1 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:10,400 Speaker 1: Double Elvis Club is the production of I Heart Radio 2 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:17,120 Speaker 1: and Double Elvis Ron. Pigpen mccernan died at the age 3 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: of and he lived the life that seemed to always 4 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:23,520 Speaker 1: be running a little late. I can give you twenty 5 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: seven reasons why that statement is true. Five would be 6 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: the number of years he obsorbed the blues and R 7 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:32,839 Speaker 1: and B music that is disc jockey father Spawn, helping 8 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 1: Pigpen develop a love for music that was decades before 9 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:39,839 Speaker 1: his time. Another twelve would be the age he was 10 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:42,479 Speaker 1: when he became a fixture in blues clubs in and 11 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:46,200 Speaker 1: around Paulo, Alto, where it wouldn't be too long before 12 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:50,159 Speaker 1: he was consuming more than music. Three more would be 13 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: the number of years he'd study under a nine fingered 14 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: banjo wizard, honing his craft and becoming a fully realized musician. 15 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: Another six would be the numb umber of Grateful Dead 16 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,399 Speaker 1: members not named pig Pen who were tripping out during 17 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:08,040 Speaker 1: the bad vibrations of the band set at Woodstock before 18 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: Pigpen came to their rescue. And one would be the 19 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: number of decades that would elapse between Pigpen's first appearance 20 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 1: on stage and last appearance on Earth. All totally on 21 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 1: this our first episode of season five, A disc jockey 22 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: Dad a nine fingered wizard, Bad Vibrations at Woodstock and 23 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: the Grateful Dead's Ron Pigpen mccarnew. I'm Jake Brennan in 24 00:01:36,680 --> 00:02:23,239 Speaker 1: this is the Seven Club, Yeah, m M. I fucking 25 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: told him it wouldn't work. It was the second night 26 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,919 Speaker 1: of the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival, and Augustus Osley Stanley, 27 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: the third a k. A Bear was furious. The Grateful 28 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: Dead's audio engineer and the creator and purveyor of some 29 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: of the finest LSD produced on the planet, stopped his 30 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: way towards the stage. He moved past the mud pit 31 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:48,799 Speaker 1: that had formed up front, past the dirt stained blankets, 32 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: peace sign banners and American flags, past the roaming docks 33 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: to see if ty dyed trippers, some of them completely nude, 34 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: some underage, and almost all wide eyed from the acid 35 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:04,000 Speaker 1: that was being distributed by hand. What a fucking scene. 36 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: Bare thought. It was impressive, or reveren and inspirational all 37 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:13,359 Speaker 1: at once, was also becoming somewhat disturbing. The entire three 38 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: day concert had been mismanaged. Tickets have been monumentally oversold, 39 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: and there were ten mile traffic backups that forced the 40 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: groups that were playing to be airlifted into the venue 41 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: by helicopters, and the driving rain the night before was lingering, 42 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: causing constant delays. The audience was soaked to the bone. 43 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: Oh in the forty ft rotating circle of a stage 44 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 1: that the Woodstock stage hands had been championing all day, 45 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: the one that was built to make things move faster, 46 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 1: the one they had assured Bear would work, wasn't and 47 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: now it was getting dark. The equipment had been carefully 48 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,000 Speaker 1: set up, prepared for the Dead, and just moments after 49 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: the stage began to rotate, it all came crashing down. 50 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: Everything had to be reset. Bear had just about enough 51 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:01,360 Speaker 1: of the stage ants. Fund Did they know about the 52 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: Dead's gear, he told them. If he told him that 53 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: the Dead didn't travel with the ordinary amount of equipment, 54 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: he told them that as soon as the instruments and 55 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: amplifiers had been put into place, stage wouldn't stand a chance. 56 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: And now here they were a busted stage, a piste 57 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: off band, and yet another delay. Baar didn't care about 58 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: peace and love. He just wanted the ship to work. 59 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: The Dead who had arrived the night before were also 60 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: becoming more than a little disquieted by the scenes surrounding them. 61 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: They had to be flown into old man Yasker's farm 62 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:36,839 Speaker 1: via helicopter. In the free spirited commune they had seen 63 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 1: the previous day was now a sea of mud covered freaks. 