Robert Hunter once picked three of the “greatest lyricists around”
The Grateful Dead were a heaving mass of talent. Though the group was fronted by the mercurial musicians Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia, behind them lay a group busting with sonic superlatives. However, while Pigpen McKernan and Bill Kreutzmann get their fair share of praise, the lyrical talent of Robert Hunter is arguably what set the group apart from their counterculture contemporaries.
Few artists are as ubiquitous with some rock and roll’s best yet as comparatively unknown as Robert Hunter. The American lyricist has worked with some of the greatest artists of all time, including the unfathomable feat of composing lyrics for Bob Dylan, all within a star-studded but understated career. However, it was his time with the Dead that made him a uniquely qualified figure to talk about the art of lyrics.
His words, set to the swirling majesty of the group’s musical output, are what made the band a steadfast shining light. ‘Dark Star’, ‘Ripple’, ‘Black Peter’, ‘Wharf Rat’ and a truckload more of the Dead’s most beloved tracks can be attributed to the poetic mind of Hunter. As a senior figure in the counterculture movement, when he sat down with Dennis McNamara for 92.7 WLIR-FM in 1978 to talk about his life’s work, he was happy to share his thoughts on who he thought were some of the better wordsmiths in the music industry.
Usually, when rock stars are posed such questions, they go down one of two routes. They either push for some of the most obscure poets around, claiming that their lesser-listened records somehow eclipse the universal appreciation of song we have become accustomed to, or they opt for Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and a handful of other ‘safe’ options. Naturally, given Hunter’s disposition, he did neither.
During the conversation, Hunter begins to pay compliments towards Grace Slick, the fearsome lead singer of Jefferson Airplane, who would later become Jefferson Starship, and found fame as the writer of ‘Somebody To Love’ and the drug anthem ‘White Rabbit’. As Hunter explains that he wrote some lyrics for Slick to use on her solo record, clearly enamoured by his interactions with her, he soon concludes his admiration by proclaiming, “I also would like to say that I think Grace Slick is one of the best lyricists around,” confirming, “she writes a mean rangy lyricist.”
Seeing his opportunity for a great soundbite, despite the patchy audio, McNamara then pushes Hunter for some more lyricists that he “respects”, and the Grateful Dead man doesn’t disappoint, pointing toward one of the era’s up-and-coming poets, Patti Smith. Though Smith’s Horses had been around for three years now, Hunter’s assertion of the songwriter as one of the best is still a little ahead of its time. He shares, “Patti Smith’s lyrics are quite a trip. They’re very heartfelt and she’s very unusual. She has a tendency to… grand notions, which I think is fine — there’s no little things. It’s all blood and jewels.”
Perhaps on the ‘Because The Night’, which had only just been released, train of thought, Hunter then turns his attention to Bruce Springsteen, whom he also gives praise to. Noting he thought Springsteen “was quite good,” he continued. “He’s got a way of tough work. I think those lyrics for ‘Born To Run’ are just phenomenal.”
The ethereal talent of Robert Hunter was never one to place himself in the limelight. He much preferred to sit in the shadows and tirelessly craft his songs for a myriad of bands. It makes his praise of three songwriters he respects all the more enticing.
Listen to Robert Hunter’s full interview from 1978 below.
