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Speaker 1: Double Elvis Club is a production of I Heart Radio

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Speaker 1: and Double Elvis. Ron Pigpen McKernan died at the age

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Speaker 1: of and he lived a life that required cosmic karmic

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Speaker 1: intervention to bring it to an end. And I can

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Speaker 1: give you twenty seven reasons why that statement is true.

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Speaker 1: Three would be the number of eventful hospital stays he'd have,

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Speaker 1: not from his lifelong devotion to drinking, but due to

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Speaker 1: a genetic disease. Another two would be the number of

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Speaker 1: years he'd give up his favorite pastime in an attempt

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Speaker 1: to reverse the damage of that disease. Four more would

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Speaker 1: be the number of days he'd be gone before the

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Speaker 1: dead would pay tribute to him in an unlikely way

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Speaker 1: by partaking in that favorite Pigpen pastime and drinking too

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Speaker 1: much at his wake. Another four would be the number

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Speaker 1: of players who would do their best to fill the

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Speaker 1: void pig left. Ten more would be the number of

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Speaker 1: years that would pass from the time Ron McKernin and

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Speaker 1: Jerry Garcia first formed a musical bond to the day

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Speaker 1: that the first of them would shuffle off this mortal coil.

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Speaker 1: And four would be the number of dead members who

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Speaker 1: would continue to wave that flag after Jerry followed pig

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Speaker 1: into the dark of night, all totally on this our

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Speaker 1: final episode of season five, eventful hospital stays reversing the damage,

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Speaker 1: filling the void in Ron pig Pen, McKernan, Um, Jake Brennan,

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Speaker 1: and this is the cloth. The phone was buzzy. It

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Speaker 1: shook violently on the hook, its shrill ring echoing off

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Speaker 1: the walls. The two women sitting across from each other

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Speaker 1: at the desk exchanged a long look, and the phone

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Speaker 1: buzzed again, and they knew who was calling. He called

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Speaker 1: most days, but one of the women's side, and finally

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Speaker 1: picked it up. Hello, Hey, pig. About fifteen miles north

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Speaker 1: of San Francisco. On the other side of that line,

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Speaker 1: pig Pen sat in half empty apartment in quarter Madera,

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Speaker 1: his patented cowboy hat covering his black hair. He had

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Speaker 1: started to make a habit out of calling the grateful

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Speaker 1: dead San Francisco offices about nothing in particular, just the chat.

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Speaker 1: In between drags of a cigarette. He asked how things

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Speaker 1: were going over there, what they're up to today? Mundane

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Speaker 1: everyday conversation. But that mundane everyday conversation was like medicine

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Speaker 1: for pick after a lengthy stay at the hospital in Nevado,

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Speaker 1: he went home to poo Alto, and after a handful

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Speaker 1: of weeks under the care of his parents, he was

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Speaker 1: back to his own place. Being alone was starting to

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Speaker 1: get to him. The rest of the dead had visited

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Speaker 1: Pig at his apartment, but now they had gone on tour,

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Speaker 1: and he hadn't seen any of his musical comrades for

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Speaker 1: more than a month, and the only person he'd ever

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Speaker 1: seen at home was the medical staff who came to

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Speaker 1: check on him, and occasionally his landlady. Maybe two or

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Speaker 1: three times a week he'd hopped in his forward Cortina

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Speaker 1: and cruise over to a friend's house, or making in

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Speaker 1: person visit to the office is just to break up

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Speaker 1: the day. But besides that, he had just been gathering

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Speaker 1: dust while the dead were out of town, and still

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Speaker 1: the calls to the Dead's office became a way to

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Speaker 1: tether himself to the world. And although Pig had nursed

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Speaker 1: his girl V back to Hell after she had a stroke,

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Speaker 1: V would not be returning the favor Pig had sent

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Speaker 1: her away. He didn't want her around, not when he

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Speaker 1: looked like this. The romance had had survived all of

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Speaker 1: Pigs travels on the road, and his raucous lifestyle was

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Speaker 1: officially over. The other half of his heart was out

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Speaker 1: there on the road, somewhere in the United States, touring

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Speaker 1: playing the tunes he once banged out night after night

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Speaker 1: on his organ, and there wasn't much the cure pigs blues.

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Speaker 1: He couldn't drink, and the only thing he cared to

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Speaker 1: smoke were cigarettes, but they didn't drive out the feeling

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Speaker 1: gnawing at his bones, an overwhelming sensation of loneliness. There

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Speaker 1: was really only one thing he could do when he

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Speaker 1: felt like this. Keep coughed as he pulled himself out

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Speaker 1: of bed, straining with each little movement as he tried

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Speaker 1: to keep himself moving, keep himself working towards something. He

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Speaker 1: picked up an acoustic guitar and moved to a chair

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Speaker 1: at a small table with a tape recorder. His bony

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Speaker 1: body lurched over it, and he ashed his cigarette and

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Speaker 1: pressed record. Pig strummed his guitar, and the vibrations and

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Speaker 1: the strings ricocheted through his weakened body like a buckshot.