64 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: Save for the organist and singer pig Pen, the band 65 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: had all immersed themselves on the drug of choice, high 66 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: quality LSD. Pig never touched the stuff, who wasn't about 67 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 1: to start now, and the rest of the band were 68 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:59,280 Speaker 1: flying high, compounding the intensity of the situation, and they 69 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: did all. However, insists that Bear rewire everything and the 70 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,040 Speaker 1: sound had to be perfect, and they weren't about to 71 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 1: blow another major gig, not after their epic whiff at 72 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:14,480 Speaker 1: the Monterey Pop Festival two summers earlier, so Bear Owsley 73 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,560 Speaker 1: went to work. He determined that the p A provided 74 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: was insufficient and made some choice alterations, including removing a 75 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,720 Speaker 1: fifty ft electrical grounding that was no longer actually grounded 76 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 1: in any semblance of dry earth. Amongst the muddy mess 77 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 1: at the six acres of the festival's side had become 78 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:34,919 Speaker 1: and by the time the dad's friend Ken Babs the 79 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:38,360 Speaker 1: Mary Prankster who had arrived on can Kesi's further bus 80 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:41,280 Speaker 1: and who had most definitely been drinking the kool aid, 81 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,280 Speaker 1: took the stage to introduce The Dead. The show was 82 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: once again well behind schedule. The crowd had been treated 83 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:49,919 Speaker 1: to the booge rock of Can't Heat in the driving 84 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:52,720 Speaker 1: blues of Mountain, and they were in desperate need of 85 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: a nice mellow out. As the Grateful Dead tuned their 86 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:01,919 Speaker 1: guitars and checked over their equipment, Ken Babs tried to 87 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 1: calm the crowd, commenting on how far out and beautiful 88 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 1: it was that so many people could come together like this. 89 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:12,559 Speaker 1: Crowd knew what the scene was. They had created the scene. 90 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:14,280 Speaker 1: They didn't give a ship what Ken id to say 91 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:17,080 Speaker 1: about the scene. This wasn't Kesi's acid test. They just 92 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 1: wanted the music to start again. They wanted to hear 93 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:23,040 Speaker 1: the Grateful Dead mid peak. They were ready right now. 94 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:27,359 Speaker 1: The crowd, in their agitated state, grew louder as The 95 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: Dead prepared to play. Now a full forty five minutes 96 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:35,040 Speaker 1: behind schedule, things were already off to a bad start. 97 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:39,240 Speaker 1: Just that a voice boomed over the p A A 98 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,920 Speaker 1: voice not from anyone on stage, a voice from somewhere 99 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: dark Hidden. Would everybody please sit down, let the people 100 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:50,159 Speaker 1: behind you have a chance to see the show. Just 101 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: relax those muscles in your legs and sit down for 102 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:58,279 Speaker 1: a few minutes. Please. Where was this intervention coming from? 103 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: Bob Weir, the Grateful Dead's rhythm guitars, stepped to his 104 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:04,840 Speaker 1: microphone and felt an electric shock surged straight to his core. 105 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 1: The mic was ungrounded. Bob jumped back five ft and 106 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:12,480 Speaker 1: hollered in pain. The power went out on the entire 107 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: stage and the band was shook. This wasn't supposed to 108 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: be a bad trip. This was supposed to be a celebration, conquest, 109 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 1: a culmination of the last few years of free love 110 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:27,560 Speaker 1: and free music. This trip hadn't been all that long yet, 111 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 1: but it was already plenty strange. When the power finally returned, 112 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: Ken Babbs tried once more to calm the delirious crowd, 113 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:41,600 Speaker 1: and this time the Dead were mercifully ready. It was 114 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: about ten thirty on a Saturday night. One of the 115 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: best fucking rock groups in the world, the Grateful Dead. 116 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:52,840 Speaker 1: The Dead fell right into the cosmic opening chords of 117 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 1: their newest single, Sat Stephen and to the Rain, Soaked 118 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: and Acid, So crowd of four thousand tie died freaks 119 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: and front of them it sounded like heaven. This is 120 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: what they have been waiting for. But the Dead weren't 121 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:09,320 Speaker 1: quite as excited about the prospect of what was to 122 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 1: come next. As they got into a groove, their gear 123 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:16,680 Speaker 1: buzzed and tinkled. It was like Russian roulette with their instruments. 124 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 1: Who would be the next member of the group to 125 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: get fried by an errand fault of electricity. The weather 126 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,480 Speaker 1: wasn't getting any better either. In the stage, which sat 127 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: on a foundation of mud, now seemed to be sliding 128 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:31,440 Speaker 1: forward like an apathetic glacier, ready to indiscriminately crush the 129 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:35,199 Speaker 1: people packed like sardines in front of it. The Dead 130 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 1: cut Saints even short to calm the negative vibrations, instead 131 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: deciding to run for the safety of one of their 132 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:45,199 Speaker 1: go to cover tun Tomorrow, Haggard's Mamma tried blazing through 133 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 1: the country classic with perfectly placed harmonies. The Dead seemed 134 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,719 Speaker 1: to have the show back on track, but as they 135 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:55,160 Speaker 1: prepared for their third song, their amps lost power one 136 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: by one, and then the lights went out. That same 137 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:01,559 Speaker 1: mysterious voice floated out over the crowd via the p 138 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:06,080 Speaker 1: a system speaking and indistinguishable sentences. What the hell was 139 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:08,480 Speaker 1: going on? Was everyone on this trip? Where did the 140 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 1: Dead get some of that brown acid that was going around? 