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Saturday, April 18, 2009

A Black Deadhead.....Believe It or Not!


Ladies and gentlemen, I present for your wonder and bewilderment an elusive creature. A creature more fleeting than the Loch Ness Monster or Sasquatch. A creature more difficult to catch than a leprechun riding bareass on a unicorn. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Black Deadhead. Seriously, with the exception of President Obama, who met with the surviving members this week, I have not seen or heard of any African-American fans of the Grateful Dead, which is mystifying. The sight of a Black Deadhead nestled in tie dye is a rare one indeed. But ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to report that one has been found in her natural habitat. She has been sighted in front of her laptop listening to a Dead bootleg and writing a post for her blog....Okay, it's me. Yeah, this Sistah has much love for the Dead. I still got the tie-die shirt I bought at a 1989 Dead concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. Why the Dead? Because I find them so damn mellow. When I listen to a song like "Wharf Rat," it's like I'm being transported to a cook-out in late summer enjoying a good buzz and listening to my uncles talk shit as they play cards. I can seriously chill to the Dead. Why not love them. The Dead's music transcends race, so I'm representing for the Black Deadheads who are still in hiding....so far.

17 comments:

  1. Hi,

    I wish I would have found this earlier! I am also a fan of the Dead. My first show was Soldier Field 1992

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  2. Nice post! I've been a Deadhead since 1976 when I picked up the "Steal Your Face" LP...I was 15. In 1980, I went to the first of many shows (including The Jerry Garcia Band and Bobby & The Midnights), met a lot of cool people but, unfortunately, never ran into any Black folks. It's been a long strange trip but it's to finally "meet" two other Black Deadheads!

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  3. Make it three! My first show was at Nassau, April 12, 1982.

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  4. Make it three! My first show was at Nassau, April 12, 1982.

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  5. I saw a black woman at the Fare Thee Well shows. My first thought was:

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JAd0sx3E2eI

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  6. My first show was September 2, 1978 at Giants Stadium. New Riders of the Purple Sage and Willie Nelson opened the show. Nowadays, I go to Phish shows.

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  9. I am always ecstatic when I hear people discussing the GD; and being a white man from a very mixed town I always knew there were people of all walks of life who love good classic music, albeit been there done that. I grew up going to shows in my teens and am now in mid 40's. So I love older rap..wu tang and tupac... etc. I grew up liking both for both different and similar reasons. So thanks for the blog my sista from another mister!

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  11. I am so pleased to have found this blog. I have always said I would follow two musicians, Bob Marley and Jerry Garcia, both touch me and rip my heart out often. For me it is more about JGB. As a Black woman who sings in two JGB/Dead bands, I often look around and think, "there is a lot of soul in this music" - I wish people could "hear" it. <3

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    1. Hi Sugaree! Where are you located? I would love to see you perform in both of your JGB/GD bands!

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  12. Here’s another one! Unfortunately, my first live Dead shows was FTW. I missed out.

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  13. Pigpen's girlfriend Veronica Barnard or Vee for short was an African-American and they probably would have been married had Pigpen not died. She is not living anymore either.She was in poor health back then and I heard she has passed away. They are together in heaven.

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