Rolling Thunder (album)

Rolling Thunder
Studio album by Mickey Hart
Released	September 1972
Genre	Rock
Length	39:06
Label	Warner Bros.
Mickey Hart chronology
Rolling Thunder (1972) Diga (1976)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	C+[2]

Rolling Thunder is the first solo album by Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart.

Although Hart had temporarily left the Grateful Dead at the time he made Rolling Thunder, members of the Dead play on the album, along with a number of other well-known musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. Also featured are classical tabla players Zakir Hussain and his father Alla Rakha. The album contains early versions of two songs co-written by Bob Weir that later became Grateful Dead concert staples — "Playing in the Band", and "Greatest Story Ever Told" (called "Pump Song" on this album).

The cover art for Rolling Thunder was created by Alton Kelly and Stanley Mouse's Kelly/Mouse Studios.

The album was named after the Shoshone medicine man, shaman, teacher, and activist Rolling Thunder,^[3] who was a friend of Mickey Hart and the Grateful Dead and whose voice is heard on the first track.

In 1986, Relix Records re-released the album on vinyl, using the original masters and color separations. In 1989, the album was released on CD on the Grateful Dead label. It was subsequently re-released by Relix.^[4]

Track listing

Side One

1. "Rolling Thunder/Shoshone Invocation" (Rolling Thunder) – 0:46
2. "The Main Ten (Playing in the Band)" (Hart, Weir, Hunter) – 7:04
3. "Fletcher Carnaby" (Hart, Hunter) – 4:14
4. "The Chase (Progress)" (Hart) – 4:04
5. "Blind John" (C.J. Stetson, Peter Monk) – 3:48

Side Two

1. "Young Man" (Hart, Monk) – 2:41
2. "Deep, Wide, and Frequent" (Hart) – 5:33
3. "Pump Song" (Weir, Hart, Hunter) – 4:42
4. "Granma's Cookies" (Hart) – 3:00
5. "Hangin' On" (Stetson, Monk; arranged by Mickey Hart) – 3:17

Personnel

By track

Rolling Thunder Chant

• Mike and Nancy Hinton — marimba
• Alla Rakha, Zakir Hussain — rain

The Main Ten (Playing in the Band)

• John Cipollina — guitar (from Quicksilver Messenger Service)
• Bob Weir — guitar, vocals (from The Grateful Dead)
• Tower of Power — horn section
• Stephen Stills — bass
• Mickey Hart — drums
• Carmelo Garcia — timbales

Fletcher Carnaby

• Sam Andrew — guitar (from Big Brother and the Holding Company)
• John Cippollina — guitar
• Robbie Stokes — guitar
• Mickey Hart — drums, percussion
• David Freiberg — vocals, bass, piano
• Tower of Power — horn section
• Steven Schuster — flute

The Chase (Progress)

• Jerry Garcia — guitar (from Grateful Dead)
• Mickey Hart — drums
• Zakir Hussain — tabla

Blind John

• Steven Schuster — flute
• Grace Slick — piano, vocals (from Jefferson Airplane)
• Mickey Hart — field drum, timpani
• Greg Errico — drums (from Sly and the Family Stone)
• Tower of Power — horn section
• Barry Melton — acoustic guitar, vocals (from Country Joe & The Fish)
• David Freiberg — acoustic guitar, vocals (from Quicksilver Messenger Service)
• Paul Kantner — vocals (from Jefferson Airplane)

Young Man

• Barry Melton — guitar
• John Cippolina — guitar
• Robbie Stokes — guitar
• David Freiberg — bass, vocals
• Mickey Hart — drums
• Bob Weir — vocals (from The Grateful Dead)
• Phil Lesh — vocals
• Carmelo Garcia — timbales, conga

Deep, Wide and Frequent

• Mickey Hart — drums
• David Freiberg — bass
• Robbie Stokes — guitar
• Jerry Garcia — guitar
• John Cippolina — guitar
• Terry Haggerty — guitar (from Sons of Champlin)
• Bill Champlin — organ (from Sons of Champlin)
• Tower of Power — horn section
• Carmelo Garcia — timbales, congas

Pump Song

• Robbie Stokes — guitar
• Bob Weir — guitar, vocals
• Jerry Garcia — insect fear
• Robbie Stokes — bass
• Phil Lesh — bass
• Tower of Power — horn section
• Mickey Hart — drums, percussion
• David Freiberg — piano, water pump

Granma's Cookies

• Jerry Garcia — guitar
• Mickey Hart — drums
• Zakir Hussain — tabla

Hangin' On

• Barry Melton — guitar
• Robbie Stokes — guitar
• John Cippolina — guitar
• David Freiberg — bass, piano, viola, vocals
• Mickey Hart — drums
• Tower of Power — horn section

Summary

• Mickey Hart – drums, percussion, field drum, timpani
• Sam Andrew – guitar
• Bill Champlin – organ
• John Cipollina – guitar
• Greg Errico – drums
• David Freiberg – bass, piano, acoustic guitar, viola, water pump, vocals
• Carmelo Garcia – timbales, conga
• Jerry Garcia – guitar, pedal steel guitar
• Terry Hagerty – guitar
• Mike Hinton – marimba
• Nancy Hinton – marimba
• Zakir Hussain – tabla, rain
• Paul Kantner – vocals
• Phil Lesh – bass, vocals
• Barry Melton – guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
• Alla Rakha – tabla, rain
• Steven Schuster – flute
• Grace Slick – piano, vocals
• Stephen Stills – bass
• Robbie Stokes – guitar, bass
• Tower of Power – horn section
• Bob Weir – guitar, vocals

Production

• Dan Healy, Rick Davis, John Wollman, David Freiberg, Mickey Hart – engineers
• Phil Lesh, Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, David Freiberg, Dan Healy, Stephen Stills – mixdown
• Rock Scully – direction
• Recorded at Mickey's Barn, Marin County, CA
• Mixed at Alembic Studios, San Francisco
• Ed Thrasher – art direction
• Ron Rakow, Bruce Baxter – photography

Notes

References