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Speaker 1: He clenched the neck of the acoustic and steadied himself.

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Speaker 1: The pain throughout his body was still ruthless, but the

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Speaker 1: music somehow seemed to help. As the warm hum of

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Speaker 1: the tapes spun along, Pig began to pick out notes,

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Speaker 1: and then his voice found the melody. Words and music

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Speaker 1: he had written that he had been working on for

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Speaker 1: quite some time, and they felt different when he wrote

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Speaker 1: the months ago, but now, in this moment, they felt

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Speaker 1: more honest, pain, weakness, a broken heart, Pig and long

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Speaker 1: process these topics through others words Robert Hunter otis writing

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Speaker 1: Lightning Hopkins, but these words, these were his, This is

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Speaker 1: how he felt. The words echoed throughout the hollow apartment

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Speaker 1: and onto the tape, and they were both urgent and

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Speaker 1: had a narrave acceptance, and the words of a man

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Speaker 1: who knew the other side wasn't so far off that

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Speaker 1: the great mystery of life would be answered shortly. And

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Speaker 1: the music was intended for an album. Bob and Jerry

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Speaker 1: had made their own records, and both had been insisting

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Speaker 1: it was Pigs turn. Maybe, but maybe the tunes could

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Speaker 1: just be on the next dead record. Either way, Pig

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Speaker 1: just longed to get back to work. He wasn't bowing out,

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Speaker 1: not yet. Even with his current medical status, he was

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Speaker 1: still certain he'd get back on the road, back in

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Speaker 1: the studio, his doctors who just had to clear it.

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Speaker 1: For the past decade, Pig had done what his idols

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Speaker 1: had done. He lived the life the way they did.

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Speaker 1: He lived life in the moment. The future was just

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Speaker 1: something out in the distance, a foreign concept. But the

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Speaker 1: future inevitably arrived and his body couldn't keep up. It

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Speaker 1: spoke to Pig by shutting down time after time, begging

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Speaker 1: him to stop, time after time, putting him back in

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Speaker 1: the hospital, and time after time, Pig gave it just

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Speaker 1: enough TLC to get himself back on the road or

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Speaker 1: into the studio. But now he had to be extra careful.

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Speaker 1: Pig was watching all his levels, charting everything he ate,

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Speaker 1: following his doctor's orders, and paying close attention to what

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Speaker 1: was being asked of him medically. His fridge and freezer

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Speaker 1: are no longer full of beer or liquor. We're stuffed

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Speaker 1: with very specific meals. Gone or the days of thunderbird bourbon,

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Speaker 1: cheap barbecue and sausages. Pig and cut his teeth on

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Speaker 1: blues clubs and booze for the past fifteen years. From

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Speaker 1: the moment he woke up to the moment he passed out,

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Speaker 1: Pig lived his life authentically hard, drinking long hours on

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Speaker 1: stage or in the studio, constant travel constantly working, and

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Speaker 1: doing anything necessary to get by. If there was any

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Speaker 1: possibility of making it back on the road, back to

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Speaker 1: playing music with his brothers, Pig would do anything it took,

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Speaker 1: even if that meant completely changing his lifestyle. And they

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Speaker 1: had indeed felt like they were turning around. The traveling

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Speaker 1: was hard on his body, sure, but there wasn't about

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Speaker 1: the traveling. Hell, it wasn't even about playing the audiences.

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Speaker 1: Pig just wanted to make music with his friends, the

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Speaker 1: same way he had been for the last decade. He

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Speaker 1: sung the last bars of his solemn tune and stop

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Speaker 1: the tape recorder. He found his way to a window

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Speaker 1: and lit up another cigarette, and the sun shone brilliantly outside,

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Speaker 1: and Pig wanted nothing more than once again be part

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Speaker 1: of the world. He followed this routine throughout the month

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Speaker 1: of January nineteen seventy three, and did the same for February.

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Speaker 1: Nothing changed in everything changed. No matter how he tried,

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Speaker 1: Pig couldn't kick the illness. He couldn't repair the damage

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Speaker 1: that had been done. He played music, followed his diet

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Speaker 1: and hoped against all hope that something would turn around,

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Speaker 1: but nothing ever really did. He could never quite get

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Speaker 1: up that hell, and just as Pig had slowly departed

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Speaker 1: from the dead, he was now slowly departing from the world.

