| "Truckin'" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Grateful Dead | ||||
| from the album American Beauty | ||||
| B-side | "Ripple" | |||
| Released | November 1, 1970 | |||
| Recorded | September 1970 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Composer(s) | ||||
| Lyricist(s) | Robert Hunter | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Grateful Dead singles [1] singles chronology | ||||
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"Truckin'" is a song by the Grateful Dead, which first appeared on their 1970 album American Beauty . It was recognized by the United States Library of Congress in 1997 as a national treasure. [2]
Written by band members Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and lyricist Robert Hunter, "Truckin'" molds classic Grateful Dead rhythms and instrumentation. [3] The lyrics refer to a drug raid of the band's hotel lodgings in New Orleans during a concert tour earlier in 1970:
Busted, down on Bourbon Street
Set up, like a bowling pin
Knocked down, it gets to wearing thin
They just won't let you be [4]
The song's climactic refrain, "What a long, strange trip it's been", has achieved widespread cultural use in the years since the song's release. [5]
"Truckin'" is associated with the blues and other early 20th-century forms of folk music. [6]
"Truckin'" was considered a "catchy shuffle" by the band members. [7] Garcia commented that "the early stuff we wrote that we tried to set to music was stiff because it wasn't really meant to be sung ... the result of [lyricist Robert Hunter getting into our touring world], the better he could write ... and the better we could create music around it." [2] The communal, shared-group-experience feel of the song is brought home by the participation of all four of the group's chief songwriters (Garcia, Weir, Lesh, and Hunter), since, in Phil Lesh's words, "we took our experiences on the road and made it poetry," lyrically and musically. He goes on to say that "the last chorus defines the band itself." [8] Weir credited the band's 1967 experience in backing vocalese singer Jon Hendricks for helping Weir to enunciate the tongue-twister lyrics in Truckin's verses. [9]
The song was taken from the American Beauty album and edited down in length from five to three minutes for release as a single. In addition to being shorter, the single version had some audible differences compared to the album version: it featured sections of lead guitar in places where it's faded down on the album version, a heavy processed effect on Bob Weir's lead vocals in the verses, a different vocal track for the "Sometimes the lights..." portion, and is missing the album version's organ part.
The single reached number 64 on December 25, 1971, on the U.S. Pop Singles chart and stayed on the chart for eight weeks. "Truckin'" was the highest-charting pop single the group would have until the surprise top-ten performance of "Touch of Grey" sixteen years later. Moreover, the album track was heavily played on progressive rock and album oriented rock radio stations and accordingly helped popularize the group among general rock audiences.
"Truckin'" debuted as the first song on the first set on August 18, 1970 at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, the same performance where many of American Beauty's songs premiered.
A longer rendition, that turns into a jam, was included on the popular 1972 live album Europe '72 segueing into "Epilogue", followed by "Prelude".
Over the band's long concert career, "Truckin'" was performed 520 times, making it the eighth-most performed Dead song. [10]
| Peak Chart Date | Position | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| December 25, 1971 | 64 [11] | 8 weeks |
American Beauty is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Grateful Dead. Released in November 1970, by Warner Bros. Records, the album continued the folk rock and country music style of their previous album Workingman's Dead, released earlier in the year.
"Box of Rain" is a song by the Grateful Dead, from their 1970 album American Beauty. The song was composed by bassist Phil Lesh and lyricist Robert Hunter, and sung by Lesh.
What a Long Strange Trip It's Been is the second compilation album by American rock band Grateful Dead. It was released August 18, 1977 by Warner Bros. Records, three and a half years after the Skeletons from the Closet compilation. Both albums are subtitled "The Best of the Grateful Dead". Unlike the previous compilation, What a Long Strange Trip It's Been is a double album.
Download Series Volume 3 is a live album by the rock band Grateful Dead. It was recorded on October 26, 1971, at the Palestra in Rochester, New York, and released as a digital download on July 5, 2005.
"Uncle John's Band" is a song by the Grateful Dead that first appeared in their concert setlists in late 1969. The band recorded it for their 1970 album Workingman's Dead. Written by guitarist Jerry Garcia and lyricist Robert Hunter, "Uncle John's Band" presents the Dead in an acoustic and musically concise mode, with close harmony singing.
