GOOD OL' GRATEFUL DEADCAST

Episode: Bear's Choice 50
Release Date: March 30, 2023
Theme: Celebrating the 50th anniversary of “Bear’s Choice”—the Grateful Dead’s first archival release and heartfelt tribute to the band’s original bluesman and founding member, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan.

Overview

Season seven of the Deadcast examines the context, story, and legacy of "Bear’s Choice" (History of the Grateful Dead, Volume 1), a unique live album curated by the Dead’s legendary soundman and LSD chemist Owsley “Bear” Stanley. Hosts Rich Mahan and Jesse Jarnow, together with guest perspectives (David Lemieux, Starfinder Stanley, Alan Arkish, Gary Lambert), discuss the music’s roots, recording circumstances, and how the album became a significant artifact both musically and visually for Deadheads old and new.

Main Purpose:
Dive deep into the circumstances, music, personalities, and visuals surrounding "Bear’s Choice," exploring its origin as a contractual obligation, its transformation into a Pigpen tribute, and the birth of iconic Grateful Dead imagery.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Album Origins & Contractual Context

• Bear’s Choice is the Dead’s fourth live album, but unlike earlier releases like Live/Dead, Skull and Roses, or Europe ‘72, it’s a single disc with a mix of acoustic and electric tracks.
• Recorded live at the Fillmore East, February 13-14, 1970 – just three years before the album’s release.
• The album was partially assembled to fulfill a legal commitment to Warner Bros. after financial mismanagement by manager Lenny Hart (11:19).
  • Bob Weir (1973):

    “We had a commitment to Warner Brothers and for expediency gave them some old tapes that Owsley had collected.” (11:55)

  • Garcia’s Rolling Stone explanation:

    “We could have been cut loose if we gave them two single records rather than one triple album. We ended up giving them four discs instead of just two, just to be able to go to Europe.” (12:19)

2. Owsley ‘Bear’ Stanley: Man, Myth, and Sonic Journals

• Bear was an early and influential Dead sound engineer as well as a legendary LSD chemist.
• Starfinder Stanley (Bear’s son):
  • On the nickname:

    “He started using Bear as the nickname, which he had as a teen… he could be gruff at times, so it did suit him.” (07:34)

  • On Bear’s philosophy:

    “It has to be real. It has to represent what happened. There is so much power in that truth of the music as it emerged. And you can’t fix it because it’s not broken… This is the way it happened. You have to honor that.” (10:02)

• Bear’s unique recording methods sought to be “transparent,” capturing not just the band, but the room and the moment (27:10, 32:30).

3. A Pigpen Tribute

• Although the album began as a contractual workaround, Pigpen’s death in March 1973 (age 27) shaped it into a memorial.
  • David Lemieux:

    “They were in development on this project and then Pig died right in the middle of it. That’s when…Katie Mae got put on there…to further make this a Pigpen tribute.” (15:18)

4. The Fillmore East: A Sonic Home

• The Fillmore’s legendary status and technical excellence, with a pioneering sound system by Bill Hanley, earned deep respect from Bear and the Dead.
  • Alan Arkish:

    “It was remarkable how good it sounded. The sense I got of the space…was really overpowering to me.” (19:00)

  • Starfinder Stanley:

    “He didn’t just catch the sound, he catches the place the sound happened in, the whole experience of being in that room.” (20:06)

• Stories of the backstage world, Angel visits, and midnight antics illustrate the band's raw, communal world (29:08, 30:06).

5. The Acoustic Set: Deadfolk & Americana

• First official Live Dead album with a full acoustic side, documented during their transition from psychedelic to folk- and roots-based material.
  • Gary Lambert (attendee):

    “It was the first time…that we saw the Dead have a little interlude where they played some acoustic instruments on stage...it was wonderful.” (39:27)

  • Bob Weir banter (on capos):

    “…this insidious device known in common circles as a cheater.” (42:37)

• Explores origins of “Dark Hollow,” “I’ve Been All Around This World,” “Wake Up Little Susie,” “Black Peter.”
  • Dark Hollow traced from early folk roots to Dead favorites.
  • The Everly Brothers’ “Wake Up Little Susie” as a major influence on Jerry & Bob’s harmonies (50:14).

6. Side 2: Pigpen’s Blues

• Side 2 is a showcase for Pigpen: “Katie Mae”, “Smokestack Lightning”, “Hard To Handle.”
  • Phil Lesh (via memoir):

    “Never was Pigpen more at home than with a bottle of wine and a guitar.”

  • “Katie Mae” as both party favorite and deep blues dance tune, nodding to Lightnin’ Hopkins.
  • The Dead’s “Hard to Handle” is compared to Otis Redding’s original, and its transformation into a signature Pigpen jam.

7. Bear’s Recording & Production Philosophy

• Bear strived to be as invisible as possible, capturing the real sound of the band, the stage, and the venue.
  • Bear (1991 interview):

    “I was always a recordist…My way of doing that was constantly playing the tapes back, making the tapes as exactly like the house...I become as transparent as possible.” (27:10)

• His work influenced the band's consistency, driving nightly reflection and improvement.

