Cassidy (song)

"Cassidy" is a song written by John Barlow and Bob Weir[1] and performed by the Grateful Dead, Ratdog and Phil Lesh & Friends.[2] The song appeared on Bob Weir's Ace, The Grateful Dead's Reckoning and Without a Net albums.[3]

The song was named after the daughter of Grateful Dead crew member Rex Jackson and Weir's former housemate Eileen Law, Cassidy Law who was born in 1970.[1] The lyrics also allude to Neal Cassady, who was associated with the Beats in the 1950s and the Acid Test scene that spawned the Grateful Dead in the 1960s. Some of the lyrics in the song were also inspired by the death of Barlow's father.[4]

The song was first performed on March 23, 1974 at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California.[3]

Cover versions

In 1991, Suzanne Vega recorded a version of this song on the album Deadicated[2]

External links

References

  1. ^ a b Brightman, Carol (1998). Sweet Chaos: The Grateful Dead's American Adventure. New York: Pocket Books. pp. 175–176. ISBN 0-671-01117-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=SRqkcty3lB4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=cassidy&f=false. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
  2. ^ a b "Grateful Dead Lyric And Song Finder: Cassidy". http://www3.clearlight.com/~acsa/introjs.htm?/~acsa/songfile/CASSIDY.HTM. Retrieved 18 January 2010. 
  3. ^ a b Dodd, David. "The Annotated "Cassidy"". The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics. University of California at Santa Cruz. http://artsites.ucsc.edu/GDead/agdl/cassidy.html. Retrieved 18 January 2010. 
  4. ^ Barlow, John Perry. "Cassidy's Tale", Literary Kicks