The final song Jerry Garcia ever recorded was Bob Dylan’s request
Though the music of the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan aren’t often considered branches of the same tree, the two musicians had a similar mindset. In fact, it could be argued that the Grateful Dead were once responsible for saving Bob Dylan’s career as they reignited within him the power that live music could have.
When Dylan found himself in a creative slump, Tom Petty asked him to come on tour to see if it could reignite a creative fire in him. On that tour, the Grateful Dead were supporting, and as their live shows have captured the hearts of fans worldwide, so too did they capture the heart of Bob Dylan. As a result, he decided to do another tour with the band and, in turn, found himself writing music again.
It’s hardly a surprise the two connected, as their live shows sound somewhat comparable. Leonard Cohen reflected once on seeing Bob Dylan live, describing it as an otherworldly experience. “In this particular case, he had his back to one half of the audience and was playing the organ, beautifully, I might say, and just running through the songs,” he said, “Some were hard to recognise. But nobody cared. That’s not what they were there for and not what I was there for.”
The Grateful Dead treat their music in a similar way. The songs provide a backdrop for the set, but they go off of how they feel and how the crowd responds when they play. This means that their shows are different every night and are a true reflection of the room. Exactly how Leonard Cohen described Dylan, Jerry Garcia is a “Genius that is so apparent and so clear and has touched people so deeply that all they need is some kind of symbolic unfolding of the event.”
The two enjoyed making music together, so it was hardly surprising that Dylan asked Garcia if he was interested in recording a song for an album he was compiling. The project was a tribute to Jimmie Rodgers, and its conception saw Dylan reach out to Jerry Garcia in a handwritten letter.
“My record company (a very limited one) is doing a Jimmie Rodgers tribute record – you don’t have to yodel – there’s plenty of songs where he doesn’t yodel, but if you want to yodel, that’s ok too,” he said. “Anyway, one of the performers on this record will be me, and of course, the perfect song for me is ‘Blue Eyed Jane’. And it’s included with this letter… Anyway, if it’s not too much to ask, think about a Jimmie song – let me know something in some kind of incalculated amount of time – whatever you decide is ok with me.”
True to his word, Dylan recorded his own rendition of ‘My Blue Eyed Jane’ on his album The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers—A Tribute. Also on the album were Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, Aaron Neville, David Ball, Steve Earle, Bono, and Jerry Garcia. He performed a cover of ‘Blue Yodel No. 9 (Standing On The Corner)’, which he had already played with the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band between 1987 and 1988.
Jerry Garcia passed away well before his time, but the stamp he has placed on music will never be rubbed away. This applies to both the songs he wrote and those he played live. The fact that his final song was a celebration of a musician he admired for a musician he admired seems somewhat fitting, given the tributes for Garcia continue to roll in, and it doesn’t appear they will ever stop.
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