Uncle John's Band

It first appeared in the band's setlists in late 1969, and it presents the Dead in an acoustic and musically concise mode, with close harmonies. Warner Bros. released it as a single backed with New Speedway Boogie. Garcia worked with the label to cut it down for radio, but later called the edit an atrocity. The single was the group's first chart hit, peaking at 69 on the Billboard Hot 100, and for many in the general rock audience it was the first time they heard the band. The unedited single carried the word goddamn, which many stations played instead of the edited version.

Live

Pitchfork picked a performance from Winterland in San Francisco in 1974, from the run filmed for The Grateful Dead Movie, in which the jam shifts into a minor key and 7/4 time. Its writer called the song a folk song with teeth. Jimmy Buffett, Joe Higgs, the Indigo Girls and Lucius have covered it.