Dark Star (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Dark Star" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by Grateful Dead | ||
| B-side(s) | "Born Cross-Eyed" | |
| Released | April 1968  1977  |
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| Format | 7" | |
| Recorded | 1968 | |
| Genre | Psychedelic music | |
| Label | Warner Bros. Records WEA Records Ltd |
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| Writer(s) | Grateful Dead Robert Hunter |
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| Producer(s) | Grateful Dead David Hassinger |
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| Grateful Dead singles chronology | ||
| "The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)"/"Cream Puff War" (1967) |
"Dark Star"/"Born Cross-Eyed" (1968) |
"Dupree's Diamond Blues"/"Cosmic Charlie" (1969) |
"Dark Star" is a song by the Grateful Dead, and widely considered to be the group's signature song.[1][2][3]
Written by guitarist Jerry Garcia and lyricist Robert Hunter and first appearing as a single released in 1967, the version many consider definitive appears on the 1969 live double album Live/Dead. "Dark Star" was an early Dead classic and became one of their most loved and anticipated numbers, often with the group using it as a vehicle for musical travels far beyond the predictable.
Running at over 23 minutes, the Live/Dead instance was a captivating blend of psychedelic, jazz, and jam elements. While the lyrics occupy only a small portion of the song's running time, they set a mood that strongly evokes the era: Reason tatters / Forces spin loose from their axis / Shall we go / Through the transitive nightfall of diamonds. Indeed, this "Dark Star" defines the Dead's early improvisational music. Phil Lesh's melodic bass guitar propels the song, while Garcia and Bob Weir interchange guitar solos. Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann's meshed drumming allow the dynamics of "Dark Star" to range from the delicate through the chaotic to the powerful.
After 1973, "Dark Star" fell out of the normal rotation at Dead shows, and after 1974 became quite rare. Being present for a "Dark Star" performance became a Holy Grail for Deadheads. The song became so legendary as often to be referred to as "IT" by dedicated Heads. Knowing this, the Dead would sometimes tease the song's introduction before switching into another song. (Semi-regular guest pianist Bruce Hornsby would later incorporate such teases into his own concerts, knowing a good number of Deadheads might be in attendance.) "Dark Star" began reappearing more frequently in concert later in the Dead's career, in 1989 and even more so in the early 1990. Sometimes jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis would contribute. One of these performances was featured in the syndicated The Deadhead Hour radio program, extending the song's legend somewhat outside the insular Deadhead circle.
In 1994 the Dead approached music collage artist John Oswald to do a project with "Dark Star." He was given over a hundred different performances of the song from between 1968 and 1993. Oswald then built, layered, and "folded" all of them to produce one large, recomposited version, just sixteen minutes short of two hours in length. The project is called Grayfolded. It also happens to be the only Grateful Dead or Grateful Dead-related record that features participation by every person who was in the group between 1965 and 1995.
Classic Versions of Dark Star by Grateful Dead: 2-27-1969 (version noted above from Live/Dead) 2-13-1970 5-11-1972 8-27-1972 9-21-1972 6-10-1973 11-11-1973 2-24-1974 10-18-1974 12-31-1978 10-9-1989 10-26-1989 3-28-1990 7-12-1990 9-20-1990 4-1-1991 9-26-1991 3-9-1992 3-20-1992 3-17-1993
