1972 song by Bob Weir
"Cassidy " is a song written by John Barlow and Bob Weir [ 1] and performed by the Grateful Dead , Ratdog , and Phil Lesh & Friends .[ 2] The song appeared on Bob Weir's Ace , and the Grateful Dead's Reckoning and Without a Net albums.[ 3]
The song was named after Cassidy Law, who was born in 1970 and was the daughter of Grateful Dead crew member Rex Jackson and Weir's former housemate Eileen Law.[ 1] The lyrics also allude to Neal Cassady , who was associated with the Beats in the 1950s[ 4] and the Acid Test scene that spawned the Grateful Dead in the 1960s. Some of the lyrics in the song were also inspired by the death of Barlow's father.[ 5]
The song was quoted in the admiring and admirable obituary of Barlow in The Economist .
The song was first performed on March 23, 1974 at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California .[ 3]
It is usually sung in two part harmony. On the Ace studio album version, Donna Jean Godchaux joins Weir on vocals. On the Reckoning and Without a Net versions, Weir sings with Brent Mydland .
Cover versions
In 1991, Suzanne Vega recorded a version of this song on the album Deadicated .[ 2]
The Grateful Dead released a live version on their 1981 album Reckoning , and another live version on their 1990 album Without a Net
References
Studio albums Live albums
Contemporary Retrospective
1990s 2000s 2010s
Crimson White & Indigo
Formerly the Warlocks
Europe '72: The Complete Recordings
Europe '72 Volume 2
Dark Star
Spring 1990
Spring 1990: So Glad You Made It
Winterland: May 30th 1971
May 1977
Sunshine Daydream
Family Dog at the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA 4/18/70
Live at Hampton Coliseum
Spring 1990 (The Other One)
Wake Up to Find Out
Houston, Texas 11-18-1972
30 Trips Around the Sun: The Definitive Live Story 1965–1995
30 Trips Around the Sun
Shrine Exposition Hall, Los Angeles, CA 11/10/1967
Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, 4/25/77
July 1978: The Complete Recordings
Red Rocks: 7/8/78
July 29 1966, P.N.E. Garden Aud., Vancouver Canada
May 1977: Get Shown the Light
Cornell 5/8/77
Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, Washington, D.C., July 12 & 13, 1989
Fillmore West 1969: February 27th
Pacific Northwest '73–'74: The Complete Recordings
Pacific Northwest '73–'74: Believe It If You Need It
Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR, 5/19/74
Playing in the Band, Seattle, Washington, 5/21/74
The Warfield, San Francisco, California, October 9 & 10, 1980
Fillmore West 1969: February 28th
Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991
Saint of Circumstance
Ready or Not
2020s
June 1976
Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 12-10-71
Listen to the River: St. Louis '71 '72 '73
Lyceum '72: The Complete Recordings
Lyceum Theatre, London, England 5/26/72
In and Out of the Garden: Madison Square Garden '81, '82, '83
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY 3/9/81
Here Comes Sunshine 1973
RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. 6/10/73
Friend of the Devils: April 1978
Duke '78
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