Grateful Dead “History of the Grateful Dead Vol. 1 (Bear’s Choice)” released on this date, July 13th, 1975. This album is from my parents’ collection – my dad drove down here today, so now it’s part of ours (and only one member of the Vault is happy about it) (that would be me, I went through a Dead phase during late high school and college and, to Joe’s chagrin, I still have a shoebox full of bootleg Dead show cassettes tucked away in my closet). Many of the tracks on the LP remind me of childhood when my folks and their friends would hang out, play guitar and sing blues and folk songs, including “Dark Hollow” (originally by Bill Browning) and “Wake Up Little Susie” (Everly Brothers), a song I still really love. Traditional blues also receive a heavy nod from the Dead with “Katie Mae” (Lightnin’ Hopkins) and “Smokestack Lightning” (Howlin’ Wolf). I
listened to Bears Choice a lot when living at my parents’ and, listening to it again now almost 30 years later, I understand its appeal to the folky folks: over half of the album is the Dead revisiting their roots as a jug band during performances from the Fillmore East in 1970. “The original album was recorded and produced by Owsley “Bear” Stanley, the Dead’s then-soundman, who chose his favorite tracks. He compiled it as a tribute of sorts to Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, the band’s original keyboard player and blues aficionado, who died during the production of the  release. As such, it features three songs on which Pigpen sings lead….he went out on the stage and sat down in a chair… it was the only time he ever did it. He sat down and played the bottleneck guitar.” Bears Choice is also notable for its artwork: designed by Bob Thomas, the dancing bears (technically they are marching) made their first appearance on the back cover of the LP.