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Speaker 1: His car left the garage less and less until it

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Speaker 1: stopped leaving altogether. He called down to the Dead's offices

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Speaker 1: again and requested that his organ be brought up to

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Speaker 1: the house. He was glad to see the few members

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Speaker 1: of the Dead family that delivered it, and greeted them

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Speaker 1: as he always did, with great warmth and a big smile.

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Speaker 1: It seemed like a good sign. To the best knowledge

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Speaker 1: of the Dead and the rest of their organization, their

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Speaker 1: brother was getting better. Pig didn't let on how bad

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Speaker 1: things actually were. He didn't let on about any paint

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Speaker 1: at all. He didn't want them to feel uncomfortable. Pig's

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Speaker 1: organ was the only thing that kept him company for

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Speaker 1: the next few days. On March eight, Vree, pig Pen's landlady,

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Speaker 1: happened by the apartment and figured she would stop in

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Speaker 1: and see how pig Pen was doing. His mailbox was

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Speaker 1: stuffed with letters. She looked through the front window and

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Speaker 1: could see a body laying on its side, Pigpen's body.

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Speaker 1: That day he was pronounced dead. He was twenty seven

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Speaker 1: years old. Even though Pigpen had been sick on and

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Speaker 1: off against two years, his death still came as a shock.

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Speaker 1: It wasn't even the drinking that got him. It was

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Speaker 1: a genetic disease. It seemed cruel. The original inspiration for

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Speaker 1: the Grateful dead. Their heart and soul was dead and gone.

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Speaker 1: Jerry Garcia was anxiously tapping his foot. The cold beer

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Speaker 1: in his hand shook ever so slightly. It was over

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Speaker 1: all of it, the grateful Dad, as he knew it

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Speaker 1: and as the world knew it done. The knot his

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Speaker 1: chest started to tighten up again. He took a deep

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Speaker 1: breath and tipped back his beer. He couldn't remember how

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Speaker 1: many he'd had at this point. He lost track an

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Speaker 1: hour ago. All he knew was said. It was more

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Speaker 1: than he was accustomed to. The cold brew cut through

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Speaker 1: the searing pain. But then his head began to swim

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Speaker 1: and the alcohol was slowly taking over. It made him

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Speaker 1: think of so many things, and the way the floor

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Speaker 1: smelled during the dead sets in ruined Paol alto the

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Speaker 1: music car on the festival express cross continental train ride.

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Speaker 1: They all got hammered there, but mostly it made him

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Speaker 1: think of his friend. His friend for whom the cold

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Speaker 1: drink in his hand had held so much importance. His

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Speaker 1: friend who helped him create the band to which he

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Speaker 1: would dedicate most of his life. His friend whom he believed,

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Speaker 1: even given his lifestyle, would be by his side forever.

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Speaker 1: And that friend was now on the other side. He'd

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Speaker 1: been given a front row seat to the great Gig

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Speaker 1: in the sky, but he was up there all alone.

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Speaker 1: That last thought, or Jerry a bit Pig was doing

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Speaker 1: it alone, just like he passed away in his apartment alone.

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Speaker 1: A short while before that, Pig had come down to

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Speaker 1: the Dead's rehearsal space. He was in no shape to play,

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Speaker 1: but he wanted a photo with the band, his final

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Speaker 1: photo with the band. The other band members brushed it off,

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Speaker 1: and they were too busy. Fuck. The regrets sent Jerry's

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Speaker 1: tight chest into overdrive. Now they never get a chance

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Speaker 1: to take another photo with their friend. Jerry was destroyed,

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Speaker 1: as were the rest of the dead and their extended family.

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Speaker 1: They were each informed by an unexpected phone call or

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Speaker 1: an impersonal newspaper article. There was no final goodbye. No

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Speaker 1: holding Pig's hand at the hospital, no long battle for

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Speaker 1: which they could offer their support. Pig had been up

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Speaker 1: and down, but even when things seemed fatal, he always

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Speaker 1: bounced back, and the Dead believed he would once again

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Speaker 1: sit behind that organ and come up to the mic

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Speaker 1: and turn the show into a revival. He seemed so

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Speaker 1: optimistic the last few times he'd been around the group.

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Speaker 1: They were wrong. There would be no revival. Although Pig

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Speaker 1: hadn't been a fully functioning member of the band for

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Speaker 1: more than a year and hadn't played a show with

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Speaker 1: the band in almost nine months. Although the group had

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Speaker 1: gone directions that far outreached anything pig Pen was capable

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Speaker 1: of from a musical standpoint, and although he had been

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Speaker 1: holding on for dear life for years now, constantly adjusting

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Speaker 1: to suit the needs of the band, the Dead didn't

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Speaker 1: seem like the dead without him. His death still left

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Speaker 1: an immeasurably large black hole. It wasn't just about the

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Speaker 1: music for the Dead, this was their brother. He'd been

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Speaker 1: there since day one. It might have been the alcohol talking,

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Speaker 1: but Jerry wanted to end the group then and there.

