Sugaree

For the Indian tribe, see Catawba people.
"Sugaree"
Song by Jerry Garcia
from the album Garcia
B-side"Eep Hour"
ReleasedJanuary 1972
Recorded1971
GenreFolk rock
Length5:54
LabelWarner Bros. Records
Composer(s)Jerry Garcia
Lyricist(s)Robert Hunter
Producer(s)Bob Matthews
Betty Cantor
Bill Kreutzmann

"Sugaree" is a song with lyrics by long-time Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and music by guitarist Jerry Garcia.[1] It was written for Jerry Garcia's first solo album Garcia, which was released in January 1972. As with the songs on the rest of the album, Garcia plays every instrument himself except drums, played by Bill Kreutzmann, including acoustic guitar, bass guitar, and an electric guitar played through a Leslie speaker. Released as a single from the Garcia album, "Sugaree" peaked at #94 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1972 and was Garcia's only single ever on that chart.[2]

The song was first performed live by the Grateful Dead on July 31, 1971, at the Yale Bowl at Yale University, as was the song "Mr. Charlie".[1] They played the song in numerous other concerts, including those later released as Dick's Picks Volume 3 and One from the Vault.[1]

Predecessors

Elizabeth Cotten, the North Carolina folksinger, wrote and recorded a song called "Shake Sugaree" in 1966.[3] The chorus of Cotten's song is "Oh lordie me/Didn't I shake sugaree?" Hunter was aware of this song when he wrote "Sugaree."[4]

The song is mentioned in Stephen King's 1981 novel Cujo.

The Persuasions included this song on their 2000 album of Grateful Dead covers, Might as Well… The Persuasions Sing Grateful Dead.[5]

Graham Parker covered the track on his 2004 album, Your Country.[6]

Jackie Greene recorded a cover for his 2009 release The Grateful EP.

On the 2016 charity album Day of the Dead, "Sugaree" was covered by Jenny Lewis and the band Phosphorescent.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Dodd, David. "The Annotated "Sugaree"". The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
  2. ^ "Jerry Garcia: Billboard Hot 100 chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Shake Sugaree - Elizabeth Cotten | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. 2004-09-21. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  4. ^ Trager, Oliver (1997). The American Book of the Dead. New York: Touchstone. p. 292. ISBN 0684814021.
  5. ^ "Might as Well… The Persuasions Sing Grateful Dead". Allmusic. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  6. ^ "Your Country". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  7. ^ "Day of the Dead". Day of the Dead. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  • Dead.net, the official homepage of the Grateful Dead.