8. Iconic Artwork: Dancing Bears & Steal Your Face

• “Bear’s Choice” introduced the Dead’s two most legendary images: the “Steal Your Face” skull/lightning and the “dancing” (or marching) bears.
  • Starfinder Stanley:

    “The art on it has some of the most persistent and ubiquitous Grateful Dead iconography that’s out there.” (70:15)

  • Explains how Bear needed a symbol for Dead gear—hence, the birth of the skull-and-bolt logo, later refined into the iconic form by artist Bob Thomas (72:12).

9. The Enduring Legacy of “Bear’s Choice”

• While rarely cited as the greatest Dead live album, it’s foundational for newcomers, old-school fans, and anyone interested in the Dead’s mythos.
• The “History of the Grateful Dead, Volume 1” hinted at more volumes, but the band never followed it up. Starfinder reflects:

  • “Volume One…marked a turning point in the evolution of the band…Bear was really absolutely certain that the Grateful Dead was an entity that existed beyond the members of the band.” (78:08)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Starfinder Stanley on Pigpen and Bear: (17:02)

  “It's funny because Pig Pen didn't like acid and my dad didn't like drinking...yet they still had that deep soul connection. His persona was so gruff...but he was, from all reports, such a sweet guy...I think that probably is one thing my dad loved about that duality.”

• Alan Arkish on Black Peter: (53:17)

  “The performance of Jerry on Black Peter really sums up the ambition of that record...to hold 2500 people like that, and there’s not a cough in the room...it’s about as beautiful a live recording as I've ever heard.”

• Bear (Owsley Stanley) on his Approach: (27:10)

  “My idea about the soundman is that he has to become transparent...making the tapes as exactly like the house...get the earphone sound just like the house, walk around the house...so it was mostly just the band.”

• Starfinder Stanley on Grateful Dead's Continuity: (79:18)

  “Even when all of you are dead and gone, there will still be a Grateful Dead, because the Dead’s more than that...The Dead is the energy of the experience.”

• Bob Weir on acoustic set banter: (42:37)

  “Let me put on this insidious device. Here I’m strapping on an insidious device known in common circles as a cheater.”
  [followed by]
  “You can lose a finger trying to use one of those things.” (46:16)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:37 – Opening performance excerpt: “Freight Train”
• 07:10 – Introduction of Bear (Owsley Stanley) and the roots of his nickname
• 09:23 – First proper Bear credit; Pigpen’s authenticity on tape
• 11:55 – Bob Weir on contractual obligation for Warners
• 13:10 – Release of competing “History of the Grateful Dead” by MGM
• 14:44 – Pigpen’s passing shifts the album to become a tribute
• 17:02 – Starfinder Stanley reflects on friendship between Bear and Pigpen
• 19:00 – Alan Arkish on the sound of the original pressing
• 27:10 – Owsley ‘Bear’ Stanley 1991 interview on his recording methodology
• 29:08–31:35 – Fillmore East backstage tales, Pigpen’s “couch,” Hell’s Angels
• 33:33 – Gary Lambert recounts attending the Fillmore East shows
• 41:01 – Early Dead acoustic sets: a shift towards folk/americana
• 42:37, 46:16 – Banter between Weir and Garcia during “Dark Hollow,” capo jokes
• 53:17 – Alan Arkish on the impact of “Black Peter”
• 56:54, 57:38 – Pigpen brought out for his acoustic solo; engages with the crowd
• 63:21 – Gear talk: Garcia’s use of a rosewood Telecaster at these shows
• 70:15–74:44 – The iconic artwork: Steal Your Face and Dancing Bears
• 78:08–79:18 – Starfinder on the meaning of “Volume 1” and persevering Grateful Dead energy

Structure of "Bear's Choice": Music & Mood

• Side A: Acoustic
  • “Dark Hollow” (first Dead performance!)
  • “I’ve Been All Around This World”
  • “Wake Up Little Susie”
  • “Black Peter” (new at the time, soon to be a staple)
• Side B: Pigpen Blues
  • “Katie Mae” (rare Pigpen solo)
  • “Smokestack Lightning” (Howlin’ Wolf cover)
  • “Hard to Handle” (Otis Redding cover, Pigpen’s signature)

Conclusion

“Bear’s Choice” was born of business necessity, became a personal artistic statement from one of rock’s most enigmatic sonic innovators, and transformed posthumously into the Grateful Dead’s primary memorial to Pigpen. Its songs, stories, and art have become part of the Dead’s living legacy—an evolutionary leap preserved in acid-etched vinyl, honest, raw, and (uniquely for the Dead) grounded.

For further exploration:

• Linked videos, interviews, rare photos, and additional reading at dead.net/deadcast
• Participatory stories: stories.dead.net

(Hosted by Rich Mahan & Jesse Jarnow. Guests: David Lemieux, Starfinder Stanley, Alan Arkish, Gary Lambert. Special archival audio: David Gans. All excerpts remain in the original lively Deadcast tone.)