Cornell '77

The Music, the Myth, and the Magnificence of the Grateful Dead's Concert at Barton Hall

Peter Conners

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781501704321
• eBook ISBN: 9781501712562
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: North American History

On May 8, 1977, at Barton Hall, on the Cornell University campus, in front of 8,500 eager fans, the Grateful Dead played a show so significant that the Library of Congress inducted it into the National Recording Registry. The band had just released Terrapin Station and was still finding its feet after an extended hiatus. In 1977, the Grateful Dead reached a musical peak, and their East Coast spring tour featured an exceptional string of performances, including the one at Cornell.Many Deadheads claim that the quality of the live recording of the show made by Betty Cantor-Jackson (a member of the crew) elevated its importance. Once those recordings—referred to as "Betty Boards"—began to circulate among Deadheads, the reputation of the Cornell '77 show grew exponentially.With time the show at Barton Hall acquired legendary status in the community of Deadheads and audiophiles.Rooted in dozens of interviews—including a conversation with Betty Cantor-Jackson about her recording—and accompanied by a dazzling selection of never-before-seen concert photographs, Cornell '77 is about far more than just a single Grateful Dead concert. It is a social and cultural history of one of America's most enduring and iconic musical acts, their devoted fans, and a group of Cornell students whose passion for music drove them to bring the Dead to Barton Hall. Peter Conners has intimate knowledge of the fan culture surrounding the Dead, and his expertise brings the show to life. He leads readers through a song-by-song analysis of the performance, from "New Minglewood Blues" to "One More Saturday Night," and conveys why, forty years later, Cornell '77 is still considered a touchstone in the history of the band.As Conners notes in his Prologue: "You will hear from Deadheads who went to the show. You will hear from non-Deadhead Cornell graduates who were responsible for putting on the show in the first place. You will hear from record executives, academics, scholars, Dead family members, tapers, traders, and trolls. You will hear from those who still live the Grateful Dead every day. You will hear from those who would rather keep their Grateful Dead passions private for reasons both personal and professional. You will hear stories about the early days of being a Deadhead and what it was like to attend, and perhaps record, those early shows, including Cornell '77."

Index

Academy of Music (New York City), 24, 63

Acid Tests, 28, 35–37, 51–52, 169

Adler, Matt, 64

Alpert, Richard (Ram Dass), 1, 51, 72

Alembic Sound Company, 55

Allman Brothers, 32–33

“Also sprach Zarathustra” (Strauss), 76

Altamont, California, 31

American Book of the Dead, The (Trager), 90

Anderson, Ian, 62

Anderson, Texas, 85

Angwin, Pete, 70–76

Avalon Ballroom (San Francisco), 132

Aykroyd, Dan, 14

Babbs, Ken, 35

Bakersfield sound, 88, 97–98, 126, 152; see also country and western music

Band, The, 98

Barlow, John Perry, 37

lyrics, 95

Barton Hall

acoustics, 6

description of building, 5–6, 69

use as ROTC drill hall, 107

Barton Hall, Grateful Dead Concert (5/8/77)

attendance and tickets, 63–67, 74–75

audience response, 81–127 passim

conclusion and break–down, 124–125

contract, 40–41, 70, 103

Cornell Concert Commission and, 29–34

crowd and “Step Back,” 105–107

“Drums” > “Space,” 117–118

encore, 121–124

first set, 81–104

hoax, 167–170, 175–176

media coverage, 6, 33, 63, 102, 163, 177

Mother’s Day, 25–26, 82, 99

in National Recording Registry, 8, 38

part of May series, 39, 67–68, 126–127, 139

preparation at Cornell, 23–34

reputation, 4, 39–40, 73–75, 79, 83, 127, 147–171, 175–179

second set, 105–127

set–up and sound check, 67–70, 142

taping and, 38–39, 124, 127

weather, 23–34...

Table of contents

• Prologue: Grown Up Dead
• The Sex Pistols, Disco, and the Dead
• Cold Rain and Snow
• Sonic Experiments
• Just the Right Night
• First Set
• Second Set
• Betty Boards
• The Show That Never Happened
• Epilogue: A Band Out of Time
• Listening and Reading
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Index
• Inserts