was no older than sixteen. Red made his way to the town of Agua Fria in Arizona and there, they called him “Texas Red.” Every man that tried to take him down wound up shot dead. Texas Red was vicious and a killer. Although he was only twenty-four, the notches on his pistol numbered one and nineteen more. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">One morning a stranger rode into town. He did not have much to say. No one dared to ask his business, and surely no one dared to make a slip. That stranger carried nothing except for a a big iron on his hip. When the stranger started talking, he made it clear that he was an Arizona Ranger and had come to take down the outlaw Texas Red. It did not matter if the outlaw left the town alive or was carried out dead. When Texas Red heard the news, he paid it no lip. He had taken down twenty men before and said, “<em>number twenty-one would be the Arizona Ranger with the big iron on his hip.”</em> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The morning passed quickly. At twenty past eleven, the Ranger and Texas Red met in the center of town. The townsfolk held their breath and watched from their windows. They thought the Arizona Ranger would surely meet his death. There was forty feet between the two. Texas Red reached for his gun, but the Ranger’s draw was fast. It was over in a moment. Before Texas Red could clear the leather of his holster, the Ranger’s bullet lodged deep in his chest. The Ranger’s aim was deadly. He blew the smoke from the barrel and then holstered his big iron on his hip.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Epilogue:</strong> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The Ranger stood over the dying body of Texas Red. A lone buzzard soared above in the Arizona sky. Texas Red choked as he gasped his last remaining breaths. Before the end, the Ranger knelt down and whispered in Texas Red’s ear. No one heard what was said, but when the wind howls through the center of that Arizona town some say you can her the voice of the Ranger whisper, “<em>that was for my boy who I left long ago from my home in that small town in South Colorado.</em>” </span></p>Zendogtag:zendogmusic.com,2005:Post/69816702022-05-27T22:09:20-04:002023-12-02T05:46:11-05:00Cosmic Charlie<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/240742/30d054dacad5f8def9965070effdd441525ba4c9/original/charlie.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The Grateful Dead placed some songs on the shelf to rest because they were too cumbersome to play live. Perhaps they were too weird. But, we all like weird don't we? The last Doing that Rag was played October 26, 1969. That's a weird one; but such a great song too ! Cosmic Charlie plays like a masterpiece on Aoxomoxoa. It was retired <a contents="January 21, 1971" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/gd1971-01-21.131516.aud.miller.flac24/gd71-01-21s2t02.flac" target="_blank">January 21, 1971</a>. If you listen to that version, you may agree it feels rushed and therefore, high time to put it to rest for a while. And rest it did. Until 1976 when it was brought out of retirement with Donna Jean rounding out the vocals. <a contents="Click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/gd1976-06-14.sbd.bettycantor.gems.82308.flac16/gd76-06-14.GEMS.d3t04.flac" target="_blank">Click here</a> for a great version from The Beacon Theater in 1976. That version teaches us that there is no reason to rush this song, and sometimes the absence of instruments allows the vocals to make a profound statement.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><a contents="In a 1987 interview" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/12/mary-eisenhart-interview-111287-one.html" target="_blank">In a 1987 interview</a>, Jerry said, "<em>I've always liked Cosmic Charlie, but it's just really a little too difficult. If I could figure out a way to either just sing it or play it - but playing it and singing it is a bitch. Like the reason we don't- people ask us, why don't you do Saint Stephen anymore? We may never do it again. It's one of those things that doesn't perform that well- we were able to make it work then because we had the power of conviction. But I don't think our present sensibilities would let us do it the way it was, anyway</em>."</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">That certainly makes sense. The guitar parts of Cosmic Charlie are tricky and the vocals; well, that's the whole song and they certainly aren't easy. I like Jerry's discussion of the "<em>power of conviction</em>" being the force that allowed them to play the song live and do it justice: they really wanted to make it happen. Because that is what that song requires; conviction and a bit of <em>cosmic power</em>. Let me explain...</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">On February 27, 1994, the seed was laid for ZenDog to cover Cosmic Charlie. Figuratively speaking of course because we did not know each other back then. On that date, The Grateful Dead played Oakland Coliseum, and I think Jerry may have gotten himself in a little bit of a bind. The band finished The Other One and as the song broke form at the end and the crowd was waiting for what would come next, Jerry started playing Cosmic Charlie. The crowd went absolutely wild. The guitar rifts were (for 1994 standards) solid and everyone was convinced that history was about to happen. <a contents="Click here to listen." