New Speedway Boogie – Things went down we don’t understand but I think in time we will. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #GratefulDead #RobertHunter #WidespreadPanic #BeauSassersEscapePlan #CourtneyBarnett #DogsinaPile

Robert Hunter never dominated the ‘rap’ because he was an observer. He took things in, made sense of what he saw and then presented it to the Grateful Dead in the form of beautiful and profound verse and poetry. Over fifty years later, people still marvel.

Every year on his birthday, I aim to offer a post that provides a reflection on a Robert Hunter lyric. Today’s version of Ted Tocks Covers will feature ‘New Speedway Boogie’, a song that exists as Robert Hunter’s rebuttal to the idea that Altamont was the symbolic end to the idealism of the ‘60s.

As always, it is presented in a unique Robert Hunter style. ‘New Speedway Boogie’ is laced with provocative lines and word play. So perfectly structured and thought provoking that people still quote lines from this song in conversation, strictly to put an emphatic stamp on whatever point they are trying to make. This is not unique to Robert Hunter lyrics. It simply stands as one more example. He was a poet, he was a lyricist, he was an unofficial band member, but most of all, he was a philosopher.

‘New Speedway Boogie’ was released on the Grateful Dead’s pivotal 1970 ‘Workingman’s Dead’ album. This record reflected a transformative period for the band as they moved from the experimental psychedelic style to a more roots-based country/folk/rock presentation steeped in ‘Americana’ influence. Much of this shift was enabled by a prolific period of Robert Hunter lyrical wizardry that began with ‘Workingman’s Dead’ and was swiftly followed by the equally iconic ‘American Beauty’. True to Grateful Dead form ‘New Speedway Boogie’ was unveiled to their fanbase in December of 1969. It is this timing that adds to the song’s fascination and in many ways becomes the focal point of the story.

It all began on a fateful day earlier that December; well actually, maybe a little bit before that. In the latter part of 1969, The Rolling Stones were being maligned for the perception that they were gouging their fans on ticket prices during their Fall ’69 tour of the United States. The negative publicity contributed to Mick Jagger’s desire to offer a free concert in California at the conclusion of the tour. After a whole lot of wrangling the venue became Altamont Speedway on a tract of land between the communities of Tracey and Livermore, just east of San Francisco. The Rolling Stones were slated to headline a bill that included Jefferson Airplane, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Santana and the Grateful Dead. It was supposed to be a mini edition of Woodstock on the West Coast. A happy farewell to the ‘60s, rock and roll style. As we all know it ended in mayhem. Rolling Stone called it “the worst day in rock and roll history.”

Ted Tocks Covers has written about Altamont from the perspective of The Rolling Stones in ‘Sympathy for the Devil/Under My Thumb’, but today’s version of this blog speaks to Robert Hunter and his observations of both the event itself and the turbulent wake it created. In retrospect, some may have concluded that the event was doomed to fail right from the outset. The first two venues for the concert did not pan out for a variety of logistical reasons. By the time the ultimate locale was settled on there was not adequate time to set up an appropriate facility for fans or performers. The makeshift stage that was built was barely three feet high. In order to protect the acts from the audience who would be merely feet away, they would be guarded by a phalanx of Hells Angels Motorcycle Club members who were paid off in beer which is thought to have cost Rolling Stones management $500. 

The choice of security was based on two main premises. First, the Rolling Stones had used the London, England chapter of the Hells Angels as security, as recently as July of 1969 at their Hyde Park concert. Secondly, the Grateful Dead or Jefferson Airplane or maybe their management group had suggested that their working relationship with the organization was civil enough that the temporary security measures could work. They would surround the stage with their bikes, their imposing bodies and surly attitude. Ideally that would be enough to fend off any issues. We all know what happened. The combination of copious amounts of drugs and alcohol, the swirling crowd of 300,000 concertgoers in an ill-conceived concert space and the Hells Angels who were becoming increasingly agitated as frenzied fans attempted to climb over their bikes to get to their idols on stage, led to the simmering multitude of humanity reaching a boiling point. By early evening, when the Grateful Dead were supposed to play, the band had detected the tension that was brewing. A friend of the Dead named Sue Swanson was quoted in ‘So Many Roads: The Life and Times of the Grateful Dead’ as saying:

(We) saw fear in the faces of other musicians who’d played and were on their way out” 

Sue Swanson

The clear and present danger of this ominous scene led to the Grateful Dead’s decision not to play.

