Giants in the music world, the Grateful Dead made music that did more than span and transcend genres; it created new ones. Between their launch in San Francisco in the mid 1960s and the band\u2019s end, the Grateful Dead released 13 albums of new studio material, but the studio was never the band\u2019s m\u00e9tier; it would be live onstage where the Grateful Dead shone brightest. Their official catalog demonstrates an understanding of that fact: beginning in the 1960s and continuing years past the group’s 1995 dissolution into to present-day, live archival releases of the Dead\u2019s music number in the hundreds. And that doesn\u2019t even touch upon the thousands of unofficial recordings of the Grateful Dead; the band\u2019s fan base virtually invented taper culture, and with the group\u2019s tacit approval, fans have traded recordings of countless live performances.<\/p>\n
Even with the improvisational bent of the group\u2019s work, the Grateful Dead did compose proper songs. While guitarist Jerry Garcia was a primary songwriter for the band \u2013 often working with lyricist Robert Hunter \u2013 fellow guitarist Bob Weir wrote some of the Dead\u2019s most beloved material. On his own and with collaborator John Perry Barlow, Weir wrote songs that became enduring parts of the Grateful Dead\u2019s ever-changing live sets. In honor of Weir \u2013 who died January 10 at age 78 \u2013 here are five timeless songs from the pen of Bob Weir.<\/p>\n
\u201cSugar Magnolia\u201d from American Beauty<\/em> (1970)<\/strong>
\nThe Grateful Dead released their self-titled debut album in 1967; that set primarily featured cover material, with two original songs: Garcia\u2019s \u201cCream Puff War\u201d and the lively band-penned \u201cThe Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)\u201d by Garcia. Subsequent releases leaned heavily on tunes from Garcia, but the group\u2019s fifth studio album, 1970\u2019s American Beauty<\/em> drew much of its strength from a more democratic songwriting approach. A critical and commercial success, the album included the Weir\/Hunter \u201cSugar Magnolia\u201d as a highlight. To date the song has appeared on no less than 20 albums (in as many different versions) along with inclusion on countless fan-taped sets.<\/p>\n