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/gd94-02-27.sbd.stephens.5972.sbeok.shnf/gd94-02-27d3t03.shn" target="_blank">Click here to listen.</a> I believe Jerry meant to tease the song and not actually perform it. But, the crowd, as evidenced by its energy, was not accepting a mere tease. The rest of the band had a WTF moment and pulled the music to Wharf Rat. You can hear the gasps of derision in the crowd. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Fast-forward twenty-seven years. ZenDog is playing outside at Blueprint Brewing and we are in the ending moments of Wharf Rat. We have plans to jump into Help on the Way. As Wharf Rat is fizzling down, I thought I heard Cosmic Charlie playing. However, my attention was redirected to the task then at hand (not losing my concentration). When I listened back to the recording of the show I heard it plain as day; Cosmic Charlie being played by our rhythm guitarist over the outro of Wharf Rat. I thought that was brilliant! <a contents="Click here to listen at 8:45" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/2021-09-18zendog/12+-+Wharf+Rat.wav" target="_blank">Click here to listen at 8:45</a> when the Cosmic Charlie tease begins. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">So, I acknowledged that brilliance to the person responsible and he told me where the idea came from. He had read an article written by folks who were at the February 27, 1994 Cosmic Charlie tease-show and that inspired him to recreate that moment in Grateful Dead history during our show. How insightful! He subtly resurrected a real event that occurred decades ago. If anything, I want this article to memorialize that moment! Anyway, we talked about how it would be cool to play the song in its entirety. However, the complexities of the vocal harmonies caused us to both table the idea for another day. And that day came, through the alignment of some random cosmic events.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The following month, we were scheduled to play at the same venue. Two of the guys in the band, however had last minute conflicts which prevented their attendance. So, the three of us huddled and devised a plan. We invited two new friends to join us; one on keys and the other on vocals. Our rhythm guitarist would play Jerry's role in a Garcia Band set. What a fun show! <a contents="Click here for a sample." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/ZenDog2021-10-09.SBD/04+-+How+Sweet+It+Is.wav" target="_blank">Click here for a sample.</a> The vocals that our new friend brought to the table were delightful! Keys were great too, a real Rhodes and Leslie, what a treat! And, after a while our new friend became our new sister-bandmate. With that, the seed for Cosmic Charlie began to sprout from the "cosmic" scheduling conflict that made our paths cross. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I believe Cosmic Charlie was on three proposed set lists in Fall of 2022. Each time, a series of unfortunate events took it off the table. A plate of bad eggs, a lacerated finger, and a virus ruined three successive attempts to practice it as a band. Cosmic Charlie was becoming a jinx. So, we set it aside until the next time we could all be together. In the meantime, we each practiced on our own. The song began to blossom. Cosmic Charlie made its ZenDog debut on April 30, 2022 at Punjab Live. <a contents="Click here to listen." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/Zendog2022-04-30.SBD/12+-+Cosmic+Charlie.wav" target="_blank">Click here to listen.</a> I remember the room light up once everyone cued in to what the opening rift was foreshadowing. We couldn't have done it without our sister-bandmate! She glued those difficult vocals together and made the song bloom. And, I have to hand it to our guitarist who both sang and played Jerry's part; even Jerry said that was too hard to do live. I actually have to hand it to everyone, that was a lot of effort and it wound up being really fun.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">What started as a tease in 1994 reappeared as a tease in 2021 through a creative expression of tribute. A disaster was averted by trying something new with new friends and eventual new bandmate. A series of unfortunate events delayed performing the song causing us all to practice it over and over. The song was finally performed, and it shined. That's cosmic and that's conviction. And, that's one band's story of a tricky song and how they came to play it.</span></p>Zendogtag:zendogmusic.com,2005:Post/69615772022-05-02T11:28:30-04:002022-05-03T20:38:29-04:00Gomorrah, Samson, and John: Genesis to Revelations<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/240742/e684cf86e927767269881db452979eb63c47cdbb/original/spirit.