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Speaker 1: The life force of Pigs sustained something very precious and

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Speaker 1: important in the dead's energy and without any thought, and

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Speaker 1: they were something else entirely. They weren't even the grateful dead.

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Speaker 1: But musing upon the funeral of the band was not

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Speaker 1: what the evening was about. They had a real funeral

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Speaker 1: to attend. The next day, the dead and their extended

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Speaker 1: family had gathered just a few miles from the place

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Speaker 1: of pigs Demise at Bob Weir's new house in Mill

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Speaker 1: Valley for a wake to send their friend and brother

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Speaker 1: off in a way that he would have approved of.

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Speaker 1: This wasn't just some stuffy hall or church. They were

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Speaker 1: out under the stars that pig now danced amongst. They

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Speaker 1: were surrounded by cases of ice cold beer and several

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Speaker 1: grills roasting all types of beef and birds, a meal

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Speaker 1: that their brother in arms would have undoubtedly approved of.

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Speaker 1: Bob's house, which may have been able to hold fifty

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Speaker 1: people tops was flooded packed will to wall with hundreds

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Speaker 1: of visitors. The crowd of Pigpen admirers had now spilled

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Speaker 1: out into the backyard. Jerry looked around the yard and

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Speaker 1: he quietly studied the familiar faces that were gathered. Their

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Speaker 1: emotions ranged from Malaysian to devastation, all sharing stories and

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Speaker 1: smiles about their dear friend. It was clear the Pig's

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Speaker 1: impact went beyond music. Then he meant something special and

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Speaker 1: different to every single person he met, and they did

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Speaker 1: their best to try and under stand the tragic loss

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Speaker 1: of a friend. And the music Pig loved was older,

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Speaker 1: but he was young, too young, and it seems unfair.

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Speaker 1: Jerry's chest started to get tight again. He wondered if

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Speaker 1: he could have done something, something different, something more, something

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Speaker 1: to prevent the pain they were all experiencing. At this moment,

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Speaker 1: Pig's father sent the Dead's entire organization a letter when

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Speaker 1: he had heard the news. He told him it wasn't

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Speaker 1: their fault, that there was nothing they could have done. Still,

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Speaker 1: Jerry couldn't help but feel that nagging guilt, but inevitably

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Speaker 1: falls a death like this. It was as if the

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Speaker 1: universe had conspired against him. As the dead star arose,

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Speaker 1: Pigs faded and now here they were at their creative

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Speaker 1: and commercial peak and he was gone. Nothing was going

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Speaker 1: to bring him back. Jerry moved to a nearby cooler

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Speaker 1: and picked up another beer. He closed his eyes for

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Speaker 1: a moment and listened to the tunes that emanated from

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Speaker 1: a nearby stereo. He grinned. The cosmic irony of Pig's

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Speaker 1: death now saw the band drinking heavily after pig spent

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Speaker 1: months abstaining ship it, and they were the ones who

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Speaker 1: were always trying to get Pig to take some acid.

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Speaker 1: He didn't have to go and die to get the

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Speaker 1: house some booze. It was a habit they take up

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Speaker 1: in turns for the next three decades. It's seemed the

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Speaker 1: only fitting way to send him off. A requiem for Pigpen.

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Speaker 1: The next morning, members of the Grateful Dead's extended family

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Speaker 1: in Pigpen's biological family, gathered for a more traditional funeral

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Speaker 1: out of mortuary. The duality of the wake and the

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Speaker 1: funeral represented the duality of pig the scruffy guy dressed

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Speaker 1: like a Hell's angel and who loved to party, was

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Speaker 1: at his core a caring, compassionate soul. That compassionate soul

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Speaker 1: was returned to the infinite ether and his body laid

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Speaker 1: in a casket. The dead made their way pass, saying

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00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:46,720
Speaker 1: their final couldbyas in his final outfit, Pigpen looked as

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Speaker 1: he ever did. His family chose to bury him in

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Speaker 1: his leather vest and a brown collared shirt with his

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Speaker 1: cowboy hat carefully placed on a pillow next to his head.