141 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:15,920 Speaker 1: Bear Owsley scrambled around the stage, resetting the amps. Eventually 142 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 1: the Dead were back on track and powered forward with 143 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:22,560 Speaker 1: an inspired fourteen minute version of Dark Star, and didn't 144 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 1: stop even when Phil Lush's basse amp began to pick 145 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: up muffled helicopter chap. The Dead were desponded another big 146 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 1: show and another bust. There was only one man who 147 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:37,800 Speaker 1: could take the boys home now and what time they 148 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:42,440 Speaker 1: had left in their set? Ron Pigpen mccernitt. Pig step 149 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:45,559 Speaker 1: forward with his cowboy hat pulled low, a cigarette in 150 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 1: his hand, wearing the same leather vest he seemingly hadn't 151 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:53,680 Speaker 1: changed in four years. The real McCoy Phil thumped out 152 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:56,880 Speaker 1: the opening baseline of Bobby Bland's Turn on Your Lovelight. 153 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: Jerry and Bob joined our guitar, then Tom Constantant on keyboards, 154 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:04,960 Speaker 1: and then Mickey Hard and Bill Krutzman on drums and 155 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:07,520 Speaker 1: Justice pig Pen was about to step up to the mic. 156 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:11,480 Speaker 1: An audience member absolutely fried from too much sun and 157 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 1: too many drugs, got up on stage, commandeered the mic 158 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 1: and started rapping over the Deads groove. The Dead didn't 159 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: give a ship at this point, screw it. Let the 160 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 1: guy in the audience do his thing. He was vibing, 161 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:28,000 Speaker 1: and honestly, his rap was pretty far out. Nothing was 162 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:30,319 Speaker 1: in the band's control anymore, and they were ready to 163 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:32,560 Speaker 1: get off stage, getting the helicopter and get the funk 164 00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 1: out of Dodge. That is until Pigpens deep soulful voice 165 00:10:37,679 --> 00:10:42,440 Speaker 1: began to vibrate through the amplifiers on stage. Pigpen led 166 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 1: the band through an intoxicating forty seven minute jam, complete 167 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:49,600 Speaker 1: with solos from Jerry, duets with Bob, and too many 168 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:53,680 Speaker 1: improvised verses to count. Pig turned the bad vibes good. 169 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:55,960 Speaker 1: He enticed the crab to get up and dance, and 170 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:58,280 Speaker 1: he pulled the rest of the band out of their haze. 171 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:01,640 Speaker 1: The Near Our Jam mended the Dead's un even set 172 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: with a triumphant, joyous down and dirty roots rock flourish. 173 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:08,200 Speaker 1: Nobody in the Dead but pig Pen could have turned 174 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,840 Speaker 1: the mood around that night. Pig Pen was the lifeblood 175 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 1: of the Grateful Dead, their substant soul and spiritual Center. 176 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:18,920 Speaker 1: And even though we didn't dig the LSD, he dug 177 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:21,440 Speaker 1: the scene, he dugged the music, and most of all, 178 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 1: he dug the blues. The enigma that was pig Pen 179 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:28,000 Speaker 1: didn't just save the group in their moment of peril 180 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 1: at Woodstock. He had also sparked the birth of the 181 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:34,160 Speaker 1: greatest jam band to ever exist, which gave birth to 182 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 1: an entire community of fans who called themselves Deadheads and 183 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:42,040 Speaker 1: kicked off fifty plus years of concerts and classic albums. 184 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:47,520 Speaker 1: And it all started from humble beginnings somewhere oh in 185 00:11:47,679 --> 00:12:18,040 Speaker 1: northern California. Phil Lesh was drawn to the voice. It 186 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:19,920 Speaker 1: was coming from the next room at the party, and 187 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 1: Paul Alto sounded like lightning Hopkins mixed with TBone Walker, 188 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:29,439 Speaker 1: smooth and sensitive torture, longing the real deal, honest, authentic. 189 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:32,720 Speaker 1: Surely it was the voice of a season blues musician, 190 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 1: a true blue blues man from somewhere far away from California, 191 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:40,439 Speaker 1: a voice that had traveled from way down south. Phil's 192 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,760 Speaker 1: eyes scanned the party, He followed the sound of the voice, 193 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 1: and he was surprised to find out that everything he 194 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,200 Speaker 1: thought about the man behind the voice was not what 195 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:54,160 Speaker 1: he had expected. In nineteen Phil Leash, the future basis 196 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,559 Speaker 1: of The Grateful Dead, was volunteering as a recording engineer 197 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:02,440 Speaker 1: for KPF A out of San Francisco. Phil was constantly 198 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,680 Speaker 1: attending parties and immersing themselves in the various music hot 199 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:08,480 Speaker 1: spots around the city, one of which happened to be 200 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:12,880 Speaker 1: thirty miles due south and Paalolato. Several music venues had 201 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:16,240 Speaker 1: turned the small city into a vibrant scene, a scene 202 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:18,800 Speaker 1: that served as a response to the buttoned up, leave 203 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:22,000 Speaker 1: it to beaver vibe of the nineteen fifties, a scene 204 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:25,719 Speaker 1: where a younger generation could discuss ideas that mattered to them. 205 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 1: The kids weren't worried about the bomb or McCarthy is um. Sure, 206 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,720 Speaker 1: they were political and read the news, but the people 207 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:34,760 Speaker 1: in this scene didn't have time to be fatalistic. They 208 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,840 Speaker 1: drowned out all that doom and gloom with positive sounds. 