GOOD OL' GRATEFUL DEADCAST

Episode: The Adventures of Pigpen, Part 1

Date: March 8, 2023

Hosts: Rich Mahan & Jesse Jarnow

Episode Overview

This episode launches a special two-part deep dive commemorating the life of Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, the original and soulful frontman of the Grateful Dead, on the 50th anniversary of his passing. The hosts explore Pigpen’s pivotal role in shaping the band’s character, sound, and mythology, unearthing rare stories from his family, friends, and the early Palo Alto scene. Drawing from newly accessed archives, interviews, and personal artifacts, the episode traces Pigpen’s journey from his youth into the vibrant Bay Area music scene, ultimately becoming one of the Grateful Dead’s most enigmatic and beloved figures.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Pigpen’s Enduring Legacy & Mystique

• [04:00] Pigpen died at age 27, forever remembered as an integral part of the Dead. "Pigpen was and is now forever one of the Grateful Dead." (Jesse Jarnow)
• He was celebrated on 'Bear’s Choice', a live album largely dedicated to him, marking his influence on the band and fans alike.
• Despite his larger-than-life persona, much about Pigpen remains mysterious due to limited interviews and his early death, just as the band gained mainstream attention.

"[Pigpen] was really sweet. He was a madman. He was really wonderful. He was not at all like any Hell's Angels, except that he kind of looked like a Hell's Angel." — Bob Weir (06:49)

2. Distinct Musical Identity

• [04:37] Historian David Lemieux and hosts emphasize Pigpen’s unique contribution: he merged deep blues and R&B with the Dead’s more psychedelic tendencies.
• Songs like "Turn On Your Love Light," “Good Lovin’,” and “Operator” highlighted his ability to “bring the house down.”
• Pigpen's blues authenticity and songwriting ("Two Souls in Communion" and “Operator”) provided the band with emotional depth and groundedness.

"He was one of the most soulful blues guys... when he's got just he and a guitar." — David Lemieux (04:50)

• Jerry Garcia acknowledged Pigpen’s showmanship:

"He had that thing of being able to really carry an audience, too. He was, like, really more of a showman and more out there than the rest of us." — Jerry Garcia (08:20)

3. Origins: Childhood & Formative Years

• [11:13] Rare biographical notes by Pigpen’s father, Phil McKernan, offer an intimate look at Ron’s early life: sensitive, bright, hard-working, and precocious.
• Grew up in working-class neighborhoods, influenced by encounters with “hobos” and the blues-infused underground culture near train tracks in Palo Alto.
• Nicknames abounded: first “Blue Ron,” then “Rims,” before becoming “Pigpen.”

"At seven years, he took lessons on the steel guitar, but found it tedious… but all the while he played around on the piano but was adamant about not taking lessons." — Phil McKernan as read by Jim Sullivan (11:13)

4. Early Musical Influences

• He self-taught guitar and harmonica, participated in local hootenannies, and frequently sat in with friends at various gatherings.
• His father Phil hosted one of the first R&B radio shows in the Bay Area, giving young Ron unmatched exposure to blues and R&B.

"I first became interested in R&B by listening to records and his father's R&B radio show. The first R&B radio show in the SF Bay Area." — Sully (Phil McKernan’s notes) (19:47)

5. Pigpen’s Outsider Persona

• Pigpen was rebellious; he avoided high school, preferred odd jobs (gas stations, butchers, lawn mowing), and cultivated a “beatnik” sensibility.
• Connie Bonner recalled his unforgettable presence at school—boots, long hair, and a rebellious attitude.

6. Integration into the Palo Alto Scene

• Dropping out of high school in Palo Alto was less stigmatized due to the intellectual, bohemian influence of Stanford and Kepler’s Books.
• Early connections included Jerry Garcia (soon after his army discharge), David X, and other local music figures.
• Shared hangouts: Kepler’s Bookstore, the Chateau boarding house, Perry Lane (Ken Kesey’s stomping ground), and the off-campus blues clubs of Whiskey Gulch.

"I sat there in his room for countless hours listening to his old records. It was funky, man. Stuff thrown everywhere. Pigpen had this habit of wearing just a shirt and his underpants..." — Jerry Garcia as quoted by Jesse Jarnow (24:03)

7. Influence of the Beat Generation

• Wrote poetry and prose inspired by loss, nostalgia, and beat writers like Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti.
• Early texts (“San Bruno Blues,” untitled beatnik sketches) reveal his introspective, emotional side.