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Speaker 1: Pigs family, as authentic as he was, knew that the

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Speaker 1: last thing Pigpen would have wanted to be buried in

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Speaker 1: was a three piece suit. They honored their son as

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Speaker 1: he was. Just days after the band said their final goodbyes,

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00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:10,000
Speaker 1: they were back on the road for a month to

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Speaker 1: play a series of shows on the East Coast. Even

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Speaker 1: though they hadn't had Pigpen on stage for almost a year,

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Speaker 1: things still felt different. They all knew they would feel

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Speaker 1: different forever. A few months later, when The Dead finally

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Speaker 1: returned to the recording studio to deliver their first new

293
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Speaker 1: materials since American Beauty, their first studio album ever without

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Speaker 1: Pigpen as a member of the band. The songs were

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Speaker 1: already well established parts of the Dead Slave Show, and

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Speaker 1: those songs became Wake of the Flood, and these songs

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00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,960
Speaker 1: were different. Though the Dead were once again steering their

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Speaker 1: ship to new territory, shedding the Americana influenced tunes from

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Speaker 1: their previous two albums. The songs were a combination of jazz,

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Speaker 1: R and B and reggae influences. Wake of the flood

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00:17:54,119 --> 00:17:57,440
Speaker 1: represented the state of the band, once again reaching into

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Speaker 1: the universe for something new, and if the Grateful Dead

303
00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:03,480
Speaker 1: We're never going to be the same again, then the

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00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:07,240
Speaker 1: music may as well change to One song in particular,

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00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:11,440
Speaker 1: Stella Blue, was first played live at Pig's final concert.

306
00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:14,560
Speaker 1: Stella Blue told the story of the musician at the

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Speaker 1: end of a long downward spiral, finding his dreams to

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Speaker 1: be broken in the streets, he walked on to be lonely.

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00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:24,480
Speaker 1: Although the song was written before pigs Demise, it perfectly

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Speaker 1: summarized his last few years on earth, and though the

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Speaker 1: lyrics spoke of pain, they also spoke of hope and

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00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:35,920
Speaker 1: redemption and the opportunity to once again shine. Pig pens

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Speaker 1: light continue to shine to the prison of the Grateful

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Speaker 1: Dead's music. Through that dream they all dreamed, through that

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Speaker 1: original fire. It's still burned and always would. We'll be

316
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Speaker 1: right back after this word, word word, Jerry Garcia struggled

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Speaker 1: up the stairs to the stage. He placed one foot

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Speaker 1: in front of the other, slowly, deliberately, like a long

319
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Speaker 1: distance runner, with one foot out the door. He exhaled

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00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:12,560
Speaker 1: as he hit the top step and then took a

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00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,560
Speaker 1: deep breath filling his lungs with the warm summer breeze

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00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:19,479
Speaker 1: that blew through Soldier Field. They're also blew through Jerry's

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00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:22,280
Speaker 1: beard as he stepped to the microphone kind of tickled.

324
00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:25,760
Speaker 1: The crowd let on an emphatic cheer as the ringleader

325
00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:27,840
Speaker 1: of the Grateful Dead stepped to the center of the ring.

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Speaker 1: They had just been treated to an inspired set from

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Speaker 1: the band, who had undergone a resurgence of sorts over

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Speaker 1: the last few years, returning to the stage more reliably

329
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Speaker 1: after years of sporadic gigs due to a legal dispute.

330
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Speaker 1: They were without their guitarist and lead songwriter, not to

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Speaker 1: mention their drummer's foil, Robbie Robertson sons Robbie. The band

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Speaker 1: were missing one vital original member, but no matter how

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00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:52,960
Speaker 1: tired or old the rest of them felt, they were

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00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:57,439
Speaker 1: all together. The Grateful Dead could say the same. It

335
00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:01,080
Speaker 1: was July, and the men who were once young were

336
00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:04,440
Speaker 1: now growing older. But this silver lining now had much

337
00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,680
Speaker 1: more than just a touch of gray. Jerry was still there,

338
00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:11,040
Speaker 1: as was Bob phil and Billy Mickey was there too,

339
00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:13,959
Speaker 1: having returned in nineteen seventy five and remained in the

340
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Speaker 1: lineup ever since, but the door that led to the

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00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:21,680
Speaker 1: piano bench kept revolving. First keyboardist Keith gott Show left

342
00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:24,520
Speaker 1: the band in nineteen seventy nine, taking his wife Donna

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Speaker 1: with him. He died in a car crash. The next year.

