GOOD OL' GRATEFUL DEADCAST

Episode: Wake Of The Flood 50 – Stella Blue

Release Date: October 5, 2023
Hosts: Rich Mahan & Jesse Jarnow
Notable Guests: Elvis Costello, Bruce Hornsby, David Lemieux, Scott Metzger, Sean O’Donnell, Nick Palmgarten, Nick Bush

Overview

This episode of the Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast takes a deep and expansive dive into “Stella Blue,” a highlight of the Grateful Dead’s 1973 album Wake of the Flood. Using the song’s 50th anniversary as a springboard, the hosts and a series of distinguished guests (musicians, Dead historians, and Dead-loving civilians) explore the song’s origins, recording, live evolution, literary references, emotional resonance—and its meaning for those touched by its beauty, sadness, and mystery. The episode flows chronologically from Stella Blue’s genesis through its many phases, offering song snippets, session outtakes, and stories from across the Dead universe.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Stella Blue’s Significance In The Dead’s Catalog [03:50–08:35]

• Position in Wake of the Flood:
  Stella Blue closes side one of the album—a “heaviest sustained moment” [03:50].
• Performance Placement:
  Often appears late in shows, "after psychedelic meltdowns," serving as an emotional destination [04:28, Jesse Jarnow]
• Song’s Magic:
  Evoking great beauty through both Garcia’s gently yearning melody and Robert Hunter’s evocative lyrics—a “one-two punch” [00:00–03:50, Rich Mahan]
• Vocal Wish, American Songbook:
  Elvis Costello: “I always heard Mel Tormé singing it. I always wish Mel Tormé would have done a version. He would have absolutely taken it to a whole other audience” [07:19].

2. Origins & Lyric Genesis—Chelsea Hotel Days [11:14–13:59]

• Birthplace:
  Hunter wrote the lyrics in March 1970 at NYC’s Chelsea Hotel, surrounded by a milieu of art, songwriting, and literary characters [11:14–13:59].
• Inspiration:
  The song’s images—lonely streets, blue lights, cheap hotels—come from literal and mythic atmospheres of places like the Chelsea [11:14; 13:33].
• Shared Roots in Trauma:
  Hunter recounts to Blair Jackson that “Stella Blue” was inspired by a “horrific June 1969 LSD trip” (which also led to “Black Peter”)—the song’s sorrow, detachment from time, and dreamy sadness came from this experience [15:32].

3. Lyrics Evolution & Literary Easter Eggs [17:14–19:09; 66:46–68:37]

• Lyric Tweaks:
  Original Hunter drafts featured small differences; for example, shifting “broken angel sings from the guitarist” to “from a guitar” for greater grace and universality [17:47].
• Literary Allusions:
  • Nabokov’s “Pale Fire” contains a “Stella Blue” in a comically coincidental footnote [18:31].
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey: The episode aligns Stella Blue’s lyrics and themes with Arthur C. Clarke’s space hotel sequence from the novel, written at the Chelsea Hotel [66:46–68:37].
• Blue Guitars & Brands:
  Possible reference to Stella-brand blue guitars—Robert Johnson played a Stella, suggesting the song's sadness channels blues roots [19:45].

4. Garcia and Hunter: Crafting the Song [21:05–24:54]

• Composition:
  Garcia delayed setting the lyrics to music, waiting until a revelatory early-morning hotel session in Munich, 1972 [21:05, Garcia].
• Harmonic Complexity:
  • Scott Metzger: Stella Blue is deceptively challenging, using “advanced harmonic stuff… sus chords and chromatic walk downs” [21:45].
  • Sean O’Donnell: The song’s harmonic language—major sevenths, tritone substitutions—is emblematic of the whole Wake of the Flood album [23:02].
• American Songbook Vibes:
  • O’Donnell & Costello note the song’s jazz/standard-like sophistication, suggesting a bridge between rock and older American musical traditions [24:21, 24:34].

5. Studio Sessions & Evolution [29:03–32:47]

• Recording Approach:
  Few takes—band striving for minimalism and feel, rather than technical perfection [29:03].
• Studio Banter:
  “Shut the fucking door. Somebody shut the door. Where the fuck is the door monitor for God’s sakes? … I’m gonna call the fucking union!” (Studio frustrations, possibly Phil Lesh or engineers, 29:52).
• Playful Outtakes:
  “How about ‘the piss gets in my eyes’?”—in-joke as Garcia struggles to remember the first line [31:13].

6. Musical Dissection: Multi-Tracks & Arrangements [32:47–43:45]

• Isolated Instrumental Parts:
  Episode showcases how Garcia’s vocal, Bob Weir’s guitar, Phil Lesh’s bass, Keith Godchaux’s piano, and Donna Jean’s voice create a unique texture [37:56–38:45; 39:38–40:28].
• Pedal Steel Guitar:
  Presence of pedal steel (rare for ‘73 Dead), played by Garcia, contributes a shimmering, yearning quality to the studio cut [41:21].
• No Traditional Solo:
  Studio version ends with Garcia jamming gently with himself—eschewing the big live solo [43:45].

