Written by band members Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and lyricist Robert Hunter, "Truckin'" molds classic Grateful Dead rhythms and instrumentation.[3] The lyrics refer to a drug raid of the band's hotel lodgings in New Orleans during a concert tour earlier in 1970:
Busted, down on Bourbon Street Set up, like a bowling pin Knocked down, it gets to wearing thin They just won't let you be[4]
The song's climactic refrain, "What a long, strange trip it's been", has achieved widespread cultural use in the years since the song's release.[5]
Compositionedit
"Truckin'" is associated with the blues and other early 20th-century forms of folk music.[6]
"Truckin'" was considered a "catchy shuffle" by the band members.[7] Garcia commented that "the early stuff we wrote that we tried to set to music was stiff because it wasn't really meant to be sung ... the result of [lyricist Robert Hunter getting into our touring world], the better he could write ... and the better we could create music around it."[2] The communal, shared-group-experience feel of the song is brought home by the participation of all four of the group's chief songwriters (Garcia, Weir, Lesh, and Hunter), since, in Phil Lesh's words, "we took our experiences on the road and made it poetry," lyrically and musically. He goes on to say that "the last chorus defines the band itself."[8] Weir credited the band's 1967 experience in backing vocalese singer Jon Hendricks for helping Weir to enunciate the tongue-twister lyrics in Truckin's verses.[9]
The song was taken from the American Beauty album and edited down in length from five to three minutes for release as a single. In addition to being shorter, the single version had some audible differences compared to the album version: it featured sections of lead guitar in places where it's faded down on the album version, a heavy processed effect on Bob Weir's lead vocals in the verses, a different vocal track for the "Sometimes the lights..." portion, and is missing the album version's organ part.
The single reached number 64 on December 25, 1971, on the U.S. Pop Singles chart and stayed on the chart for eight weeks. "Truckin'" was the highest-charting pop single the group would have until the surprise top-ten performance of "Touch of Grey" sixteen years later. Moreover, the album track was heavily played on progressive rock and album oriented rock radio stations and accordingly helped popularize the group among general rock audiences.
Live performancesedit
"Truckin'" debuted as the first song on the first set on August 18, 1970 at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, the same performance where many of American Beauty's songs premiered.
A longer rendition, that turns into a jam, was included on the popular 1972 live album Europe '72 segueing into "Epilogue", followed by "Prelude".
Over the band's long concert career, "Truckin'" was performed 520 times, making it the eighth-most performed Dead song.[10]
^"Johnny B Goode / So Fine, Grateful Dead / Elvin Bishop Group". Retrieved April 4, 2016.
^ abGrateful Dead: The Illustrated Trip . Jake Woodward, et al. Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2003, pg. 112.
^Emblematic of the Grateful Dead sound that gained them four albums in the Rolling Stone 500 greatest albums list within the 1968-1970 period, a list they did not appear on again.
^Lifton, Dave (2015-01-31). "45 Years Ago: The Grateful Dead's Infamous 'Truckin' Drug Bust". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
^Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance by Marshall Stearns and Jean Stearns, Da Capo Press, 1994 ISBN0-306-80553-7.
^Garcia: An American Life by Blair Jackson, Penguin Books, 1999, pg. 197.
^Phil Lesh: Searching for the Sound by Phil Lesh, Little, Brown and Company, 2005, pg. 191.
^Myers, Marc (September 23, 2017). "Grateful Dead and Jon Hendricks". JazzWax. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
^Deadbase X: The Complete Guide to Grateful Dead Song Lists by John W. Scott, Mike Dolgushkin, Stu Nixon, Deadbase, 1997.
