"Viola Lee Blues " , AS ; "The Dead's "1st Big Jam Tune .

[sonicus]

An old traditional tune got a new treatment with early   Grateful Dead . It is an important study in the topic of  The San Francisco and Bay Area sound . It was a turning point of what was to evolve musically in the entire scene. Here is a link with many examples of the development of it's  musical delivery . I love this tune with all its evolution and new found relevance !  
 
http://deadessays.blogspot.com/2009/08/viola-lee-blues.html
 
(Message edited by sonicus on February 17, 2015)

[StephenR]

Good read thanks for posting!
 
Also a big Viola Lee Blues fan. I think the Butterfield Blues Band had a huge influence on the early Dead as well as many of the other Bay Area bands. The Butterfield Band were already accomplished musicians breaking new ground at a time when a number of the Bay Area bands were still learning how to play and develop their own sound. I had the East-West LP before the first Dead LP came out and always thought the blueprint for Viola Lee was East-West.  
 
Interesting Elvin Bishop sat in with the Dead a number of times but as far as I know Bloomfield never did. I saw a photo of him jamming with Jerry but not on stage.

[David Houck]

I didn't make it all the way through the essay, but it's pretty impressive.

[edwin]

It's nice to see it as well as hear it. Although the audio is from a different date, it's sync'ed up really well.
 

 
(Message edited by edwin on February 18, 2015)