What was the first song Robert Hunter wrote for Grateful Dead?
Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter seemed destined to work together musically, having sparked a kinship beginning in their early years in Palo Alto. Grateful Dead might have endured significant challenges to maintain their loyal following, but Hunter’s input ensured they remained at the top of their game. “
We started a folk duet called Bob and Jerry,” Hunter said in 2015, a statement more poignant with the profound partnership that followed.
A passion for folk and storytelling soon formed the basis of what would become Grateful Dead, with Hunter transitioning from honourary member to dedicated lyricist. What made his approach so endearing from day one was his ability to weave in the whimsical aspects of songwriting that defined the band’s sound and themes, playing into the band’s overarching mystique with songs that attracted endless interpretation.
With Hunter, Garcia created music and melodies that showed off the best parts of his artistic ability. After all, while Hunter understood the power of tailoring songs to others’ strengths, he also knew how to make sure the music remained completely timeless, with words and stories hinging on the counterculture movement of the 1960s while nodding to broader themes and eras forming the crux of Grateful Dead’s heart and soul.
With the band, Hunter penned many of their most popular hits, including ‘Ripple’, ‘Truckin”, ‘Uncle John’s Band’, ‘Friend of the Devil’, and others. However, the very first credited to his name is ‘Alligator’, which he wrote for their second album, 1968’s Anthem Of The Sun. Hunter had given Garcia the lyrics to the song beforehand, but Garcia only uncovered them during a trip to northern California, deciding to dust them off for what would later become the popular track.
The trip began after the band received an offer from John Warnecke, whose father owned a vacation home whose father owned a vacation home near the Russian River north of San Francisco. Hunter had previously written poems that would form the basis of some of the Dead’s other songs, but ‘Alligator’ almost materialised from pure happenstance as though the viscera of his impact dug its heels in early, beckoning to be a solid part of the Dead’s destiny.
How many Grateful Dead songs did Robert Hunter write?
So it goes: Hunter would be credited to over 80 Grateful Dead songs, sometimes more than one coming to him in one sitting. Although ‘Alligator’ was the first credited to Hunter, the first he officially wrote with Garcia was ‘Dark Star’, which cemented Hunter’s place among the others, who were working on the instrumental when Hunter entered the room and began writing some lyrics.
Clearly, the collaboration was a sure match from day one. As Hunter put it, “They were working on ‘Dark Star’, and I wrote the lyrics to it right then. It just started working immediately.” They would then collaborate on every song on their third album, Aoxomoxoa, continuing to their final record, Built to Last. Although never officially a band member, Hunter propelled the Dead to new heights, becoming the persistent voice that defined their sonic greatness.
