The Grateful Dead’s Europe ‘72 Tour collectively saw the band perform 55 different songs across the 22 performances. According to JerryBase.com, 26 songs were played at half of the shows, while “Playing In The Band” and “Mr. Charlie” made it onto every one of the setlists.
Along with the frequently played songs, there were a number of originals and covers that were performed during the Europe ‘72 Tour three times or less. Many of these songs showed up toward the end of the tour as the band began mixing up setlists ever more slightly.
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Grateful Dead’s Europe ’72 Tour 50th Anniversary: April 7 – Wembley, England
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Grateful Dead’s Europe ’72 Tour 50th Anniversary: April 8 – Wembley, England
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Grateful Dead’s Europe ’72 Tour 50th Anniversary: April 11 – Newcastle, England
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Grateful Dead’s Europe ‘72 Tour 50th Anniversary: April 14 – Copenhagen, Denmark
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Grateful Dead’s Europe ‘72 Tour 50th Anniversary: April 16 – Aarhus, Denmark
“Black Peter,” which was written by guitarist Jerry Garcia and lyricist Robert Hunter and recorded for the band’s 1970 studio album, Workingman’s Dead, was performed by the Dead on the tour just once, on May 24, some 20 shows into the run.
Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” was also trotted out just once, at the end of the performance on April 17 that was partly recorded for Danish television, though it was not recorded for the program. Another one-timer was a Garcia-sung cover of “Hey! Bo Diddley” that emerged on May 23. The band soundchecked the tune before opening night on April 7 and had performed it with the song’s composer, blues guitarist Bo Diddley, on March 25, 1972 during the run of shows in New York City that immediately preceded the overseas tour.
Keyboardist/vocalist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan twice tacked on a bit of “Who Do You Love?” within renditions of the Dead original “Caution (Do Not Step On Tracks).” The brief one-verse quotes on April 14 and May 11 were the first appearances of Diddley’s blues staple since November 1970 and were the last ones played by the band as well.
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Grateful Dead Europe ‘72 50th Anniversary: Pigpen Playlist
Celebrate the Grateful Dead’s Europe ‘72 Tour with a playlist featuring Ron “Pigpen” McKernan.
The aforementioned May 23, 1972 Dead concert, the first of four tour-concluding gigs held at London’s Lyceum Ballroom, featured the first known performance by the band of Huey “Piano” Smith’s “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu.” After making its debut, the next night at the Lyceum saw the tour’s only other rendition of the song.
The band’s own “Brokedown Palace,” which appeared on the 1970 album, American Beauty, made its first setlist at the third show of the tour, on April 11 in Newcastle, England. The Garcia/Hunter original was destined for just one more overseas performance, coming back at the penultimate show of the tour, on May 25 in London.
“Cold Rain And Snow,” the traditional song from the band’s early days that remained in their repertoire throughout their career, made two appearances on the Europe ‘72 tour, opening the shows on April 17 and on May 24. “Cold Rain And Snow” was recorded by the Dead for their 1967 self-titled debut album, which also included their cover of “Sitting On Top Of The World.”
In Europe in 1972, the Grateful Dead pulled out “Sitting On Top Of The World” just three times, initially opening the second set with it on May 18 and returning to it the next show held on May 23 (ahead of the “Rockin’ Pneumonia” debut). The “Top Of The World” performed on May 25 was the final time it was played publicly not only on the tour, but for the rest of the band’s career.
An early showcase for Pigpen and originator for long jams, Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Turn On Your Lovelight” shined only three times in Europe as well. A 17-minute version erupted on April 26, with a 13-minute edition springing up on May 7 and a 12-minute take developing on May 25. “Lovelight” went dark until the Dead resurrected it, with guitarist Bob Weir taking over lead vocals, in 1981.
Weir’s “Looks Like Rain,” one of several songs co-written with John Perry Barlow, was another song that was restricted to just three performances on the Europe ‘72 Tour, though all three featured Garcia playing pedal steel guitar. The second show of the tour, on April 8 in Wembley, England, saw the first “LLR.” A second occurrence came at the next concert, on April 11 in Newcastle, England.
Garcia’s pedal steel guitar made it to Copenhagen, Denmark and was played on “Looks Like Rain” at the show there on April 14. Perhaps needing to lighten the load and ease the logistics, Garcia’s bulky pedal steel guitar was not to be seen for the rest of the tour. It was not until a tour in 1987 that Garcia brought the instrument back to the live GD stage.
The playlist below presents each rendition of the songs played three times or less by the Grateful Dead on their Europe ‘72 Tour (both instances of “Who Do You Love?” are quoted within “Caution” recordings). As a bonus, included in the playlist is a soundcheck run-through of Johnny Cash’s “Big River,” which at the time had only been played once by the Dead on New Year’s Eve 1971. This pre-radio show taping version was sung by Garcia, rather than by Weir as would for the remainder of its Dead performances.
