This is a confession: I used to be a Dead head. But I wasn’t in it for the drugs & booze (honest!), because I stopped killing brain cells for fun before I got into this band. I’m probably only the person in the world who did that. Anyway, the reason this is a Grateful Dead not A to Z is because I know what I don’t know, and there’s so many savagely direhard Dead fans out there (hi Gunnar! hi Smith! hi Ethan! hi Sue! hi Brad! hi Becky! etc. etc.) that I know I can’t provide anything close to a definitive post. So, we’ll just do a fun one. Covers by and of the Grateful Dead.
It’s All Too Much (Beatles cover)-The Grateful Dead
Candy Man (Grateful Dead cover)-Jay Farrar. You gotta love Jay. He took a depressing, slow song and made it even more depressing.
Mission in the Rain-Zen Tricksters. One of my favorite Dead songs.
From a great 1982 Rochester show, here’s Man Smart, Woman Smarter (Belafonte cover)-Grateful Dead.
Fit and Limo’s version of the GD’s Dark Star.
Operator (Dead cover)-Jorma Kaukonen. JK of Hot Tuna fame, an amazing guy to see live.
Scarlet Begonias/Ring The Alarm (Grateful Dead/Fushnickers)-Sublime.
Sugar Magnolia-Jim Lauderdale.
Casey Jones-Warren Zevon. Having done the song live before, Zevon’s cover was eventually released on the Deadicated collection of Dead covers, which is well worth getting. In particular, the reggae cover of Estimated Profit is excellent.