344
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Speaker 1: His replacement, Brent Midland, overdosed on a speedball in Bruce

345
00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,040
Speaker 1: Hornsby did a quick stint on the keys, but he

346
00:20:35,119 --> 00:20:38,080
Speaker 1: eventually left too, and the new man at the keyboard

347
00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:41,600
Speaker 1: was Vince well Nick. Jerry looked over at Vince and

348
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Speaker 1: all I could think about was pig pan. The old

349
00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:46,840
Speaker 1: memories blended together into some cosmic day dream as they

350
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Speaker 1: became more distant. In the crowd of forty thousand cheered

351
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Speaker 1: behind Jerry, the rest of the Dead We're kicking into

352
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,960
Speaker 1: Touch of Gray, the highest charting song of the band's

353
00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,440
Speaker 1: long and storied career. The hair piled on Jerry's head

354
00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:01,320
Speaker 1: and his line a man of a beard, shared much

355
00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:04,240
Speaker 1: more than a touch. It was snow white like some

356
00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:08,680
Speaker 1: hippie Santa Claus. Jerry's singing was reserved, delicate and weak.

357
00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:12,359
Speaker 1: The Dead pressed through the opening tunes, still finding their footing.

358
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Speaker 1: This wasn't an uncommon occurrence over the last handful of years,

359
00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:19,520
Speaker 1: decades of touring with very little by the way of breaks,

360
00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:21,879
Speaker 1: a whole bunch of smoking, over eating, and one hell

361
00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,720
Speaker 1: of a smack habit had caught up to Jerry. He'd

362
00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:26,960
Speaker 1: been battling health issues since the beginning of the tour.

363
00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:29,680
Speaker 1: It didn't help that the heroine he had once kicked

364
00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:32,919
Speaker 1: had slowly worked its way back into his life. The

365
00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:34,600
Speaker 1: rest of the group may have acted like they were

366
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Speaker 1: in the dark when it came to Jerry's health issues,

367
00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:40,960
Speaker 1: but like Pigpen before, in reality, shock and denial kept

368
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Speaker 1: them from comprehending how bad it was. Getting. On top

369
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Speaker 1: of that, the entire tour it in a mess and

370
00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:50,720
Speaker 1: oversold venue in Vermont, dead Head struck by lightning in Washington,

371
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Speaker 1: d C. A death threat called in on Jerry and Indiana.

372
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Speaker 1: Two fans died in St. Louis and another hundred and

373
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Speaker 1: eight were injured when infrastructure collapsed at a nearby camping

374
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Speaker 1: air ran. But no matter how bad their luck, the

375
00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:06,080
Speaker 1: fans that lovingly called themselves dead Heads continued to show up,

376
00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:09,360
Speaker 1: continued to contribute to the experience, and continued to get

377
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Speaker 1: the band energy to feed off. Of thirty years and

378
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Speaker 1: thousands of concerts had built the most loyal fan base

379
00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:20,440
Speaker 1: in the music industry, many of which regularly attended one

380
00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:23,720
Speaker 1: hundred plus shows. Going to a Dead show was no

381
00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,640
Speaker 1: longer just an experience. It meant you were becoming part

382
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Speaker 1: of a community, and that community lifted the group up

383
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Speaker 1: and gave them power. Jerry Garcia fed off of it.

384
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Speaker 1: After a slow start to the show, he began to

385
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Speaker 1: gather strength, using the music and the vibrations to push through.

386
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Speaker 1: Just like pig Pen. It pushed through towards the end,

387
00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:46,520
Speaker 1: and like pig Pen, tactic produced moments of brilliance for

388
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Speaker 1: Jerry during the show, including our heart wrenching rendition of

389
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Speaker 1: so many Roads for Jerry. Though this would be the

390
00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:58,200
Speaker 1: end of the road, The Grateful Dead finished the final

391
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Speaker 1: show of that summer tour with an encore of Box

392
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Speaker 1: of Rain. They left the stage, never to return in

393
00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:08,920
Speaker 1: the same form again. Such a short time to be there,

394
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:12,919
Speaker 1: in such a long long time to be gone. Jerry

395
00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:15,199
Speaker 1: had been heading for a crash for some time. He

396
00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:18,520
Speaker 1: had struggled through the tour, his energy seemed exhausted. He

397
00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:21,520
Speaker 1: checked himself into betty Ford Rehabilitation and, thinking it had

398
00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:25,399
Speaker 1: successfully kicked the habit checked himself out after two weeks,

399
00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:28,680
Speaker 1: just in time for the fifty third birthday. He soon

400
00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:31,720
Speaker 1: realized he hadn't quite completed the turnaround and checked himself

401
00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:35,080
Speaker 1: into yet another facility. A few days later, a heart

402
00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:40,080
Speaker 1: attack ended his life. Jerry's end also meant the end

403
00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:42,160
Speaker 1: of the Dead, at least the version of the band

404
00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:46,400
Speaker 1: that didn't have John Mayron. Like Pig, Jerry had hung

405
00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:49,040
Speaker 1: on for as long as he could. Like Pig, Jerry

406
00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:51,280
Speaker 1: battled through anything and everything to remain with the group

407
00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:53,800
Speaker 1: he loved. And just like Pig, the end of the

408
00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:58,640
Speaker 1: line came. No matter what Jerry tried, the pattern repeated itself,

409
00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:02,320
Speaker 1: and this time it left the Grateful Dead doubly devastated.

