Grateful Dead — Cornell 5/8/77
For my 67th birthday today, I’ve decided to do something a bit different — present a three-hour concert album by my favorite band.
I have been a true Grateful Dead fan since early 1974. Over the years I have heard that the Dead’s performance on May 8, 1977 was considered by many fans as their best show ever. I recently came across this article which discusses the subject. I agree that this recording has all the good things the Dead had to offer at this time in their long career, including a lengthy set list with lots of classic tunes.
Pig Pen (Ron McKernan) had been gone since 1973, Keith and Donna had been with the band since 1972, Mickey Hart was back as a second percussionist (Bill Kruetzman first), and Garcia, Weir, and Lesh were in fine form.
The concert had been available as a bootleg recording for years but was officially released in 2017, so I bought it. 1977 was a very good year for the Grateful Dead: they released the album Terrapin Station, and as usual, played many concerts throughout the country.
See what you think.
Album Information
First set:
“New Minglewood Blues” (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) – 5:34
“Loser” (Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter) – 7:58
“El Paso” (Marty Robbins) – 4:51
“They Love Each Other” (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:29
“Jack Straw” (Bob Weir, Hunter) – 6:29
“Deal” (Garcia, Hunter) – 6:10
“Lazy Lightning” > (Weir, John Perry Barlow) – 3:26
“Supplication” (Weir, Barlow) – 4:48
“Brown-Eyed Women” (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:49
“Mama Tried” (Merle Haggard) – 3:12
“Row Jimmy” (Garcia, Hunter) – 11:14“Dancing in the Street” (William Stevenson, Marvin Gaye, Ivy Jo Hunter) – 16:32
Second set:
“Scarlet Begonias” > (Garcia, Hunter) – 11:15
“Fire on the Mountain” (Mickey Hart, Hunter) – 15:40
“Estimated Prophet” (Weir, Barlow) – 8:49
“St. Stephen” > (Garcia, Phil Lesh, Hunter) – 5:03
“Not Fade Away” > (Norman Petty, Charles Hardin) – 16:20
“St. Stephen” > (Garcia, Lesh, Hunter) – 1:54
“Morning Dew” (Bonnie Dobson, Tim Rose) – 14:17
“One More Saturday Night” (Weir) – 5:10
Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals
Donna Jean Godchaux – vocals
Keith Godchaux – keyboards
Mickey Hart – drums
Bill Kreutzmann – drums
Phil Lesh – bass
Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
Produced by Grateful Dead
Produced for release by David Lemieux
Recording: Betty Cantor-Jackson
Mastering: Jeffrey Norman
Tape restoration and speed correction: Jamie Howarth, John Chester
Packaging manager: Shannon Ward
Poster art: Jay Mabrey
Art direction, design: Masaki Koike
Photos: John Reis, Doran Tyson, Michael Wesley Johnson, Lawrence Reichman
Liner notes essay “Myth, Memory, Mystery, and the History of Cornell ‘77”: Nicholas G. Meriwether
Executive producer: Mark Pinkus
Associate producers: Doran Tyson, Ivette Ramos
Tapes provided through the assistance of: ABCD Enterprises, LLC
Tape research: Michael Wesley Johnson
Archival research: UC Santa Cruz Grateful Dead Archive
Released May 5, 2017
Recorded May 8, 1977
Length 3:00:02
Venue Cornell Barton Hall Ithaca NY