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large">One of the great things about the Grateful Dead's lyrics is that they are so universal. The band wrote and sang songs about working in a mine, being on your deathbed, a song inspired by a Sherlock Holmes story (Hound of the Baskervilles), songs about weather and planting and growing, a song about getting beat up in an alley after chasing a loose chick, and countless songs whose meanings and subject matters are elusive; yet timeless. The list can go on and on, but consider the songs that come straight from religious text. This band was able to sing biblical songs without being seen as a praise and worship or gospel band; that's a pretty neat trick which hasn't been accomplished by many others. Whether you believe in a particular religion, evolution, physics, or whether you believe that we are like, say ... bees, living each life cycle to preserve the next generation, you have to admit the Grateful Dead made religious songs cool.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Now, there are dozens of random biblical references sprinkled throughout the Garcia/Hunter and Weir/Barlow catalog. For example, in Ramble on Rose, the song goes, "<em>[j]ust like New York City, just like Jericho, pace the halls and climb the walls and get out when they blow.</em>" This line, from the Book of Joshua says: <em> </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>"See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in."</em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And as the story goes; the walls fell. Perhaps the reference to New York City is there because it too was once a walled city back in the 1600's when occupied by the Dutch (hence "Wall Street"). You can actually see wooden post marks in the cobblestones marking the site of the old wall, <a contents="click here to see" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://untappedcities.com/2017/01/26/trace-the-original-wall-of-wall-street-with-this-series-of-forgotten-wooden-markers/" target="_blank">click here to see</a>. But, the British didn't have to pace the walls and blow horns, they just walked right in and took control.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">In this article though, the exercise is not to identify random references to religious texts in Grateful Dead songs. We'd be here all day. Instead, let's go from Genesis to Revelations: Gomorrah, Samson and Delilah, and Who Was John. Three songs wholly dedicated to a biblical story, and still Rock n' Roll.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Gomorrah tells the story of Lot and his wife and the fall of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. It's a slow whimsical song whose tempo and flavor are a stark contrast to the fire and brimstone that rains down in the story. <a contents="Click here to listen" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L_8CnNu66g" target="_blank">Click here to listen</a>. The story is more intense; the Book of Genesis says:</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying "Hurry! Take your wife and your daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished." When he hesitated, the angels grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!" ... Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah. ... But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.</em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Pretty crazy story right? The last line of the song Gomorrah is, "<em>the wife of Lot was turned to salt, because she looked behind her, because she looked behind her</em>." There is actually a place in Israel called Mount Sodom that has a large pillar of halite. It's called "Lot's Wife." <a contents="Click here to see" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Sodom#/media/File:MountSodom061607.jpg" target="_blank">Click here to see</a>. The story of Lot gets even crazier when Lot unknowingly has a threesome with his two daughters, but that is not memorialized in any song I know. We haven't played Gomorrah very often, perhaps twice. But, one time is memorable because we played it inside of a grocery store. <a contents="Click here to listen " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/Zendog2019-01-25.SBD.Flac16/08-Gomorrah.wav">Click here to listen </a>to our Gomorrah from Whole Foods, Exton on January 25, 2018.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Samson and Delilah comes from the book of Judges. Now, judges weren't like the judges we know. They were just powerful people who ruled tribes in Israel back in the day, and Samson was a judge. This song goes back to the Mississippi Delta and the birth of blues. In the 1910's and 20's fingerpicking slide blues was considered "devil's music" unless you sang gospel. Blind Willie Johnson is one of my favorite Delta Blues musicians. One of his songs, Dark was the Night Cold was the Ground, was actually laid down on the golden record sent on the Voyager space probe. <a contents="Click here to listen" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/BlindWillieJohnson/05+DarkWasThe+Night%2CColdWasTheGround.mp3" target="_blank">Click here to listen</a>. The idea was to send sounds of earth to any distant civilization or spaceship that may intercept the probe. He is considered a pretty important contributor to our cultural legacy.