209 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,959 Speaker 1: Paolato was a cross pollination of folk music, jazz, and 210 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:44,600 Speaker 1: R and B in depending on where your taste, laying 211 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 1: good music was readily available at any time of day. 212 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:50,920 Speaker 1: On this evening, Phil and his girlfriend made their way 213 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:53,920 Speaker 1: to a party across the highway in East Paalolato, a 214 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:58,199 Speaker 1: neighborhood lovingly referred to as the Ghetto. The party was 215 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:02,040 Speaker 1: cramped but happening with live music in the front room, 216 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:04,839 Speaker 1: and that's where the voice was coming from. It called 217 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 1: out to Phil, so Phil followed Phil around the corner 218 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:10,839 Speaker 1: into the front room and was shocked at what he saw. 219 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,640 Speaker 1: A white kid strumming an acoustic guitar and pouring the 220 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 1: music out of his soul, as if he were channeling 221 00:14:16,679 --> 00:14:20,480 Speaker 1: Charlie Patton himself. Phil thought the kids bushy black hair 222 00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:24,200 Speaker 1: made him look a little like Claude Devacy, But unlike Devacy, 223 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:27,200 Speaker 1: this kid was clad in dirty jeans and a leather vest, 224 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:30,840 Speaker 1: singing the blues. His skin was dry and blotching. He 225 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 1: looked as if he hadn't bathed in days. God damn 226 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:37,560 Speaker 1: at that voice. Kid looked around thirty years old due 227 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,600 Speaker 1: to a long standing relationship with alcohol, but was actually 228 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:44,560 Speaker 1: hovering right around sixteen. The kid's name was Ron McKernan, 229 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:48,440 Speaker 1: but everyone called him Pigpen. Phil had seen pig Pen 230 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:51,760 Speaker 1: hanging around Paul Alzo was Jerry Garcia, but he had 231 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,400 Speaker 1: no idea he could sing, not like this. How the 232 00:14:55,440 --> 00:15:01,000 Speaker 1: hell did that voice get inside that body, and that 233 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:05,080 Speaker 1: body entered the world on September eight and a small 234 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 1: suburb outside of San Francisco called San Bruno to Esther 235 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,880 Speaker 1: Nelson and Phil McKernan. Phil was a Boogey Wiggy penist 236 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:15,200 Speaker 1: and under the name DJ Cool Breeze, was one of 237 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: the first white disc jockeys for the local black radio 238 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:21,920 Speaker 1: station kr E. Cool Breeze spent this block spinning R 239 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,200 Speaker 1: and B and blues music. His son, young Ron was 240 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:27,640 Speaker 1: just six years old at the time, and he didn't 241 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:29,840 Speaker 1: know it, but when he laid by the speakers and 242 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:33,280 Speaker 1: the warm, smooth sounds of his father's record collection filled 243 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 1: his ears, he was being steeped in a tradition of 244 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:39,080 Speaker 1: music that would end up coursing through his veins throughout 245 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:42,760 Speaker 1: all of his short life. Bessie Smith, John Lee Hooker, 246 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 1: Big Joe Turner, Male Rainey pig Pen, by proxy, observed 247 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:50,760 Speaker 1: the essence of the soulful and uplifting music of Black America, 248 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:56,160 Speaker 1: as Jerry Garcia would later stay, pig Pen grew up 249 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 1: with that music in his ear, so it was real 250 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:01,720 Speaker 1: natural form. The blue was the music that had been 251 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:03,960 Speaker 1: born in the nineteenth century in the cotton fields of 252 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 1: the American South, involved out of African American spirituals mixed 253 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:12,600 Speaker 1: with European folk music and instrumentation, blending influence from different regions, races, 254 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:15,760 Speaker 1: and continents, and by the turn of the twentieth century, 255 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,720 Speaker 1: blues and mature taking a more fixed form in the 256 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:22,000 Speaker 1: unrelenting heat of the Mississippi Delta, Southern Texas, and the 257 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 1: Deep South, with the first blues music being committed to 258 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:29,000 Speaker 1: sheet music in nineteen o eight. It exploded with the 259 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:31,920 Speaker 1: advent of the electric guitar or the early nineteen thirties 260 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:35,080 Speaker 1: and expanded its influence to every corner of the country, 261 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:38,160 Speaker 1: with hotbeds in both Chicago and on the West Coast, 262 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 1: kickstarting the careers of titans such as Holland Wolf, Muddy Waters, 263 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:45,600 Speaker 1: and Jimmy Reid. As blues music found a water audience, 264 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 1: it found a whiter audience, and the beats dug it. 265 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 1: Jack Carroac even wrote some of his own as he 266 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:53,760 Speaker 1: hopped rail cars and trolleys on the busy streets of 267 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 1: San Francisco. San Francisco was the same place where Cool 268 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,040 Speaker 1: Breeze discovered it and the same place he passed it 269 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:04,560 Speaker 1: on to his son pig Pen from nineteen fifty one 270 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:08,680 Speaker 1: to nineteen fifty six, Cool Breeze spawn those records, schooling 271 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:11,439 Speaker 1: pig Pen on the history of the genre and creating 272 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:14,520 Speaker 1: a passion and love for the good vibrations, the history 273 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:17,960 Speaker 1: and the culture. Pigs sang along to the records his 274 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:20,800 Speaker 1: dad played, and the feeling, the mood, the vibe embedded 275 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:23,800 Speaker 1: itself squarely in the center of his eternal being. It 276 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:30,280 Speaker 1: was the only thing that seemed to matter to him. 