"SUGAR MAGNOLIA" GRATEFUL DEAD (1970)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

American Beauty holds a special place in my album of music memories. It marks one of my “a ha” moments. What I mean by that is that I didn’t understand the Dead for quite a few years, but then one day it just clicked. I can’t really explain the shift. I’ve never seen them live. And for a band whose identity is so closely tied to the live performance and touring, that probably presents quite a gap in understanding and appreciation for their music. In eighth grade, Jimmy Karger tried to turn me on to the Dead and played me some of their songs. I just didn’t get into it, and preferred “heavier” rock like Rush, Zeppelin and Rush. But at some point, the gateway album American Beauty climbed its way into my consciousness and one of the standouts was “Sugar Magnolia”.

I first heard “Sugar Magnolia” on the compilation album, Skeletons From The Closet. Jerry Garcia plays a pedal steel guitar on this one, which gave the song an ethereal quality that balanced well with the more grounded Dead qualities anchored by the vocal harmonies and rhythm guitar. The song helped me to see what all the fuss is about. This is a band whose identity cannot be pinned down to one style or approach. They are an amalgamation of folk, country, blues, bluegrass, rock, and psychedlia.

“She can dance a Cajun rhythm. Jump like a Willys in four wheel drive.”

"TRUCKIN'" GRATEFUL DEAD (1970)

For the next 30 days, I’ll be taking the #AprilAcrossAmerica challenge, picking one song a day as I make my way across the country and across genres at the same time.

Day 18: New Orleans, LA

One of the most iconic of Dead songs, it’s easy to dismiss this song because it’s perhaps a little too on the nose. But I’m fascinated by the facts. “Truckin’” was recognized by the United States Library of Congress as a national treasure. At least that’s what Wikipedia says. It’s also the 8th most-performed Dead song. The band played it 520 times, which is mind boggling on a few levels. First, that’s a lot of performances. Second, it’s even more when you consider how often the Dead changed up their set lists.

These facts say something undeniably true about “Truckin’”: you can’t ignore its ubiquity. And that’s saying something for a band that has more cult status than mainstream appeal. “What a long, strange trip it’s been” is one of the most recognized song lyrics from any genre. And then there’s the story line. The song focuses on a a drug raid on the band’s hotel room in New Orleans, but name-checks a variety of cities, alluding to the band’s non-stop touring schedule. One of the quintessential American road trip songs.

“Busted - Down On Bourbon Street. Set Up - Like A Bowling Pin Knocked.”

"BOX OF RAIN" GRATEFUL DEAD (1970)

For the month of October, I’m taking the #OctAtoZBandChallenge challenge. The premise is simple. Pick a band starting with the day’s assigned alphabet letter and then choose a song from that band.

Day 7

Many music fans will just never get the Dead. It took me a long time to get there myself. In high school, I was completely puzzled as to why the small nucleus of deadheads at my school loved these guys so much. In college, this bafflement turned into cynicism. I would just roll my eyes and continue on with my Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana. But I eventually got to appreciating the Dead without even going to a single live show - the experience that they’re obviously most known for. A big part of this turnaround is due to listening more closely to the song “Box of Rain”.

My first observation was the year in which it was recorded. In 1970, the Dead recorded two classic, full-length albums: Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty. This band was on a tear. Creating and jamming at a furious pace. Another noticeable aspect of the song is that it’s not sung by Jerry Garcia. That’s bassist Phil Lesh on vocals, the guy who also composed the instrumentation on the song. “Box of Rain” is proof of the band’s penchant to behave and function like a true jam band. Then we get to the chord structure. Unconventional in its progressions and complex in its structure, “Box of Rain” comes together with nine different guitar chords. There’s a rigor to the craft here that I can’t help but admire.

“What do you want me to do, to do for you to see you through? For this is all a dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago.”

"BOX OF RAIN" GRATEFUL DEAD (1970)

I’m pretty sure it’s universally accepted that non-deadheads will never truly understand deadheads. I’ve known a few, from high school, through college and beyond. I never got it. Then again, I’ve never seen the Dead live. The recordings take on new life in concert I’m sure. But I can still appreciate 1970 as a prolific era for this band, pumping out both Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty in a single year. And I can still appreciate “Box of Rain” for throwing in a few chord progressions that I didn’t see coming.

“What do you want me to do, to do for you to see you through? For this is all a dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago.”