GOOD OL' GRATEFUL DEADCAST
Episode: Workingman's Dead 50 – Episode 5: "Cumberland Blues"
Date: August 6, 2020

Episode Overview

This episode of the Good Ol' Grateful Deadcast delves into the song "Cumberland Blues" from the Grateful Dead’s classic album Workingman’s Dead. Hosts Rich Mahan and Jesse Jarnow, alongside a cast of guest experts and insiders, unravel the song’s musical roots, genre influences, intricate structure, and storytelling lyrics. They also examine the context of the Dead’s transition into their “Bakersfield era,” the band’s organizational chaos, and how "Cumberland Blues" became an emblem of blue-collar resilience—reflecting both American working-class narratives and the Dead’s struggles in 1970.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Bakersfield Sound and The Grateful Dead’s Country Turn

• Not Really Country?
  • Despite Workingman’s Dead often being identified as a country-rock album, Jesse Jarnow notes (02:46) that “besides the pedal steel here and there, the album didn’t closely resemble mainstream 1970s country."
• Cumberland as a Turning Point:
  • "Cumberland Blues" is cited as the album’s most overtly Bakersfield-influenced track, blending twangy instrumental textures and working-man themes (03:41–05:15).
• Influences:
  • Gary Lambert and Sean O'Donnell detail how the Dead were inspired by Bakersfield legends like Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, especially guitarists Roy Nichols and Don Rich:

    "Bobby had that rhythm guitar part. That’s pure Bakersfield. And Jerry was just wearing his love for those guys from Bakersfield on his sleeve." - Gary Lambert (03:41)

  • Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia absorbed country through late-night radio and TV, with Weir’s fondness for the Porter Wagoner Show highlighted (04:30).

2. Song Origins, Structure, and Studio Wizardry

• Roots and Development:
  • Cumberland Blues' roots tied both to folk mining songs and to Merle Haggard’s “Working Man Blues” (06:33–07:35).
  • The band was already covering Haggard’s “Mama Tried” before releasing Workingman’s Dead.
• Instrumental Innovation:
  • Sean O’Donnell emphasizes the sonic transformation when Garcia switched to a Fender Stratocaster, capturing the “Fender treble cutting sound” and channeling Don Rich (11:15–12:02).
  • "Just changing to that guitar... is part of what suddenly, you know, is channeling Don Rich." – Sean O'Donnell (11:15)
• Complex Arrangements:
  • The song's chord structure is described as uniquely adventurous—combining traditional bluegrass sections, chromatic transitions, and sections that defy normal harmonic logic:

    "You’ll never find a harmonic passage like that... It’s as soon as you have to—[sings: 'get down...']—and the chord just drops a half step from G to G flat..." – Sean O’Donnell (13:39) "Workingman's Dead is filled with bizarro chord changes... I just don’t know anything that is that far out." – O'Donnell, on "High Time," comparing it to "Cumberland Blues" (14:40)

• Studio Assembly:
  • Unlike the rest of Workingman’s Dead, "Cumberland Blues" was pieced together from multiple takes and assembled bit by bit in the studio (18:43). The only constant across takes was Bill Kreutzmann’s drum kit, which connects the shifting musical landscapes (19:57–20:27).

3. Notable Musicians and Their Contributions

• Jerry Garcia’s Banjo:
  • Garcia’s banjo playing appears on "Cumberland Blues," one of the few times in the Dead’s studio history (21:03–21:27). Co-producer Bob Matthews teases he played it, before clarifying:

    "It was Jerry who played banjo. Obviously I did take banjo lessons from Jerry..." – Bob Matthews (21:03)

• David Nelson (New Riders of the Purple Sage):
  • Nelson added flat-picked acoustic guitar to the track, recalling early sessions and the crossover between the Dead and New Riders (23:23).
• Banjo Technique in Live Shows:
  • Gary Lambert highlights how, live, Garcia would mimic banjo picking on electric guitar, creating a signature, hybrid sound (22:24).

4. Lyrics and the Stories Behind Them

• Hunter’s Rich Imagery:
  • Gary Lambert praises Robert Hunter’s masterful use of period detail (“Little Ben clock”), explaining the reference to a once-common brand of alarm (24:26).
  • Hunter regarded a miner’s positive comment on the lyrics as the highest compliment he’d received (24:50).
• Mythical and Real Cumberlands:
  • The song’s setting is more archetype than actual place, blending references from various mining histories (Spring Hill, Nova Scotia; Cumberland, PA; Harlan County, KY) and resonating with anyone needing to “get down to work” (25:43–28:02).