277 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:32,800 Speaker 1: Pig Pen was a fixture in the blues clubs by 278 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 1: twelve years old and was drinking by thirteen. It was 279 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:38,600 Speaker 1: part of the scene. If it's what the great blues 280 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,320 Speaker 1: men did well, ship pig Pen would do it too. 281 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:44,560 Speaker 1: But music that was the main thing. He saw the 282 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: cats on stage every night, hearts bled dry, singing that 283 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:50,200 Speaker 1: music that would overthrow your soul with joy, only to 284 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: spin around and punch you in the gut. Listening to 285 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 1: the blues was a religious experience, and pig Pen was 286 00:17:55,880 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: all about kneeling at that altar. He deeply entrenched him 287 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:03,439 Speaker 1: self and the pol Alto scene, attending parties, learning guitar 288 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:05,680 Speaker 1: and blues heart from anyone who would take the time 289 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:09,159 Speaker 1: to teach him and That's where he met Jerry Garcia. 290 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:13,320 Speaker 1: Jerry Garcia had been knocking around town for a while now. 291 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: It was the only guy who really took any interest 292 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:20,000 Speaker 1: in playing the blues on guitar. Pig wasn't throw. Pig 293 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 1: attended parties with Jerry and watched closely as Jerry effortlessly 294 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:26,680 Speaker 1: picked out the blues. He studied the way Jerry's hands 295 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:30,960 Speaker 1: glided across the neck of the guitar, the patterns, the precision. Wait, 296 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 1: what was that guy of missing a finger on his 297 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:36,239 Speaker 1: picking hand. Later, when pig was alone, he pulled out 298 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:38,879 Speaker 1: his guitar on a bottle of Thunderbird wine and spend 299 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:42,400 Speaker 1: hours trying to recreate the sounds he'd heard earlier that night. 300 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:45,600 Speaker 1: But pig Pen didn't have the confidence it took to 301 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,720 Speaker 1: get up on stage like Jerry Garcia did, and pig 302 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:51,119 Speaker 1: Pen didn't yet have the skills for an instrument to 303 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 1: feel at home there either. He sure had a heart, 304 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:58,199 Speaker 1: So Jerry Garcia took Pigpen under his wing taught him 305 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,919 Speaker 1: how to pick up the blues on guitar. Music worked. 306 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:05,200 Speaker 1: Months turned into years as Pigpen learned from Jerry Honey's craft, 307 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:08,080 Speaker 1: until he was proficient enough to bang out Lightning Hopkins 308 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:11,120 Speaker 1: and Robert Johnson tunes with ease, and by the time 309 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:13,119 Speaker 1: he was ready to take the stage and sing and 310 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:17,720 Speaker 1: play for an audience pig Pen Blue people's minds. He 311 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:20,399 Speaker 1: already had the attitude and the voice, but now he 312 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:24,600 Speaker 1: had some real instrumental chops too. Nobody in the Palazo 313 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:27,960 Speaker 1: scene really played or sang the blues, and as feel 314 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:30,439 Speaker 1: less experienced in the front room of that party that 315 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:35,119 Speaker 1: night in pig Pens bluesy Graw shook the scene like 316 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:38,520 Speaker 1: a tug of thunderbirds straight out of the bottle. Pig 317 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:41,399 Speaker 1: already had the knowledge in the natural talent, but now 318 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:45,000 Speaker 1: he had the confidence to really deliver. Maybe one day, 319 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:47,159 Speaker 1: he thought, get have his own record that could go 320 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:49,440 Speaker 1: up on the shelf next to those of his heroes. 321 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 1: He was on an irreversible course that it was all 322 00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:56,240 Speaker 1: thanks to that beating nick guitar player with shaggy hair, 323 00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:59,480 Speaker 1: the one with the cool, calm demeanor, the one with 324 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:02,800 Speaker 1: not only the musical ability but intellectual prowess to match, 325 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:05,879 Speaker 1: the one who could play anything on the banjo or guitar, 326 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:08,359 Speaker 1: even if he was missing the middle finger of his 327 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:15,480 Speaker 1: right hand. It was all thanks to Jerry Garcia. We'll 328 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:26,720 Speaker 1: be right back after this word. We were New Year's Eve, 329 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:32,040 Speaker 1: Bob Weir and his two friends, Bob Matthews and Rich macaulay, 330 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:35,440 Speaker 1: were roaming the streets of Paol Alto. They struck out 331 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:37,560 Speaker 1: at every bar they tried to get into, and no 332 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:39,960 Speaker 1: one would let them in, and the night was a 333 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:43,760 Speaker 1: total bust. It wasn't surprising, given that the three friends 334 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:47,280 Speaker 1: were just sixteen and definitely looked their age, but now 335 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:50,120 Speaker 1: they were resigned to the fruitless venture of window shopping 336 00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:53,560 Speaker 1: at closed stores. Bob was on holiday break from boarding 337 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,280 Speaker 1: school in Colorado and was just looking for a good time, 338 00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:00,199 Speaker 1: but this night was turning into a colossal bummer. They 339 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:03,160 Speaker 1: couldn't escape the muffled roar of New Year's Eve festivities 340 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:05,920 Speaker 1: from the establishments they had been turned away from. That 341 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:08,400 Speaker 1: We're about to pack it in and head home when 342 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:11,639 Speaker 1: they heard another sound in the air. The sweet sound 343 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:13,879 Speaker 1: of a banjo floated out of what seemed to be 344 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:17,600 Speaker 1: the only open shop in the entire town, Dana Morgan's 345 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:21,680 Speaker 1: Music Store. Just so happened, Bob and his friends were irregulars. 