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Blind Willie Johnson's 1927 <em>If I Had My Way, I'd Tear This Building Down</em> is a must listen. <a contents="Click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/BlindWillieJohnson/06+IfIHadMyWayI%E2%80%99dTearTheBuildingDown.mp3" target="_blank">Click here</a>. There are some familiar lyrics:</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>Well, if I had my way<br>I had a, wicked mind<br>If I had a ah Lord, tear this building down.</em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>Well<br>Delilah was a woman, fine and fair<br>Her pleasant looks-a, her coal black hair<br>Delilah gained old Samson's mind<br>A-first saw the woman that looked so fine.</em><br><br>The Reverend Gary Davis, born around the same time as Blind Willie Johnson recorded the "Samson and Delilah" arranged as we know it. Reverend Davis taught Bob Weir the song and it was first played in 1976. <a contents="Click here to listen" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&ei=UTF-8&p=reverend+gary+davis+samson+and+delilah&type=E211US1494G0#id=3&vid=d8c8abd70b87fd853fda110e01f00611&action=click" target="_blank">Click here to listen</a> to the Reverend Gary Davis' version of Samson and Delilah.<br><br>Lastly, Revelations and a Garcia Band song: Who Was John. This song is very powerful and will give you the chills, <a contents="click here to listen" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlzwGkTldfs" target="_blank">click here to listen</a>. The Garcia Band played it in 1976 and it is a call and response with Jerry and Donna singing in harmony. ZenDog played it on October 9, 2021 at Blueprint Brewing. <a contents="Click here to listen" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/ZenDog2021-10-09.SBD/05+-+Who+Was+John.wav" target="_blank">Click here to listen</a>. It is one of my favorite songs to play. I believe the Mitchell's Christian Singers recorded it in the 1930's. Their version is also pretty haunting with some great harmonies; especially the deep baritone. <a contents="Click here to listen.&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXrWIv0YMkk" target="_blank">Click here to listen. </a> Who knows where they came up with the arrangement. However, in the 1930's people's grandparents who had been freed slaves were still alive. Maybe the song was passed down? Imagine that, a song sung by people in bondage in the 1800's passed on to people in clubs in San Francisco in the 1970s, and then on to people outside at a brewpub in Pennsylvania in 2021! John, as a revelator, was the subject of many blues songs. And turning back to Blind Willie Johnson, I believe he recorded the first John the Revelator song in 1927. <a contents="Click here to listen" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/BlindWillieJohnson/15+JohnTheRevelator.mp3" target="_blank">Click here to listen</a>. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Now, whether its a song about working in a mine in Cumberland, MD, a song about being on your death bed and people visiting you, a song about getting beat up in the alley, or one of the hundreds of other stories the Grateful Dead sang about, I think we can agree that the commonality is that there is an element of the human experience in the lyrics. The religious songs are no different, they are a part of the book of the human experience. That is how the Grateful Dead got away with singing from the Bible without being seen as a gospel band or a praise and worship band. They sang these songs as a means of expressing the story of the human experience rather than imposing a belief system. The ever-wise Cee Lo Green said (yes he's pretty smart), "<em>Nobody is exempt from the human experience</em>." Such a great quote! It makes so much sense and I think it explains how such a niche subject, religion, could be accepted as it has in the context of Grateful Dead music. The band's cultural literacy is just unmatched.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I took the photograph of the graffiti in the image appended to this article about five years ago. I think its a pretty profound statement by an anonymous author/artist. Regardless of your beliefs, it can help to reconcile the complexities of this life and place them in a perspective which in good times or bad can help you appreciate that <em>this too shall pass</em>.</span></p>
<p> </p>Zendogtag:zendogmusic.com,2005:Post/69355182022-03-29T22:20:29-04:002023-03-22T10:00:44-04:00Morning Dew, Stella Blue, and Albert Einstein<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/240742/8a41d0a97112f85ccdaaf53467830931d256c221/original/d.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><span class="text-big">Have you ever listened to a Morning Dew and felt like you were about to explode? Have you ever experienced a Stella Blue that was so soulful it made the earth spin slower? Of course you have. Otherwise, you wouldn't be reading this article. These phenomena are not magic, they are a result of physics. Yes, the music of the Grateful Dead is governed by the laws of the universe; namely, Einstein's theories of general and special relativity. Here, let's discuss how Morning Dew triggers the mass-equivalency equation and how Stella Blue triggers time dilation.