Postcards of the Hanging is a compilation album by the Grateful Dead. It consists entirely of Bob Dylan covers, performed live in concert, along with a rehearsal performance of "Man of Peace" featuring the Grateful Dead backing Dylan himself. Bob Weir sings lead on five tracks, Jerry Garcia on three, and Phil Lesh on one ; Weir and Garcia also alternate on one. Another Dylan covers collection, Garcia Plays Dylan, includes several performances by the Grateful Dead, but mostly by the Jerry Garcia Band and other Garcia side projects. An album of live performances containing Dylan and the Grateful Dead performing together was released in 1989 as "Dylan & the Dead."
The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack is a five-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It was recorded on October 16–20, 1974, and was released on March 15, 2005. The album was remixed from the original 16-track concert soundboard tapes.
Truckin' Up to Buffalo is a double CD soundtrack to the DVD video of the same name by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded at Rich Stadium in Orchard Park on July 4, 1989. There are no differences in the track listings of the CD and DVD versions. Two tracks had already been released: "All Along the Watchtower" was included in the compilation of Dylan songs, Postcards of the Hanging, and "Man Smart " was released on Weir Here – The Best of Bob Weir. The album title is taken from a line in the band's song "Truckin'", though it was not included in the setlist that night.
Dick's Picks Volume 31 is a four-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It was recorded on August 4 and 5, 1974 at the Philadelphia Civic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and on August 6, 1974, at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was released in March 2004.
Road Trips Volume 2 Number 1 is two-CD live album by the American rock band the Grateful Dead. The fifth in their "Road Trips" series of albums, it was recorded at Madison Square Garden in New York City on September 18, 19, and 20, 1990. It was released on December 10, 2008.
Road Trips Volume 3 Number 1 is a two-CD live album by the American rock band the Grateful Dead. The ninth in their "Road Trips" series of albums, it was recorded on December 28, 1979, at the Oakland Auditorium in Oakland, California, and contains the complete show from that date. A third, bonus disc included with some copies of the album was recorded two nights later, December 30, 1979, at the same venue. The album was released on November 10, 2009.
The Warner Bros. Studio Albums is a box set of five vinyl LPs by the rock group the Grateful Dead. It is a reissue of their first five studio albums: The Grateful Dead (1967), Anthem of the Sun (1968), Aoxomoxoa (1969), Workingman's Dead (1970), and American Beauty (1970). These albums were originally released by Warner Bros. Records. The box set was released by Rhino Records on September 21, 2010.
The Grateful Dead had worked on songs in the early 1990s for an album that was intended to be the follow-up to Built to Last (1989), but it was never completed. This has sometimes been referred to as the unfinished last Grateful Dead album and The Missing Album. The band began work on a new album in February 1992, which was incomplete. After Jerry Garcia's death, the band considered finishing the album, but it never came into fruition.
Dave's Picks Volume 24 is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded at the Berkeley Community Theatre in Berkeley, California on August 25, 1972. It was produced as a limited edition of 16,500 copies, and was released on November 1, 2017.
Dave's Picks Volume 32 is a 3-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded at the Spectrum in Philadelphia on March 24, 1973. It was released on November 1, 2019 in a limited edition of 20,000 copies.
Dave's Picks Volume 38 is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded on September 8, 1973 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. It also contains two bonus tracks recorded on the previous night at the same venue. Some copies of the album include a bonus disc with eight more songs from the September 7 concert. It was released on April 30, 2021 in a limited edition of 25,000 copies.
Dave's Picks Volume 39 is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded on April 26, 1983, at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It also includes several bonus tracks recorded at the same venue on the previous night, and at the War Memorial Auditorium in Rochester, New York earlier that month. It was released on July 30, 2021, in a limited edition of 25,000 copies.
Lyceum Theatre, London, England 5/26/72 is a four-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded at the Lyceum Theatre on May 26, 1972 – the last show of the band's Europe '72 tour. It was released on July 29, 2022.
Dave's Picks Volume 42 is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded on February 23, 1974 at the Winterland Arena in San Francisco. It was released on April 29, 2022, in a limited edition of 25,000 copies.
Dave's Picks Volume 46 is a three-CD live album by American rock band the Grateful Dead. The album contains the complete show recorded on September 9, 1972, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California. It was released on April 28, 2023, in a limited edition of 25,000 copies.