346 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:25,560 Speaker 1: They poked their heads inside and saw a goatee dude 347 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:29,080 Speaker 1: with jet black hair. Wielding a banjo, he hammered away 348 00:21:29,119 --> 00:21:32,480 Speaker 1: on the instrument prodigiously, like some sort of mystic who 349 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:35,639 Speaker 1: Rich mcaulay was a banjo student at the Dude and 350 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:38,680 Speaker 1: Jerry Garcia had no idea it was New Year's Eve. 351 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,359 Speaker 1: He was fixated on the bluegrass he was playing, waiting 352 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:44,560 Speaker 1: for a pair of students who would never arrive for 353 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:47,639 Speaker 1: their lesson, and oblivious to all else in the world, 354 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 1: including the celebrations taking place all around him. Bob and 355 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,280 Speaker 1: his friends, having nothing better to do, suggested an improp 356 00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:59,320 Speaker 1: to jam session. Come on, man, let's play something Jerry 357 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:01,920 Speaker 1: was has didn't. What if his students showed up. It's 358 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: New Year's Eve, Jerry. Bob explained, no one's coming tonight 359 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:11,200 Speaker 1: except for us. Jerry acquiesced. He grabbed some extra guitars, 360 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:14,359 Speaker 1: and the four began king out tunes, traditional folk from 361 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:17,480 Speaker 1: that old, weird America, the kind of stuff both Jerry 362 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:20,480 Speaker 1: and Bob vibe. A few songs led to a dozen, 363 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:22,640 Speaker 1: and before they knew it, they had picked their way 364 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:26,280 Speaker 1: right out of nineteen sixty three and into nineteen sixty four. 365 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 1: Who was impossible to deny the musical fusion Jerry and 366 00:22:30,359 --> 00:22:34,159 Speaker 1: Bob created together. Rich suggested that with the folk craze 367 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:35,920 Speaker 1: going on at the moment, the two should start a 368 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:39,960 Speaker 1: jug band. Bob and Jerry locked eyes. What would become 369 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,680 Speaker 1: the original model for the Dead started out as Mother 370 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:47,439 Speaker 1: mccree's Uptown jug Champions. Jerry recruited his friends Tom Stone 371 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:50,960 Speaker 1: and Dave Parker to play banjo and washboard, respectively, and 372 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: knew exactly who the final piece of the puzzle would be. 373 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:56,760 Speaker 1: When Bob showed up for the first meeting with the 374 00:22:56,800 --> 00:23:00,119 Speaker 1: other band members, he was unnerved by only one of them. 375 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:02,680 Speaker 1: The guy was heavy bill with a leather shirt and 376 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:06,800 Speaker 1: dark eyes. His unkempt hair spilled out in every direction, 377 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:10,679 Speaker 1: his jet black mustache laid over a pockmarked face. He 378 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:13,960 Speaker 1: didn't look like the kind of guy Bob usually associated with. 379 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:22,720 Speaker 1: This guy looked fierce dangerous. Bob meet pig Pen. Pig Pen, 380 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:26,040 Speaker 1: now eighteen, had been steadily improving his skills under Jerry 381 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 1: Garcia's tutelage for a few years and as a result, 382 00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:33,159 Speaker 1: had secured steady work gigging in the area, adding proficiency 383 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:36,240 Speaker 1: on guitar and keys to his harmonica and vocal chops. 384 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:39,200 Speaker 1: He landed spots and a couple of country blues bands, 385 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:42,359 Speaker 1: played gigs with Jerry, gigs solo, and even fronted an 386 00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:46,600 Speaker 1: electric blues band called the Zodiacs thanks to Jerry, the 387 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:48,760 Speaker 1: kid who washed out of high school and washed up 388 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:51,840 Speaker 1: on the pole out. Though seen was no longer an amateur, 389 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,240 Speaker 1: Bob would come to find out that pig pens biker, 390 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:59,680 Speaker 1: garb blues man's exterior didn't match his personality. He'd learned 391 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 1: the pig was sweet, sensitive and his only real interests 392 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:05,879 Speaker 1: were in the music that he was making and hooch. 393 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:10,840 Speaker 1: Three weeks later, Mother mccreeze Uptown jug Champions started playing 394 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:14,240 Speaker 1: shows all over the San Francisco Peninsula, and they took 395 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:17,159 Speaker 1: gigs wherever they could and always kept the music loose 396 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:21,479 Speaker 1: in the atmosphere, lively in the mood, light and fun. Jerry, 397 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:24,560 Speaker 1: who can now break away from the dogmatic rigidness of 398 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:28,240 Speaker 1: bluegrass playing, seemed to be thriving in a free flowing state, 399 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:33,080 Speaker 1: joyously filling the space with the serene sounds of his guitar. Bob, 400 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:35,639 Speaker 1: not yet up to par on guitar, chugged along on 401 00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:39,320 Speaker 1: bass while Tom spilled out intricate banjo patterns, and Dave 402 00:24:39,359 --> 00:24:42,639 Speaker 1: added color with his washboard, and then there was a 403 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:45,879 Speaker 1: pig Pen. The other members of the band agreed pig 404 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,840 Speaker 1: was simply the best singer amongst them. Before the band 405 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:51,160 Speaker 1: would take the stage, pig Pen would get a little 406 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:53,320 Speaker 1: buzz on and then he let loose with a rip, 407 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:55,920 Speaker 1: roaring down on, get down, growling on the mic with 408 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:59,160 Speaker 1: his gravelly and endearing voice, and the group made every 409 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 1: venue they play feel like a honky tonk. Eventually, Dave 410 00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:06,240 Speaker 1: and Tom cycled out and different musicians took their place, 411 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:09,560 Speaker 1: and this kept Mother mccreaeys a fresh act that would 412 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:13,879 Speaker 1: never be the same live experience twice. This unique group dynamic, 413 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,280 Speaker 1: mixed with their combination of blue standards and old timey folk, 414 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:21,400 Speaker 1: made them a favorite on the local circuit. However, after 415 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:24,120 Speaker 1: a few months of playing the standards, the tune seen, 416 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:27,280 Speaker 1: even by the group's own admission, a little bit dated. 