</span></p><p><span class="text-big">Einstein's mass-equivalency equation, e=mc2, calculates how much energy can be released by an amount of mass if there is a conversion event. Energy, or "e" is equaled to the amount of mass "m" multiplied by the speed of light "c" squared. The speed of light is about 300,000,000 meters per second. This equation yields a big number. The folks that made the atom bomb only needed 860 grams of mass (uranium) to convert into enough energy to annihilate an entire city. It worked so well, they did it again.</span></p><p><span class="text-big">Morning Dew is the best example I can think of for a practical application of e=mc2. It is fitting that I select Morning Dew because it is an old folk song about the aftermath of a nuclear war. To understand how Morning Dew fits Einstein's equation, let's call "e" the listener's "exhilaration", and let's call "m" the intensity of the "music." So then, the formula is <i>exhilaration</i> equals the <i>intensity of the music</i> multiplied by the speed of light squared. When I say intensity of the music, I'm not only talking about decibel. I am talking crescendo, resolution, bliss, and just the downright explosiveness of the music. This formula tells us how exhilarated the listener will feel if the intensity of the music reaches a conversion point. </span></p><p><span class="text-big">Consider the Morning Dew from May 26, 1972 Strand Lyceum; yes, the one discussed by Dennis Leonard in the Long Strange Trip documentary. It doesn't combust into oblivion; it converts to exhilaration by how soulful it is. That version sings like a lament telling the story of mankind's self-annihilation. You know that the music reached a conversion point turning "m" into "e" because Dennis was an eyewitness and couldn't tell the story without shedding tears. </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/gd72-05-26.sbd.hollister.12758.sbeok.shnf/gd720526-d3t07.shn" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents="Click here to listen"><span class="text-big">Click here to listen</span></a><span class="text-big"> to the beginning of the mass conversion point at 9:34. The Morning Dew played on June 7, 1977 is different. It is not a lament, but rather a first hand account of nuclear destruction. That version explodes with energy and converts music to exhilaration at 11:50. </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/gd1977-06-07.mtx.seamons.99001.sbeok.flac16/gd77-06-07d3t02.flac" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents="Click here to listen."><span class="text-big">Click here to listen.</span></a><span class="text-big"> Now, Jerry wasn't always responsible for the conversion. On March 24, 1986, Brent tore down the Spectrum with colossal swells from his Hammond. </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/gd86-03-24.naks.braverman.16746.sbeok.shnf/gd86-03-24d2t08.shn" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents="Click here to listen"><span class="text-big">Click here to listen</span></a><span class="text-big">. The magic, I mean physics, happens at 9:00 and listen to the crowd!</span></p><p><span class="text-big">Einstein's theory of special relativity also taught us that objects in motion experience time slower than objects at rest. This is because the space between us and time are the same thing (spacetime), and spacetime changes to ensure that light travels at the same speed to all observers regardless of their relative motion. So, if you are driving a Lamborghini at 200 mph and turn your headlights on as you pass me on the side of the road just as I turn my flashlight on, our light beams will travel at the same speed even though your light beam is getting a 200 mph head start. Since speed is just a factor of time and distance, Einstein reasoned that time slowed down for the person in motion. That is called time dilation. How else could aliens get to earth from a system 500 thousand light years away? They would have to travel as close to the speed of light as possible so time on the spaceship would stop ticking all together. Otherwise, it would be a long 500 thousand year flight. (I guess they could warp spacetime, but that's cheating and a matter of quantum gravity which we don't understand yet).</span></p><p><span class="text-big">So, how is this relevant to the music? For those of us who love the music, we are "<i>on the bus</i>." Therefore, figuratively speaking, we are in motion. Let's analogize Stella Blue as light. The song is therefore subject to the universal law that the speed of Stella Blue is the same to all observers. When those of us "<i>on the bus"</i> hear Stella Blue we hear that guitar string bend and it cuts through us, we hear the snare rim shots echo in the distance, we hear the tension created by a seventh chord inverted as only Mr. Weir could do, and we notice moments of silence that are deafening. We close our eyes. We sway. We forget about life's stressors. We feel the music and can actually see it through the lights. As a result, in that room where that song is being played to us, the earth appears to stop spinning and time runs slower. When we look at our watch after the song ends, eleven minutes have passed. Now, to someone who is not <i>on the bus</i>, the same song played at the same speed is nine minutes. That is time dilation; time slowed down for those of us <i>on the bus</i> and in motion. </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/gd1974-10-20.sbd.alligator.GEMS.94851.flac16/gd1974-10-20d3t05.flac" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents="Click here to listen"><span class="text-big">Click here to listen</span></a><span class="text-big"> to Stella Blue from the Grateful Dead movie October 20, 1974. No, </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x65DQgGbqIc" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents="actually watch it"><span class="text-big">actually watch it</span></a><span class="text-big">. You can see people in the crowd experiencing time dilation and if you listen close you may experience it yourself.