Home Jambase The Warren Zevon Song Jerry Garcia Recorded But Never Performed Live

The Warren Zevon Song Jerry Garcia Recorded But Never Performed Live

August 2, 2023

Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia was born on August 1, 1942 and died on August 9, 1995 at the age of 53. Each year, the “Days Between” Garcia’s birthday and the anniversary of his death mark a period of time to reflect on and celebrate the beloved musician’s life and career.

In April 1978, Cats Under The Stars was released, making it the first album officially credited to the Jerry Garcia Band. The album, which can be explored in further detail here, was recorded during sessions held between August and November 1977 at the Grateful Dead’s Le Club Front rehearsal space in San Rafael, California.

The album features Garcia backed by longtime collaborator, bassist John Kahn, accomplished drummer Ron Tutt and Garcia’s at-the-time Grateful Dead bandmates, keyboardist Keith Godchaux and vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux.

The previous “Days Between” deep dive into Cats noted:

Despite its lack of sales, Garcia called Cats Under The Stars his “favorite” solo album in a 1981 interview with Blair Jackson and David Gans. In the same interview, Garcia said Cats was “the one that I’m happiest with, from every point of view in which I operate on that record.”
Jerry’s thoughts on Cats Under The Stars were part of Jackson’s book Garcia: An American Life, which quotes Garcia in early-1990 as saying, “As far as I’m concerned Cats Under The Stars is my most successful record – even though it’s my least successful record! I’ve always loved it and it just never went anywhere.”

On August 3, 1977, two days after Garcia played a rare birthday show with the Grateful Dead, he went to Club Front for a recording session. Joining Garcia in the studio was longtime Dead crew member Steve Parish and engineer Bob Matthews, who produced Workingman’s Dead and other Dead records and was a member of The New Riders Of The Purple Sage.

Parish, who joined Dead & Company on “Drums” during this summer’s The Final Tour, played drums with Garcia during the session at Club Front. Matthews, who died in 2021, played bass while tapes were rolling, while Garcia played piano.

Not widely known for his keyboard-playing chops, Garcia did play piano and organ on his 1972 debut solo album, Garcia. In 1970, Garcia played piano onstage with the Dead when they performed “To Lay Me Down.” A few performances of “Good Lovin’” on the band’s Europe ‘72 Tour featured Garcia on organ.

The session with Parish and Matthews (who also engineered the album with Betty Cantor-Jackson) included takes on the Cats Under The Stars title track, as well as fellow album cuts, “Rhapsody In Red” (written by Garcia, Kahn and Robert Hunter) and “Rain” (written by Donna Jean Godchaux).

The trio also tracked Warren Zevon’s “Accidentally Like A Martyr.” At the time of the recording session in August 1977, the song had not yet been released on Zevon’s outstanding debut album, Excitable Boy, which came out in January 1978.

Garcia might have heard the song either in person or from a live tape of Zevon. Among the earliest known performances of “Accidentally Like A Martyr” was played by Zevon in concert on May 8, 1977 (listen here). But Garcia could not have been in Washington D.C. that night – or could he?

Garcia’s August 1977 studio recording of “Accidentally Like A Martyr” is the only instance of Jerry playing the song, which never made it to the live stage. Another song on Excitable Boy, Zevon’s howling “Werewolves Of London” was covered by the Garcia and the Dead months after its release when they debuted it in April 1978.

Listen to Jerry Garcia playing piano on Warren Zevon’s “Accidentally Like A Martyr” below:

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Days Between Deep Dive: Jerry Garcia Band’s Album ‘Cats Under The Stars’
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Listen To Jerry Garcia Play Pedal Steel Guitar On Night Of His 27th Birthday
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Jerry Garcia – Days Between Companions: New Riders Of The Purple Sage
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Days Between: Watch 7 Different Jerry Garcia Band Lineups Performing Live