Alabama Getaway

Last updated
"Alabama Getaway"
Single by Grateful Dead
from the album Go to Heaven
B-side "Far from Me"
ReleasedApril 28, 1980
Length3:36
Label Arista
Composer Jerry Garcia
Lyricist Robert Hunter
Producer Gary Lyons
Grateful Dead singles chronology
"Shakedown Street"
(1979)		"Alabama Getaway"
(1980)		"Don't Ease Me In"
(1980)
Official audio
"Alabama Getaway" on YouTube

"Alabama Getaway" is a song by the American rock band Grateful Dead, released as the first of two singles from their 1980 album Go to Heaven . [1]

Contents

Background

"Alabama Getaway" was written by Jerry Garcia (music) and Robert Hunter (lyrics) and has narrative ambiguities. [2] It is specifically an "outlaw tale with lots of Old West imagery," [3]

Music and lyrics

"Alabama Getaway" is a Berry-esque rock track, [1] [4] and features a Minimoog solo performed by Brent Mydland. [5] the music of which has been described by Lindsay Planer as a "greasy four-on-the floor rocker [that is] connected by a blues-derived saga of a Sugar Daddy-type character". [1] The song was a staple of the band's setlists of the early 1980s. [6]

Critical reception

Writing for Rolling Stone, J.M. De Matteis believes that it "does its job with an admirable brevity that might have saved a few of the album’s terminally long-winded compositions". [4] American music magazine Cashbox opined the band "take the blues/rock boogie road to the south and its smooth sailing all the way" on the track. [7] Record World writes that "Garcia's lead vocals and guitar work are on the money and new keyboard/vocalist, Brent Mydland shows he has the boogie in his blood." [8]

Credits and personnel

According to the Grateful Dead Family Discography: [9]

Performers

Production

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Alabama Getaway"
Chart (1980)Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 [10] 68
US Cashbox Top 100 Singles [11] 79
US Record World Singles Chart [12] 68

References

  1. 1 2 3 Planer, Lindsay. "Alabama Getaway Review". AllMusic . RoVi Corporation. Retrieved 2026-01-31.
  2. ↑ Clarke, Andrew (2006). Go to Heaven (reissue booklet). Rhino and Grateful Dead Records. p. 8.
  3. ↑ Sclafani, Tony (2013-09-01). The Grateful Dead FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Greatest Jam Band in History. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 131. ISBN   978-1-61713-582-8.
  4. 1 2 Matteis, J.M. De (1980-08-07). "Go To Heaven" . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2026-01-31.
  5. ↑ Jackson, Blair (2006). Grateful Dead Gear. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p. 207. ISBN   0879308931.
  6. ↑ Planer, Lindsay. "Go to Heaven Review". AllMusic . RoVi Corporation. Retrieved 2026-01-31.
  7. ↑ "Singles to Watch" (PDF). Cashbox . June 7, 1980. p. 20. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Record World Single Picks" (PDF). Record World . June 14, 1980. p. 16. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Grateful Dead Family Discography: Alabama Getaway / Far From Me". www.deaddisc.com. Retrieved 2026-01-31.
  10. ↑ "Grateful Dead Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard . Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Cashbox . 1980-07-12. p. 4.
  12. ↑ "Record World Singles" (PDF). Record World . 1980-06-28. p. 31.
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