</span></p><p><span class="text-big">In conclusion, I have a passing thought on Einstein's theory of general relativity. This is the concept that spacetime creates gravity when mass bends it. For example, in the picture appended to this article we can see how the mass of the Sun bends spacetime so that the earth revolves nicely within the molded contour. The sun does not suck the earth in like a magnet. Rather, the earth moves in the contour of spacetime toward the sun. Luckily for us, Jupiter bends spacetime in the opposite direction and holds us (and the asteroid belt thank goodness!) steady in place. This concept inspires another analogy; how this music connects with the listener. </span></p><p><span class="text-big">Look at the image for this article and in your mind replace the Sun with the Grateful Dead on stage at your favorite show. Replace the earth with yourself in the crowd attending that show. The band isn't sucking you into the stage. Rather the music keeps you ever present in the contours of the space between you and the band. While the music is playing spacetime is warped and you remain in its contours. You experience time dilation and mass energy conversion. If a band today can recreate that effect, then they deserve to be called a tribute band. </span></p><p><span class="text-big">We recently played a Morning Dew at Root Down Brewing which I believe converted music to exhilaration; at least that's what I felt. </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/Zendog2022-03-26.SBD/15+-+Morning+Dew.wav" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents="Click here to listen."><span class="text-big">Click here to listen.</span></a><span class="text-big"> "m" begins to convert to "e" at 9:15. A few months ago we played a Stella Blue at Country Creek Winery and I recall experiencing time dilation. </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://archive.org/details/Zendog2021-11-13.SBD/16+-+Stella+Blue.wav" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents="Click here to listen"><span class="text-big">Click here to listen</span></a><span class="text-big">. Time dilates at around 4:30. As the story teller for this article, I am not telling you that these phenomena of physics happened for everyone present. These theories of physics are called theories of "relativity" because the effects are "relative" to the conditions of the observer. If you were there, then you may have experienced them too. If you weren't, take a listen and see if you agree.</span></p><p> </p>Zendogtag:zendogmusic.com,2005:Post/68965272022-02-13T10:14:19-05:002022-05-15T14:35:19-04:00King Solomon's Marbles<p><span class="font_large">Fond memories are triggered by many things; driving by an old house, an old song on the radio, and of course, an old television commercial jingle. I am a child of the ‘80s so I remember a lot of chewing gum jingles (Big Red and Doublemint), soda commercials (diet coke "just for the taste of it"), and candy bar commercials (“break me off a piece of that Kit Kat Bar”). I bet children of the 60’s remember a lot of domestic household product and food commercials such as Charmin (“please don’t squeeze the Charmin”), the Oscar Meyer Wiener song, and the product that brings us here today, Ajax and what I would argue is its connection to King Solomon’s Marbles. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">King Solomon’s Marbles is a structured instrumental from Blues for Allah. The album notes tell us that it is played in two parts; Stronger than Dirt and Milking the Turkey. This musical suite consists of two themes played a total of five times; three jams in B minor each with the recognizable reprise to A major and two chord progressions beginning with C# minor. These themes are stringed together by the connecting percussive rifts. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Even though the studio album assigns a specific time duration to each part of the suite, we would probably be mistaken to take that as gospel. I think that the band was just being silly and that there are no actual named pieces to the parts within the suite. Take Stronger than Dirt for example, it’s an Ajax bleach commercial jingle from the late 1960’s. I could find a few versions of this commercial on YouTube. Each version has a knight in shining armor symbolically saving kids from dirty clothes just like Ajax saves mom in the laundry room. But, it’s the marketing hook jingle, “stronger than dirt” and how they sing it which imprints on the listener. <a contents="Click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-fni9oDjeY" target="_blank">Click here</a><a contents="Click here to see the commercial" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-fni9oDjeY" target="_blank"> to see the commercial</a>; pay close attention to the rhythm when they sing “stronger than dirt.” </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I came across this coincidence researching King Solomon’s Marbles just to see if there was a discussion anywhere about performing it live. ZenDog has played it a few times now, and I was just curious if there were any insightful discussions about theory and executing the song. There aren’t. Looking up “Stronger than Dirt”, however, led me to The Doors and the song Touch Me. Listen to the last four chords of Touch Me and what Jim Morrison says over them; “stronger than dirt” just like the Ajax commercial.<a contents=" Click here " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lVqEchxIxw" target="_blank"> Click here </a><a contents="Click here and&nbsp;listen at 3:05" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lVqEchxIxw" target="_blank">and listen at 3:05</a>. There are plenty of discussions online about where that came from; Jim was making fun of the rest of the band for selling out to Buick for Light My Fire royalties. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">In King Solomon’s Marbles, the Ajax “stronger than dirt” jingle appears as a percussive rift at 1:49 which joins the B minor guitar jam and A reprise with the B minor keyboard jam and A reprise. You can literally sing the Ajax stronger than dirt theme over it. <a contents="Click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3nnKQ-mMYI&list=RDMMR3nnKQ-mMYI&start_radio=1" target="_blank">Click here</a><a contents="Click here&nbsp;and listen at 1:49." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3nnKQ-mMYI&list=RDMMR3nnKQ-mMYI&start_radio=1" target="_blank"> and listen at 1:49.</a> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I have nothing insightful to add about where Milking the Turkey came from. But consistent with the sense of humor theme, picture the band sitting back and listening to the recording during the Blues for Allah sessions. Make sure you picture them very high. Someone (probably Phil since he is credited with Stronger than Dirt) likely called out, “hey that part sounds like the old Ajax commercial.” Now, picture everyone laughing so we can set the mood for the next comment. At 3:40 the song enters the third B minor jam which is a short dueling guitar solo between Bob and Jerry which actually does sound like turkeys gobbling.<a contents="&nbsp;Click here to listen at 3:40" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3nnKQ-mMYI&list=RDMMR3nnKQ-mMYI&start_radio=1" target="_blank"> </a><a contents="Click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3nnKQ-mMYI&list=RDMMR3nnKQ-mMYI&start_radio=1" target="_blank">Click here</a><a contents="&nbsp;Click here to listen at 3:40" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3nnKQ-mMYI&list=RDMMR3nnKQ-mMYI&start_radio=1" target="_blank"> and listen at 3:40</a>. Now picture someone saying “hey that sounds like a bunch of turkeys being milked.” </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Performing this suite requires a lot concentration. Its beat is a seven count (like Lazy Lightning and Estimated Prophet) and remembering the sequence of the parts is vital. The song moves very quickly which creates an Einstein theory of relativity time dilation between band and crowd. On stage, things are happening much quicker than perceived from the view point of the listener. <a contents="Click here " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/ZenDog2021-09-11/05+-+King+Solomons+Marbles.wav" target="_blank">Click here </a>to listen to one of our performances of the King Solomon’s Marbles suite. We pay tribute to the Ajax commercial at 1:28. The turkeys get milked at 3:14. </span></p>Zendogtag:zendogmusic.com,2005:Post/68710372022-01-16T21:25:08-05:002022-03-30T07:13:40-04:00Let It Grow<p><span class="font_large">If I ever get the chance to call in to the Big Steve Show, I would ask him how the thematic jams developed. These are the instrumentals and jams that reappear or become so attached to a song, they become the song. Some examples are, the ’74 outro jam in Eyes of the World, the Mind Left Body Jam (72-74 Dark Stars), and the jam in Let it Grow. The jam in Let it Grow is special because like the title states, the band let it grow. Over the years it took on different structures and feeling.