410
00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:06,800
Speaker 1: Both Pig Pen and Jerry Garcia gone meant the soul

411
00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:11,200
Speaker 1: and the mind of the group had returned to the cosmos. Bob, Phil, Billy,

412
00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:14,679
Speaker 1: and Mickey continued to play together in various iterations, and

413
00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:16,920
Speaker 1: they played the songs that Jerry and Pig has sung,

414
00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:19,640
Speaker 1: the songs that they poured their hearts into every night,

415
00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:21,840
Speaker 1: the songs that we had used to commune with each other.

416
00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,040
Speaker 1: They would change given the mood of a certain member

417
00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:27,200
Speaker 1: of the group, that could provide levity, heartbreak, and transcendence,

418
00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:30,520
Speaker 1: but it would never be quite the same. The dream

419
00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:32,880
Speaker 1: that had begun in Dana Morgan's music store all those

420
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:35,840
Speaker 1: years ago, with the nine fingered warlock and the skinny

421
00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:38,159
Speaker 1: kid with the bombless energy, and the rough and rowdy

422
00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:40,800
Speaker 1: blues man clad in biker gear with a heart of gold,

423
00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:44,359
Speaker 1: had been fulfilled many times over, with many triumphs along

424
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:48,600
Speaker 1: the way, and it was now just a memory. Jerry

425
00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:51,639
Speaker 1: Garcia would finally see what was waiting on the other side.

426
00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:54,720
Speaker 1: He would finally be reunited with his friend and brother.

427
00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,920
Speaker 1: Their journey through time and space had come full circle.

428
00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:28,080
Speaker 1: The walls were shaking inside the small pizza parlor. The

429
00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:31,440
Speaker 1: room was packed with a college students, local heads, underage

430
00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:34,760
Speaker 1: kids looking for kicks, all seated long tables. You're pushed

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00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:38,040
Speaker 1: up tight against the walls. From the far corner, an

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00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:41,040
Speaker 1: electrifying version of Holland Wolves, the Little Red Rooster was

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00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:44,840
Speaker 1: blaring out over the crowd. Harmonica solo rang out over

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00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:49,000
Speaker 1: the guitars and driving drums. They buzzed with grace, authenticity,

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00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:53,200
Speaker 1: and attitude, and the band was so loose but so good.

436
00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:55,840
Speaker 1: They laughed at each other as they riffed out, verse

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00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:58,560
Speaker 1: out to verse of chords. The harmonica player danced on

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00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:01,480
Speaker 1: top of it all, and they were delirious, beyond happy

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00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:04,720
Speaker 1: to turn up. It was their third gig, ever, third gig,

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00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:07,080
Speaker 1: and they had played the same venue a few nights before.

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00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:09,960
Speaker 1: The nearly an empty room. The second night crowd is

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00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,600
Speaker 1: a little thicker, but now the place was filled to

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00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:16,240
Speaker 1: the brim. In fact, there were even kids dancing outside,

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00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:20,199
Speaker 1: and the validation felt good, not that it mattered. The

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00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:23,280
Speaker 1: music was the real trip. As the song came to

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00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:26,600
Speaker 1: an end, the crowd hollered, and the harmonica players sluck

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00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:29,000
Speaker 1: down the remainder of the beer and stepped to the microphone.

448
00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:32,080
Speaker 1: He grinned out of the faces that surrounded him, and

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00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:33,920
Speaker 1: then he declared to each and every one of them

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00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:36,800
Speaker 1: that he was not just another person. He was, in fact,

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00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:41,920
Speaker 1: a king being. The band kicked in with some old

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00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:46,720
Speaker 1: slim harpo, again hard driving blues music. The harmonica player

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00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:49,400
Speaker 1: turned front man started around while laying down a slurred,

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00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:54,119
Speaker 1: soulful delivery. His raw vocal matched its unkempt appearance. The

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00:26:54,119 --> 00:26:56,200
Speaker 1: whole thing was rough around the edges and there was

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00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:59,679
Speaker 1: no putting on airs. The crowd of magoose pizza couldn't help,

457
00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,320
Speaker 1: but they were entranced by the kid in the leather

458
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,560
Speaker 1: vest with the jet black hair, half drunk, completely lost

459
00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:10,640
Speaker 1: in the music. It was magnetic. Just a few years later,

460
00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:12,880
Speaker 1: the Grateful Dead would become one of the most well

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00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:15,560
Speaker 1: known groups in the world, and pig Pen would no

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00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:18,480
Speaker 1: longer be crooning slim harpow covers to a dimly lit,

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00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:21,560
Speaker 1: greasy pizza giant. He would sing to the masses at

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00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:26,520
Speaker 1: hockey arenas, auditoriums, and outdoor festivals down each and every

465
00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:29,320
Speaker 1: road pig Pen travel. However, he would remain true to

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00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:31,760
Speaker 1: his original dream of playing the blues for a living.