^. Billboard. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
^Budnick, Dean (April 7, 2017). "Howard Wales on Jerry Garcia, Hooteroll? and Beyond". Relix. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
March 20, 2024
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For the magazine see Truckin Magazine For the dance move see Big Apple dance Truckin is a song by the Grateful Dead which first appeared on their 1970 album American Beauty It was recognized by the United States Library of Congress in 1997 as a national treasure 2 Truckin Single by Grateful Deadfrom the album American BeautyB side Ripple ReleasedNovember 1 1970RecordedSeptember 1970GenreBlues rock country rock roots rock psychedelic rockLength5 09 album version 3 13 single version LabelWarner Bros Composer s Jerry Garcia Bob Weir Phil LeshLyricist s Robert HunterProducer s Grateful Dead Steve BarncardGrateful Dead singles 1 singles chronology Uncle John s Band 1970 Truckin 1970 Johnny B Goode 1972 Contents 1 Lyrics 2 Composition 3 Release 4 Live performances 5 Charts 6 Personnel 7 ReferencesLyrics editWritten by band members Jerry Garcia Bob Weir Phil Lesh and lyricist Robert Hunter Truckin molds classic Grateful Dead rhythms and instrumentation 3 The lyrics refer to a drug raid of the band s hotel lodgings in New Orleans during a concert tour earlier in 1970 Busted down on Bourbon Street Set up like a bowling pin Knocked down it gets to wearing thin They just won t let you be 4 The song s climactic refrain What a long strange trip it s been has achieved widespread cultural use in the years since the song s release 5 Composition edit Truckin is associated with the blues and other early 20th century forms of folk music 6 Truckin was considered a catchy shuffle by the band members 7 Garcia commented that the early stuff we wrote that we tried to set to music was stiff because it wasn t really meant to be sung the result of lyricist Robert Hunter getting into our touring world the better he could write and the better we could create music around it 2 The communal shared group experience feel of the song is brought home by the participation of all four of the group s chief songwriters Garcia Weir Lesh and Hunter since in Phil Lesh s words we took our experiences on the road and made it poetry lyrically and musically He goes on to say that the last chorus defines the band itself 8 Weir credited the band s 1967 experience in backing vocalese singer Jon Hendricks for helping Weir to enunciate the tongue twister lyrics in Truckin s verses 9 Release edit nbsp The single version of Truckin as a B side to Johnny B Goode from 1972 The song was taken from the American Beauty album and edited down in length from five to three minutes for release as a single In addition to being shorter the single version had some audible differences compared to the album version it featured sections of lead guitar in places where it s faded down on the album version a heavy processed effect on Bob Weir s lead vocals in the verses a different vocal track for the Sometimes the lights portion and is missing the album version s organ part The single reached number 64 on December 25 1971 on the U S Pop Singles chart and stayed on the chart for eight weeks Truckin was the highest charting pop single the group would have until the surprise top ten performance of Touch of Grey sixteen years later Moreover the album track was heavily played on progressive rock and album oriented rock radio stations and accordingly helped popularize the group among general rock audiences Live performances edit Truckin debuted as the first song on the first set on August 18 1970 at the Fillmore West in San Francisco the same performance where many of American Beauty s songs premiered A longer rendition that turns into a jam was included on the popular 1972 live album Europe 72 segueing into Epilogue followed by Prelude Over the band s long concert career Truckin was performed 520 times making it the eighth most performed Dead song 10 Charts editPeak Chart Date Position DurationDecember 25 1971 64 11 8 weeksPersonnel editBob Weir rhythm guitar lead vocals Jerry Garcia lead guitar backing vocals Phil Lesh bass backing vocals Bill Kreutzmann drums Mickey Hart drums Howard Wales organ 12 References edit Johnny B Goode So Fine Grateful Dead Elvin Bishop Group Retrieved April 4 2016 a b Grateful Dead The Illustrated Trip Jake Woodward et al Dorling Kindersley Limited 2003 pg 112 Emblematic of the Grateful Dead sound that gained them four albums in the Rolling Stone 500 greatest albums list within the 1968 1970 period a list they did not appear on again Lifton Dave 2015 01 31 45 Years Ago The Grateful Dead s Infamous Truckin Drug Bust Ultimate Classic Rock Retrieved 2017 04 16 The Annotated Truckin Arts ucsc edu Retrieved 2016 10 03 Jazz Dance The Story of American Vernacular Dance by Marshall Stearns and Jean Stearns Da Capo Press 1994 ISBN 0 306 80553 7 Garcia An American Life by Blair Jackson Penguin Books 1999 pg 197 Phil Lesh Searching for the Sound by Phil Lesh Little Brown and Company 2005 pg 191 Myers Marc September 23 2017 Grateful Dead and Jon Hendricks JazzWax Retrieved November 27 2021 Deadbase X The Complete Guide to Grateful Dead Song Lists by John W Scott Mike Dolgushkin Stu Nixon Deadbase 1997 Grateful Dead Chart history Billboard Archived from the original on 18 October 2014 Retrieved 2016 10 03 Budnick Dean April 7 2017 Howard Wales on Jerry Garcia Hooteroll and Beyond Relix Retrieved November 2 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Truckin 27 amp oldid 1168315871, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