417 00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:30,679 Speaker 1: This was especially true with what was going on across 418 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:34,200 Speaker 1: the pond in England, some five thousand miles away, where 419 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:37,320 Speaker 1: four mop tops from Liverpool, we're turning the world of 420 00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:41,119 Speaker 1: popular music on its head. Pig Pen had an idea, 421 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,520 Speaker 1: let's get some drums man and the Beatles were changing 422 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 1: pop music from black and white to technicolor, and the 423 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:52,359 Speaker 1: conservatism of the yearly sixties was morphing into something entirely different. 424 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,400 Speaker 1: Pig thought Mother mccree's Uptown jug band Champions should hop 425 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:59,960 Speaker 1: aboard the training before it left the station. What pig 426 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,760 Speaker 1: Pen didn't know is that this new desire to plug 427 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 1: in to crank out some electric blues would eventually put 428 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:09,840 Speaker 1: his group at the center of a burgeoning counterculture. It 429 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:41,200 Speaker 1: would change their lives forever. The room was filled with 430 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:44,840 Speaker 1: smoke and the sound of clinking bottles. It smelled like 431 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:48,280 Speaker 1: whiskey and stale beer. A group of men sat at 432 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 1: a table dealing card It's muttering to each other, serious players, 433 00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:54,439 Speaker 1: not the kind of guys you mess around with, not 434 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,680 Speaker 1: if you were smart. But when the back door opened, 435 00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:01,840 Speaker 1: the table fell silent to A bluesman entered, guitar cases 436 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:04,600 Speaker 1: in hand. They tipped their hats to the gamblers as 437 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:07,040 Speaker 1: they walked past, moving through another door and into the 438 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:10,360 Speaker 1: main room of the club. The gamblers watched them closely. 439 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:13,560 Speaker 1: One of the gamblers leaned in, whispering the rumors he 440 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:15,600 Speaker 1: was sure were true about the man in the front. 441 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:18,960 Speaker 1: The one it was unmatched on the acoustic guitar. The 442 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:21,439 Speaker 1: one who made the blue sound like a symphony, like 443 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:24,040 Speaker 1: it was from another world. The one, it was said, 444 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:26,639 Speaker 1: who had sold his soul to the devil for the 445 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:33,119 Speaker 1: ability to do so. The man was Robert Johnson. In 446 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:36,240 Speaker 1: August of ninety eight, he was working a circuit of 447 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:40,119 Speaker 1: Mississippi juke joints, playing the blues, making a paycheck, and 448 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,560 Speaker 1: at each stop, shacking up with whichever woman he wooed, 449 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:47,840 Speaker 1: of which there was no shortage. However, by all accounts, 450 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:50,760 Speaker 1: Robert was a nice guy. He didn't have the inherent 451 00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:53,440 Speaker 1: rowdedness that came along with most musicians of the day. 452 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:57,440 Speaker 1: He simply showed up, played his cosmic blues music, and 453 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:00,520 Speaker 1: moved it on down the road a piece. But in 454 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:03,320 Speaker 1: his travels, Robert had picked up a bad whiskey habit, 455 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:06,479 Speaker 1: and while it didn't inhibit his seemingly possessed finger picking, 456 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:11,200 Speaker 1: it severely altered his common sense, especially when it came 457 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:14,720 Speaker 1: to choosing which women to woo. On this night in 458 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:18,119 Speaker 1: Greenwood County, Robert had fixed his sight on a darling 459 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:21,080 Speaker 1: of the Delta, a woman with long flowing hair that 460 00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:25,560 Speaker 1: danced alongside his intoxicating twelve bar blues. He couldn't take 461 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:28,080 Speaker 1: his eyes off of her the entire set, and she 462 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 1: made no indication, as she wasn't interested. The problem, of course, 463 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:35,160 Speaker 1: was that she was a married woman, and she wasn't 464 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:37,520 Speaker 1: married to just anyone. She was married to one of 465 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:39,400 Speaker 1: the men who had been sitting at the gambling table 466 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:42,280 Speaker 1: in the back room, the club's owner. He was the 467 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:45,240 Speaker 1: man who had hired Robert Johnson, who was paying him 468 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:48,760 Speaker 1: and providing free drinks, and now he was making moves 469 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:53,040 Speaker 1: on his wife. Fat fucking chance. The owner left the 470 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:55,880 Speaker 1: gambling table and was now fixed firmly behind the bar, 471 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:58,760 Speaker 1: watching his wife make eyes at the bluesman on stage. 