"All the memories of those wonderful times will forever live in my heart as real and tender as if they had just happened. As I left that foggy little windswept town I cried on that hard highway. Had not the night grown longer and the world grown colder?" — Ron McKernan, “San Bruno Blues” (26:57)

8. Evolution from Jug Band to Electric R&B

• Early music groups: with Garcia, Black Mountain Boys (bluegrass), The Zodiacs (R&B), then Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions (proto-Dead jug band).
• Nickname “Pigpen” seems to have originated with the Zodiacs, referencing the Peanuts cartoon character for his “grungy” image.
• The Zodiacs' party gigs at colleges and local clubs, sometimes getting rowdy or even dangerous, formed the foundation of his R&B performing persona.
• Transitioned to jug band, then pushed the group (later the Warlocks, then the Grateful Dead) into electric blues and R&B, laying groundwork for their first sound.

"He was the best singer and the best harp player…he was the one with the Grammatus. He was the real force." — Eric Thompson (53:23)

9. Archival Discoveries & Rare Recordings

• The episode features snippets from newly uncovered tapes:
  • Pigpen harping/singing with Garcia and David X at the Tangent (~1962)
  • 1964 kitchen tape by Ted Clare, revealing Pigpen’s raw blues talent in intimate, informal settings.
  • “Bring Me My Shotgun,” an improvisational staple, appears in multiple recorded versions, testifying to his spontaneous creativity.

"Where’d you get that [song]? — I just made it up right now." — Pigpen (63:03)

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• [06:49] "He was really sweet. He was a madman. He was really wonderful." — Bob Weir
• [08:20] "He was, like, really more of a showman and more out there than the rest of us." — Jerry Garcia
• [17:54] "The hallways would clear when Pigpen walked down the hallway forever." — Connie Bonner
• [24:03] "I sat in his room for countless hours listening to his old records... Pigpen had this habit of wearing just a shirt and his underpants." — Jerry Garcia as quoted by Jesse Jarnow
• [26:57] "As I left that foggy little windswept town I cried on that hard highway. Had not the night grown longer and the world grown colder?" — Ron McKernan, “San Bruno Blues”
• [34:22] "Ron has a death wish." — Paraphrased from a friend, via Eric Thompson
• [53:23] "He was the best singer and the best harp player…he was the one with the Grammatus. He was the real force." — Eric Thompson
• [63:03] "Where’d you get that? I just made it up right now." — Pigpen
• [62:12] Singing: “Keep on trucking mama, Trucking mama till the break...” ("Keep On Truckin’") — Pigpen

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:35 — Opening tribute, Bear’s Choice excerpt
• 06:49 — Bob Weir on Pigpen’s personality
• 08:20 — Garcia describes Pigpen’s showmanship
• 11:13 — Phil McKernan’s notes: childhood and family
• 15:41 — Move to Santa Catalina, East Palo Alto (formative years)
• 17:54 — Connie Bonner on Pigpen’s high school legend
• 19:01 — Pigpen’s first guitar
• 19:47 — R&B radio influence from his father
• 23:54 — Pigpen meets Garcia and the Palo Alto folk scene
• 25:04 — First radio interview with “Pigpen” moniker
• 26:05 — “San Bruno Blues” reading, Pigpen’s juvenile writings
• 33:55 — Discussion of Pigpen’s drinking and blues authenticity
• 40:12 — Pigpen fronting the Zodiacs
• 46:56 — Zodiacs and Dr. Don and the Interns, early gig stories
• 47:07 — Denise Kaufman on hearing Pigpen and the Zodiacs
• 50:23 — Transition to Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions
• 53:23 — Eric Thompson: “He was the real force.”
• 54:54 — Rare kitchen tapes, spirituals, and blues improvisations
• 56:18 — Ted Clare: recording Pigpen in Menlo Park kitchen
• 62:12 — “Keep On Truckin’” — foreshadowing later Dead themes

Conclusion & What’s Next

The episode sets the stage for Pigpen’s transformation from local bluesman and jugband fixture to the electric frontman of the Warlocks—soon to become the Grateful Dead. His formative personal and musical experiences, his rebellious and haunted teenage years, and his immersion in authentic blues culture underpin the earliest years of the Dead’s mythology.

Part 2 will take up the story from the birth of the electrified Warlocks, deepening the exploration into Pigpen’s influence as the Dead come into their own.

Summary Tone

The hosts balance empathy, scholarly curiosity, and humor, emphasizing Pigpen’s warmth, complexity, and the depth of his blues. They embrace fond remembrance, rich anecdote, and candid storytelling, mirroring the band's own legacy: a blend of myth, music, and real human experience.

Guests featured in this episode:

• David Lemieux (Grateful Dead Archivist)
• Bob Weir (Grateful Dead founding member)
• Jim Sullivan (“Sully,” keeper of McKernan archives)
• Connie Bonner (co-founder, Grateful Dead fan club)
• Eric Thompson (guitarist, Palo Alto scene)
• Denise Kaufman (musician, Ace of Cups/Merry Pranksters)
• Ted Claire (taper, KZSU Radio)

For more archival material, rare images, and related links, visit dead.net/deadcast.