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The chord progression remained relatively the same; D major, A minor, and E minor with Sevenths and chromatics scattered throughout. The stand alone Let it Grows played in the 80’s had a distinct progression when the E minor came around. It is a very recognizable ascending climb (or bounce) up the first three notes of the E minor scale. <a contents="Click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/gd89-07-07.aud.wiley.7855.sbeok.shnf/gd89-07-07d1t7.shn" target="_blank">Click here</a> to listen to the jam from JFK ‘89 when the E minor bounce begins at 8:06. That bounce resumes after the last chorus at 10:40. That progression, however, was not played when Let it Grow was performed as part of Weather Report Suite. Instead, the rhythm of the A minor and E minor sections was played with special emphasis on beats seven and eight (if you count it in 4/8). <a contents="Click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/gd74-10-17.sbd.barbella.16189.sbeok.shnf/gd74-10-17newd2t02.shn" target="_blank">Click here</a> to listen to the jam at Winterland ’74 as the A minor begins at 4:51. After the last chorus that same flavor returns with the E minor outro jam. There is no E minor bounce like the 80s. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Surprise! A third progression appeared for a short period when the band inserted a drum break before the last chorus. These versions were played in ’76 and have a remarkably different flavor. The jam begins in D major and then moves to A minor like we would expect. But during the A minor section, the band alternates up to F major and then back to A minor several times. This creates a very comforting tension in the music. <a contents="Click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/gd76-07-18.sbd.ferguson.244.sbeok.shnf/gd76-07-18d2t07.shn" target="_blank">Click here</a> to listen to the Orpheum Theater jam from ’76 as the F major is introduced at 5:50. The progression stops quick on an F major and then bang: drums. No E minor; at least, not until after the last chorus and again with special emphasis on the seven and eight; not the bounce. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We have been mindful to pay the proper respect to the Let it Grow jam. <a contents="Click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/Zendog2021-12-04.SBD/06+-+Weather+Report+Suite-LIG.wav" target="_blank">Click here</a> to listen to our Weather Report Suite played at 118 North on 12/4/2021. During that jam we stayed true to the period. <a contents="Click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/2021-09-18zendog/11+-+Let+It+Grow-Drums-Let+It+Grow.wav" target="_blank">Click here</a> to listen to our Let It Grow>Drums>Let It Grow from Blueprint on 9/18/2021. The F major begins at 6:36. On 6/5/2021 at Artifact Brewing we played an example of an ‘80s-like Let it Grow ja</span>m with the E minor bounce.<a contents=" Click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/Zendog2021-06-05.AKG-CK63.Flac16" target="_blank"> Click here</a> to listen. </p>Zendogtag:zendogmusic.com,2005:Post/68695482022-01-14T19:08:39-05:002022-03-30T07:12:37-04:00Saint Stephen '76<p><span class="font_large">In the days of dialup modem, we had DNC: dead net central. DNC was the virtual meeting place where folks across the country expressed their views on topics neatly organized into threads administered by the folks at GD headquarters. I remember arguments over who was hording the reels of the Great American Music Hall ‘72 run that Dick Latvala might have leaked to a certain someone. I remember great discussions about the music, and not to mention, the generous seeds and vines that were sent out by kind folks every day! What stands out most though is the debate over 1976 and 1977. You were either in one camp or the other. I tried to stay neutral by claiming to be a disciple of New Year’s ‘76; because it was the only show played in both ’76 and ‘77. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Neutrality only goes so far because the one opinion some of us in ZD hold is that the ’76 Saint Stephens are priceless. We would probably argue that the Saint Stephen played at Cornell '77 doesn’t hold up to one like Boston Music Hall June 9, 1976. This issue came under focus at a ZD rehearsal before the Dec. 18, 2021 show at Blueprint; should we break it up like Cornell or try something different?</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Now, June 9, 1976 marked the first time Saint Stephen had been played since October 31, 1971. Listen to the crowd roar as the band hits the first notes of the introduction at Boston Music Hall. <a contents="Click here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/gd1976-06-09.sbd.miller.95399.sbeok.flac16/gd76-06-09d2t03.flac" target="_blank">Click here</a> to listen. Despite the crowd's explosion, the band does not break that laid back feel; even when they come out of the bridge (at 4:05 “Did he doubt or did he try”). Trust me, there is something about the energy felt at that section of the song which makes you want to go faster. What we liked about Boston Music Hall ’76, though, was the extended jam that really loosened up. It does not take on the feel of most Saint Stephens. It is free like a Bird Song and at about 9:16 Phil takes the jam into B minor which is a first. The most exciting part of the song for me though is the absence of all sound at 11:34. Those three seconds of silence created some sacred space. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We gave it a try at Blueprint on December 18, 2021. Our sacred space was created at 7:53. <a contents="Click here." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://archive.org/details/Zendog2021-12-18.SBD/13+-+Saint+Stephen.wav" target="_blank">Click here</a> to listen.</span></p>
<p> </p>Zendog