472 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:01,640 Speaker 1: He had a susp bisis heard. It was nothing new 473 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:03,680 Speaker 1: that Robert had moved on this woman the last time 474 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,280 Speaker 1: through town, but now it was all but confirmed. The 475 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:08,800 Speaker 1: man disappeared into the back room and returned with an 476 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:11,760 Speaker 1: unmarked bottle of white powder. He poured a glass of 477 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:14,680 Speaker 1: whiskey and stirred in a spoonful of the stuff. But 478 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:17,040 Speaker 1: when his wife arrived at the bar to clench the thirst, 479 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:19,800 Speaker 1: she worked up on the dance floor. Her husband slid 480 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:23,040 Speaker 1: the tincture to her and motioned to the stage. None 481 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:26,800 Speaker 1: the wiser. The woman carried the glass straight to Robert Johnson. 482 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:30,240 Speaker 1: As he finished a tune, she stepped up under the stage, 483 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:32,720 Speaker 1: handed in the glass and brushed his inner thighs. She 484 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:36,680 Speaker 1: stepped away with a smile. Robert flashed a devilish grin. 485 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:39,360 Speaker 1: He had no idea what he was actually in for 486 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:42,960 Speaker 1: that night. As Robert Johnson worked through the rest of 487 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:45,560 Speaker 1: the set and the rest of the whiskey, he began 488 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:48,920 Speaker 1: to feel sick, and there was a strange pain deep 489 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,960 Speaker 1: in his stomach, and that wasn't just whiskey in the glass. 490 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:54,760 Speaker 1: He cut the set short and went back to the 491 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:57,440 Speaker 1: place he was staying. But this would be one hangover 492 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:02,280 Speaker 1: he wouldn't sleep off. The toxins found their way to 493 00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:07,280 Speaker 1: a recently diagnosed ulcer and quickly ate at Robert's insides. 494 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:12,000 Speaker 1: Within three days, Robert Johnson was dead on the floor 495 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:18,440 Speaker 1: of a shack in Greenwood, Mississippi. Like Pigpen, the hard 496 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:23,000 Speaker 1: edge of Robert Johnson's lifestyle was divorced from his personality. Also, 497 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:26,200 Speaker 1: like pig Pen, Robert was the talent that burned too 498 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:28,880 Speaker 1: bright for the world, and they were blues men with 499 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:33,920 Speaker 1: a soft side, light hearted, warm, amicable, and joyous. Both 500 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:38,000 Speaker 1: took their music very seriously, spending hours, months, even years 501 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:41,160 Speaker 1: perfecting their craft, and despite the rumors of a deal 502 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:45,720 Speaker 1: to Crossroads, there was no demonic intervention. Robert Johnson and 503 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:49,320 Speaker 1: pig Pen made honest, genuine music by their commitment to 504 00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:53,480 Speaker 1: their craft. However, the good times often came with a 505 00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:56,960 Speaker 1: lifestyle and good intentions stirred and shaken with those good 506 00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:01,520 Speaker 1: times don't always meet with good outcomes. As Robert groaned 507 00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:03,560 Speaker 1: his way through his last hours on Earth and that 508 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:07,400 Speaker 1: Mississippi shack writhing in pain, it was clear that the 509 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:09,840 Speaker 1: good times were coming to an end all too soon. 510 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:14,680 Speaker 1: He was buried the same day he died. Robert Johnson 511 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:17,440 Speaker 1: was not a mythical being. He was a real person. 512 00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:22,600 Speaker 1: His time on Earth ran out August. He was twenty 513 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:27,440 Speaker 1: seven years old. Thirty one years later, Robert Hunter would 514 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:31,440 Speaker 1: pen the lyrics to The Grateful Dead's Easy Wind, Influenced 515 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:35,440 Speaker 1: by Robert Johnson's immaculate blues. The track would appeared on 516 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:40,200 Speaker 1: The Grateful Dad's seventy album Working Man's Dead, sung by 517 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:42,680 Speaker 1: the only member of the group who could authentically deliver 518 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:46,440 Speaker 1: the gravelly vocals and punchy harmonica necessary to pay homage 519 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:50,760 Speaker 1: to the tradition of the music pig Pan. The result 520 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:53,640 Speaker 1: it was four minutes and fifty nine seconds of pure, 521 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:59,360 Speaker 1: unadulterated blues. Like Robert Johnson, pig Pen felt most at 522 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:03,640 Speaker 1: home playing the blues, balancing the joy and the pain 523 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:09,360 Speaker 1: of music and life. Also, like Robert Johnson, that lifestyle 524 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:13,360 Speaker 1: quickly snuck up on pig Pen. Three years after the 525 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:16,560 Speaker 1: release of the record working Man's Dead, Ron pig Pen 526 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:25,640 Speaker 1: mccernin would also be dead at um. Jake Brennan in 527 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:41,760 Speaker 1: This is the seven Club Club is hosted and produced 528 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:45,080 Speaker 1: by me Jake Brennan for Double Elvis in partnership with 529 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:48,600 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. Zeth Lundie is the lead writer and 530 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:53,000 Speaker 1: co producer. This episode was mixed by Joel Edinburgh. Additional 531 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:56,400 Speaker 1: music and score elements by Ryan Spraaker and Henry Luneta. 532 00:32:56,800 --> 00:32:59,880 Speaker 1: This episode was written by Ted Omo, story and call 533 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:03,520 Speaker 1: be ending by Pata Healy. Sources for this episode are 534 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:06,480 Speaker 1: available at Double Elvis dot com on the twenty seven 535 00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:09,719 Speaker 1: Club series page, talk to me on Social Act, disgrace 536 00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:11,720 Speaker 1: Land pod, and hang out with me live on my 537 00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:15,160 Speaker 1: Twitch channel disgrace Land Talks For more news on your 538 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:20,080 Speaker 1: favorite podcast, follow at double Elvis on Instagram. Rocar ROLLA 539 00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:25,040 Speaker 1: what's up for your is