7. Live Evolution & Personal Connections [45:21–62:23]

• Placement in Setlists:
  After Wake of the Flood, Stella Blue is played mostly after "jam segments"—a landing pad for band/audience.
• Emotional Impact:
  “Find a Deadhead—probably they have a version of Stella Blue that moved them deeply” [45:51, Jesse Jarnow].
• Hornsby’s Conversion:
  • Bruce Hornsby hears Stella Blue as a teenager in the early ‘70s—leads to a lifetime Dead devotion, stories of touring, and insights into Keith Godchaux’s piano (“I’m still playing Keith licks on certain songs” [51:26]).
  • Anecdote: His bandmates humorously mistake Deadheads clamoring for “Stella” as requests for “Stella by Starlight,” a jazz standard [60:57–62:00].
• Jerry’s Understanding Revealed:
  Garcia felt he didn’t fully grasp the emotional depth of “Stella Blue” until years after performing it. “I sang [it] before I understood it. … It has sort of a brittle pathos in it that I didn’t get until I’d been singing it” [62:23–64:25].

8. The Song’s Larger Context & Community Reflections [66:46–89:03]

• Show Context:
  “Stella Blue would come deep into shows, following long excursions into improvisational formlessness and back. … Stella Blue seemed to give voice to the non-temporal, a-linear experiences not infrequently produced by psychedelics” [64:43].
• Personal Testimonies:
  • Nick Palmgarten: “My first show was my first experience being bowled over by a Jerry ballad, you know, just the dynamics of it.” [71:17]
  • Nick Bush: “You can’t even put into words what Stella Blue means to me… All the years combined, they melt into a dream – that just hits so hard” [85:42].
  • Scott Metzger: Describes a “numinous experience,” likening the song to an encounter with the Godhead, referencing psychedelic or spiritual epiphany [87:07].
• Sentimentality vs. Uniqueness:
  “Perilously close to cliché… cheap hotel, crying like the wind… but somehow it worked.” [73:33, Nick Palmgarten]
• Robert Hunter’s Reflections:
  Called Stella Blue’s chord-melody pairing "unique; nothing else like it" in his journal [81:54]. He particularly admired Willie Nelson’s understated cover [81:44].

9. Covers and Tributes: Stella Blue’s Reach [78:39–83:33]

• Outside the Dead:
  • Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Ween, Jesse McReynolds, Oteil Burbridge, and others have all covered the song, often moving it into new genres [79:49–83:33].
  • Hunter: “I felt somewhere around the second verse that Jerry was listening with me, an extraordinary feeling…” [81:54]
• Ultimate Tribute:
  Bob Dylan debuted Stella Blue in 2023, a crowning validation of the song’s status [83:33].

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Elvis Costello [07:19]:
  “The most beautiful melody Jerry ever wrote? Stella Blue. I always heard Mel Tormé singing it… would’ve killed that song in a good way.”
• Jerry Garcia (via Blair Jackson) [62:23]:
  “Originally, I was taken with the construction of it… It wasn’t until later that I started to find the other stuff. That’s a good example of a song I sang before I understood it.”
• Robert Hunter (from his journal) [81:54]:
  “Just heard Willie Nelson doing Stella Blue… mastery. I felt somewhere around the second verse that Jerry was listening with me, an extraordinary feeling.”
• Scott Metzger [38:45]:
  “The vulnerability he had in singing is the true X factor… The thing that really is just like X Factor that has not been touched is the Garcia ballad singing—worth the price of admission right there every time.”
• Nick Bush [85:42]:
  “You can’t even put into words what Stella Blue means to me. All the years combined, they melt into a dream—that just hits so hard. … As I’m getting older, it just becomes more real and real.”
• Jesse Jarnow [83:22]:
  “Though neither Jerry Garcia nor Robert Hunter are here to hear it, there’s little higher tribute they could receive as songwriters [than Bob Dylan covering Stella Blue].”

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 03:50 – Introduction to Stella Blue and its place in Wake of the Flood
• 05:53 – Elvis Costello on encountering the original vinyl and thoughts on the melody
• 08:35 – David Lemieux on Stella Blue in performance and dynamics
• 11:14 – Robert Hunter writes Stella Blue at the Chelsea Hotel; song’s backstory
• 15:32 – LSD trip and the connection to both “Stella Blue” and “Black Peter”
• 17:47 – Exploration of lyric drafts and literary references
• 21:05 – Garcia recounts writing the music in Germany, 1972
• 23:02 – Sean O’Donnell on the harmonic language of Wake of the Flood
• 29:03 – In-studio sessions: take breakdowns, banter, and creative process
• 37:56 – Dissecting the studio multi-tracks, vocals, and arrangement
• 41:21 – Return of pedal steel guitar; its emotional role in the recording
• 45:51 – Jesse: “Find a Deadhead…” – impact and variety of live Stella Blues
• 51:26 – Bruce Hornsby on first hearing Stella Blue and piano influences
• 60:57 – Jazz musicians’ “Stella by Starlight” vs. Deadheads’ “Stella” confusion
• 62:23 – Garcia discusses the timeline of understanding Stella Blue’s lyrics
• 71:17 – Palmgarten on being “bowled over” by the song in concert
• 73:33 – On the song’s use of sentiment and cliché, and its transcendence
• 81:44 – Robert Hunter’s praise of the Willie Nelson cover
• 83:33 – Bob Dylan debuts Stella Blue in 2023 [clip]
• 85:42 – Nick Bush’s heartfelt discovery of Wake of the Flood and Stella Blue
• 87:07 – Metzger’s numinous vision while listening to Stella Blue

Conclusion

The episode positions “Stella Blue” as one of Garcia and Hunter’s most emotionally profound songs—a piece steeped in sadness and transcendence, equally at home in the context of deeply felt personal journeys, high art references, or late-night psychedelic contemplation. Through storytelling, session snippets, and personal testimony, The Deadcast preserves and expands the mythology around Stella Blue, making it timeless—much like the song itself: “All the years combine, they melt into a dream.”

For further listener stories or additional musical deep dives, visit dead.net/deadcast.