To celebrate “Operator,” the fourth song on American Beauty and the first Grateful Dead song written solely by Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, we examine his life and offer an extremely rare look into the Pigpen archives, a collection of journals, letters, and more inherited by an old family friend.

American Beauty 50, Episode 4: Operator

“The Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast,” the official Grateful Dead podcast, is a series devoted to exploring the music and mythology behind one of the most enduring, progressive, and influential bands in the history of recorded music. The podcast’s tagline is “For The Committed And The Curious,” as episodes will invite new fans to explore the band’s enormous mythology in digestible chunks and enlighten life-long Dead Heads about corners of the band’s history they never knew existed. No topic will be off limits on “The Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast” as hosts Rich Mahan and Jesse Jarnow explore the band’s outrageous history, innovations, and impact from 1965 to today.

Music

Music Commentary

Music History

Explore “Scarlet Begonias,” from its trans-Atlantic origins (including the Dead’s surprising Bob Marley connection) to Cornell ’77 & beyond, featuring the Wall of Sound’s stop at the Hollywood Bowl (with more unheard Owsley Stanley) & a visit from Vampire Weekend’s Chris Tomson.

From the Mars Hotel 50: Scarlet Begonias

From “Loose Lucy,” the Deadcast jumps onto Dead tour in June ‘74, going under the hood of Phil Lesh’s new quad bass, behind the scenes at the tie-dye information booth, a private lunch at the  Bank of Boston, & on a Mars Hotel-soundtracked summer road trip with Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo.

From the Mars Hotel 50: Loose Lucy

The Deadcast explores Phil Lesh’s masterpiece “Unbroken Chain,” its mysterious lyricist Bobby Petersen, & digs into the luminous synth with Ned Lagin himself; plus, the story of the album title & art with the Grateful Dead Records crew & a visit from Animal Collective’s Avey Tare.

From the Mars Hotel 50: Unbroken Chain

The Deadcast explores “China Doll,” perhaps the most delicate Dead song, the innovative studio techniques pioneered for From The Mars Hotel, the formation of Round Records (& the making of Jerry Garcia’s sophomore solo album), & the infamous Wall of Sound test at the Cow Palace.

From the Mars Hotel 50: China Doll

The Grateful Deadcast begins the epic story of the Dead in 1974 with the writing of From the Mars Hotel’s album-opening “U.S. Blues” & the multiple debuts of the innovative Wall of Sound, featuring new interviews & never-heard archival audio.

American Beauty 50, Episode 4: Operator

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