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00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:34,280
Speaker 1: He'd empty a bottle each and every day until it

468
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:37,199
Speaker 1: endangered his life. He'd create music that could touch the

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00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:40,679
Speaker 1: deepest emotional strings of the human heart. He endeared himself

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00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,240
Speaker 1: to each and every person he had met, and even

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00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:46,600
Speaker 1: through the phases of pop, psychedelia, Americana, jazz, and a

472
00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:49,200
Speaker 1: host of other musical genre pretzels that Dead would twist

473
00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:52,600
Speaker 1: themselves into, pig Pen never lost the plot. He never

474
00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:55,520
Speaker 1: lost the original inspiration and energy that he had helped

475
00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:58,920
Speaker 1: cultivate from the Dusty Powell Auto to a mind altering

476
00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:02,679
Speaker 1: San Francisco, all around the United States, to Europe and beyond,

477
00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:07,520
Speaker 1: pig pens raw energy was always there, in person or

478
00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,199
Speaker 1: in spirit. No matter what direction the band went in,

479
00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:13,200
Speaker 1: he remained steadfast and loyal to the idea of the

480
00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:17,000
Speaker 1: Dead playing music together. A cold beer, hot mic, and

481
00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:19,879
Speaker 1: the sweet, beautiful music he made with the boys would

482
00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:22,400
Speaker 1: be all pig Ever wanted. It was the only way

483
00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:24,440
Speaker 1: you knew how to live his life, and he'd follow

484
00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:28,160
Speaker 1: that inclination with zeal, passion, and authenticity until the wheels

485
00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:32,359
Speaker 1: came off, and the wheels did come off eight years

486
00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:36,440
Speaker 1: after that night at Magoose, pig Pen would be gone forever.

487
00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:40,360
Speaker 1: The band continued to push forward in the same manner,

488
00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,720
Speaker 1: with the same singular focus to the music. They lost

489
00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:46,760
Speaker 1: more brothers in arms, but they never lost that original fire.

490
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:49,800
Speaker 1: The one picks someone in the pizza giant in Paul Alto,

491
00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:53,040
Speaker 1: the same one picks someone the club stadiums, in the

492
00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:57,360
Speaker 1: recording studio. The Dead's music would always reflect pigs calm demeanor,

493
00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:00,240
Speaker 1: blowing in like an easy wind, the warm summer breezes,

494
00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:05,240
Speaker 1: the kaleidoscope of brilliant colors and soft Pastel's Pig's music

495
00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,640
Speaker 1: felt comfortable and familiar, like sitting on a barstool next

496
00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:11,800
Speaker 1: to an old friend. Pig Pen was everybody's old friend,

497
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:14,960
Speaker 1: and he was gone too soon. The life as he

498
00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:18,080
Speaker 1: lived would continue to color the thoughts, minds, and music

499
00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:21,280
Speaker 1: of Lozy held close forever as the stone above his

500
00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:24,880
Speaker 1: resting place at the Alta Mason Memorial Park of Paulato reads,

501
00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:29,120
Speaker 1: pig Pen was and is now forever one of the

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00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:35,160
Speaker 1: grateful Dead. I'm Jake Brennan and this is the twenty

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00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:49,840
Speaker 1: seven Club. The Club is hosted and produced by me

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00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:53,880
Speaker 1: Jake Brennan for Double Elvis in partnership with I Heart Radio.

505
00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:57,640
Speaker 1: Zeth Lundie is the lead writer and co producer. This

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00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:01,680
Speaker 1: episode was mixed by Joel Edinburgh. Additional music and score

507
00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:05,360
Speaker 1: elements by Ryan Spraaker and Henry Luneta. This episode was

508
00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:09,160
Speaker 1: written by Ted Oma, story and copy ending by Pat Healy.

509
00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:13,000
Speaker 1: Sources for this episode are available at Double Elvis dot

510
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,240
Speaker 1: com on the twenty seven Club series page, talk to

511
00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:18,719
Speaker 1: me on Social act disgrace Land pod, and hang out

512
00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:21,800
Speaker 1: with me live on my Twitch channel disgrace Land Talks.

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00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:24,640
Speaker 1: For more news on your favorite podcast, follow at Double

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00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:32,680
Speaker 1: Elvis on Instagram rocar ROLLA, what up here is