5. The Band in Crisis and Transformation

• Financial Woes and Reorganization:
  • As Workingman’s Dead was made, the Dead faced dire financial straits and manager Lenny Hart's embezzlement (37:24):

    “Lenny had just run off with a sh*tload of money. They were in debt anyway. He took $350,000 off the band.” – Sam Cutler (37:24)

  • The band responded not with panic but with pragmatic restructuring: creating a three-part management team (Dave Parker, John McIntire, Sam Cutler) (39:39).
• Organization and Planning Chaos:
  • Cutler recounts the band’s anarchic meetings, leading to establishing Phil Lesh as the designated “band leader” mainly because he was toughest to convince. He shares the classic Dead approach to avoiding authoritarianism but needing a practical plan (43:02):

    “How to lead with people not feeling like they’re being led is part of the conundrum of management and tour management.” – Sam Cutler (43:02)

• Hard Work and Success:
  • Cutler credits relentless touring and Workingman’s Dead’s accessibility with putting the band on the map nationally:

    “We did 180-odd gigs in the first year... toured relentlessly... filled the Spectrum in Philadelphia, 17,000 people. Not by accident!” – Sam Cutler (47:22)

• From Small Venues to Watkins Glen:
  • Discussion culminates in Cutler’s role arranging the historic 1973 Summer Jam at Watkins Glen, setting attendance records (48:59) and delivering a post-Altamont redemption narrative for the Dead.

6. American Myths, Working Roots, and the Dead’s Rebirth

• Questing American Identity:
  • The hosts and guests reflect on how "Cumberland Blues," and Workingman’s Dead as a whole, offered an affectionate but unsentimental vision of American labor, wanderlust, and communal struggle (49:59):

    “The Grateful Dead, in Workingman's Dead, particularly... were reinventing their own view of what it constituted to be American.” – Sam Cutler (49:59)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• The Complexity of the Band’s Organization:

  "The Grateful Dead had about 70 people working for them... they could never quite establish how many people worked for them... it was always deliberately maybe confused and kind of mixed up." – Sam Cutler (29:22)

• Life and Reorganization after Crisis:

  “The band was much more concerned with, okay, well, that’s happened, now what’s the solution?” – Sam Cutler (37:24)

• Garcia’s Diligence:

  "He used to sit there for, I don't know, at least 10, 12 hours a day just to master it [pedal steel]." – Sam Cutler (32:37)

• On Making Plans:

  “Anyone can attack Russia, they better have a good plan. What is the plan here?” – Sam Cutler (43:02)

• On American Identity and the Dead:

  “People go, I'm gonna go and find America. ...I think Workingman’s Dead represented a huge, huge quantum leap for the Grateful Dead...” – Sam Cutler (49:59)

Essential Timestamps

• 00:00–02:46 – Introduction, album context, and podcast housekeeping
• 02:46–06:04 – The Bakersfield Sound; "Cumberland Blues" as the Dead’s country turning point
• 06:04–09:06 – Merle Haggard, Buck Owens influences, and instrumentation
• 11:15–14:40 – Sean O'Donnell’s structural/musical analysis
• 18:05–19:57 – Studio assembly and unique construction of "Cumberland Blues"
• 21:03–23:23 – Garcia and Nelson discuss their contributions; the live sound
• 24:26–26:08 – Hunter’s lyrics—details, reactions, and the meaning of "Cumberland"
• 28:02–29:22 – The band’s financial state and Altamont aftermath
• 37:24–43:02 – Managerial chaos, reorganization, and meeting stories
• 43:02–48:59 – Touring strategies and building the Dead’s stardom
• 48:59–49:59 – Watkins Glen as redemption and finding the American story
• 50:59–52:15 – Episode close and favorite "Cumberland Blues" performances

Final Notes/Recommended Listening

• A segment from Europe '72’s live version of "Cumberland Blues" closes the episode, capturing the Dead’s magic in the post-Workingman's, post-crisis era (51:23).
• Host Rich Mahan recommends the August 6, 1971, Hollywood Palladium performance for an especially “lit up” Jerry Garcia solo (52:15).

This episode expertly weaves musical analysis, lyrical interpretation, personal band history, and broader cultural commentary, illuminating the nuances that have made "Cumberland Blues," and the era that produced it, pivotal in the Grateful Dead's own mythology and American rock history.