''Family Dog at the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA 4/18/70'' is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It was recorded at the Family Dog concert hall in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

on April 18, 1970. It was released by

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

on November 29, 2013. The album was produced as a single-disc CD, and also as a two-disc

vinyl LP The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and ...

, the latter in a limited audiophile edition of 7,500 copies. The concert was a "stealth" performance by the Grateful Dead, who were billed as "Mickey Hart and His Heartbeats" and "Bobby Ace and His Cards from the Bottom of the Deck", a reference to band members Mickey Hart and Bob Weir. The band performed one set of

acoustic music Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the adv ...

, including some rarely played tunes. They were joined on some songs by John Dawson and David Nelson of the New Riders of the Purple Sage. The last six songs of the concert were performed solo by

Ron "Pigpen" McKernan Ronald Charles McKernan (September 8, 1945 – March 8, 1973), known as Pigpen, was an American musician. He was a founding member of the San Francisco band the Grateful Dead and played in the group from 1965 to 1972. McKernan grew up he ...

, singing and playing an acoustic guitar.

Production

The recording used to create the ''Family Dog'' album was not known to the Grateful Dead or their fans until Carolyn "Mountain Girl" Garcia, ex-wife of Jerry Garcia, found some of Jerry's old tapes, and gave them to the band's organization. Among the tapes was this performance, which was then digitally remastered using modern techniques. A notice on the album cover says, "This rare recording was made on a non-professional machine at low level and contains some tape hiss and other undesirable stuff. Several procedures were employed to clarify the sound, but artifacts may still be heard. However, the music shines through, and the performance is too good not to bring to you. Enjoy."

Track listing

I Know You Rider "I Know You Rider" (also "Woman Blues" and "I Know My Rider") is a traditional blues song that has been adapted by numerous artists. Modern versions can be traced back to Blind Lemon Jefferson's "Deceitful Brownskin Blues", which was released as ...

" (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) – 4:53 #"Don't Ease Me In" (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) – 3:26 #"

Silver Threads and Golden Needles "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" is a country song written by Dick Reynolds and Jack Rhodes. It was first recorded by Wanda Jackson in 1956. The original lyrics, as performed by Jackson, contain a verse not usually included in later versions, ...

" (Dick Reynolds,

Jack Rhodes Andrew Jackson "Jack" Rhodes (January 12, 1907 – October 9, 1968) was an American country music producer and songwriter, with songwriting credits on over 625 released songs. Several of his songs became hit records, including "A Satisfied Mind" ...

) – 5:10 #" Friend of the Devil" ( Jerry Garcia, John Dawson, Robert Hunter) – 4:24 #"

Deep Elem Blues The "Deep Elm Blues" (also spelled "Deep Elem Blues" or "Deep Ellum Blues"Pask, Kevin.Deep Ellum Blues ''Southern Spaces'', 30 October 2007.) is an American traditional song. The title of the tune refers to the historical African-American neighbor ...

" (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) – 5:45 #" Wake Up Little Susie" > (

Felice Bryant Felice Bryant (born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto; August 7, 1925 – April 22, 2003) and Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant (; February 13, 1920 – June 25, 1987) were an American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team. They were best ...

Boudleaux Bryant Felice Bryant (born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto; August 7, 1925 – April 22, 2003) and Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant (; February 13, 1920 – June 25, 1987) were an Americans, American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team. They ...

) – 2:53 #"Candyman" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:42 #"Cumberland Blues" (Garcia, Phil Lesh, Hunter) – 5:48 #"New Speedway Boogie" (Garcia, Hunter) – 8:18 #" Me and My Uncle" ( John Phillips) – 4:02 #" Mama Tried" (

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

) – 3:23 #"Katie Mae" (

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list ...

) – 1:29 #"Ain't It Crazy (The Rub)" (Hopkins) – 1:57 #"Roberta" (traditional, arranged by

) – 3:34 #"Bring Me My Shotgun" (Hopkins) – 4:34 #"The Mighty Flood" > (traditional, arranged by McKernan) – 4:05 #"Black Snake" (Hopkins) – 3:14

Personnel

Grateful Dead * Jerry Garcia * Mickey Hart *

Bill Kreutzmann William Kreutzmann Jr. ( ; born May 7, 1946) is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued to ...

* Phil Lesh *

* Bob Weir Additional musicians * John Dawson * David Nelson Production *Produced by Grateful Dead *Original recording produced by Owsley Stanley *Produced for release by David Lemieux *Executive producer: Mark Pinkus *Associate producers: Doran Tyson, Ryan Wilson *Mastering: Jeffrey Norman *Cover illustration: Scott McDougall *Photography: Stu Levy *Art direction, design: Steve Vance *Liner notes: David Lemieux

References

{{Authority control Grateful Dead live albums 2013 live albums