In due course the headlining act took the stage and by all indications the Hells Angels were divided as to who they despised more, the Rolling Stones or the out of control fans in close proximity to the stage. By the time the Stones had finished ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ and moved on to ‘Under My Thumb’ a crazed fan named Meredith Hunter drew a gun and seemed intent on shooting Mick Jagger. In an effort to subdue the attacker a Hells Angel stabbed Hunter repeatedly. A later autopsy found that Hunter had been flying on methamphetamine and he was clearly intent on attacking. The Hells Angel was charged with Hunter’s murder but eventually found to be not guilty.

The fallout of the Altamont disaster was a tsunami of social and journalistic commentary suggesting that rock and roll and all of its decadence was to blame for the events of the day. The one-day event became the symbolic end of the peace, love and unity message that the ‘60s was supposed to embody. Most blamed the narcissism of the artists who resided on a pedestal, their supposed greed and general disconnect from everyday people. The barrage of condemnation went too far for Robert Hunter, and in a matter of days he had written ‘New Speedway Boogie’ which served to pose a series of questions; summarized a sequence that speaks to certain inevitabilities and concluded “one way or another this darkness got to give”

Robert Hunter admitted that ‘New Speedway Boogie’ was written in response to an article by Ralph J. Gleason that appeared in Rolling Stone Magazine pinning the blame on the Rolling Stones and to a lesser extent, the Grateful Dead for their varied roles in organizing Altamont. This is the set of lyrics that rebutted Gleason’s contentions. Hunter let his words speak for a generation, and truth be told to some extent Ralph Gleason and many other journalists backed off from some of their negativity when it became clear that Altamont was a confluence of many bad decisions, but certainly not some type of omen speaking to the end of civilized society.

Please don’t dominate the rap, Jack
If you’ve got nothing new to say
If you please, go back up the track
This train’s got to run today.

I spent a little time on the mountain
I spent a little time on the hill
I heard someone say better run away
Others say better stand still.

Now, I don’t know, but I been told
It’s hard to run with the weight of gold
Other hand, I have heard it said
It’s just as hard with the weight of lead.

Who can deny? Who can deny?
It’s not just a change in style
One step down and another begun
And I wonder how many miles.

I spent a little time on the mountain
I spent a little time on the hill
Things went down, we don’t understand
But I think in time we will.

Now, I don’t know but I was told
In the heat of the sun a man died of cold
Keep on coming or stand and wait
With the sun so dark and the hour so late.

You can’t overlook the lack, Jack
Of any other highway to ride
It’s got no signs or dividing lines
And very few rules to guide.

I spent a little time on the mountain
I spent a little time on the hill
I saw things getting out of hand
I guess they always will.

Now, I don’t know but I been told
If the horse don’t pull you got to carry the load
I don’t know, whose back’s that strong
Maybe find out before too long?

One way or another
One way or another
One way or another
This darkness got to give.

One way or another
One way or another
One way or another
This darkness got to give.

One way or another
One way or another
One way or another
This darkness got to give, oh

Robert Hunter

Exactly two weeks later the Grateful Dead debuted ‘New Speedway Boogie at The Fillmore West in San Francisco. The song serves as an act of defiance.  It suggests that the counterculture movement did not end on that fateful day in December. Truthfully, in many ways the band carried the torch for about another quarter century. Some may argue it still exists.

Here is ‘New Speedway Boogie’ in its original presentation at The Fillmore. The song structure was modified by the time it was released on ‘Workingman’s Dead’ in June of 1970, but the essence of the piece is very much evident in this recording. The true magic exists in how convincingly the band channeled Robert Hunter’s thoughts. They truly were a vehicle for the mystical lyricist’s poetry.

Like Robert Hunter said;

One step down and another begun
And I wonder how many miles.”

Robert Hunter

In the early summer of 1970, the Grateful Dead headed to Canada and embarked on a train tour that took them on a cross country trek along with Janis Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Ian and Sylvia Tyson’s Great Speckled Bird and Delaney and Bonnie & Friends.

This recording captures the Dead performing a slightly more refined version of ‘New Speedway Boogie’ at CNE Stadium in Toronto. This performance was attended by 37,000 fans over the course of the day, and it was the best attended of the three shows on this cross-country tour that also saw the entourage perform in Winnipeg and Calgary. Intended shows were also set for Montreal on the first day of summer (then switched to June 24^th which is St. Jean Baptiste Day), which should have been the start of the tour, and Vancouver which was supposed to end the tour, but both of these shows were canceled due to varying bureaucratic and logistical circumstances.

Here is Widespread Panic performing ‘New Speedway Boogie’ in 2011. They always do a great job. I include this band in Ted Tocks posts wherever possible, because they are just so good.

Now, to begin a series of covers by lesser-known acts. Here is Beau Sasser’s Escape Plan in 2015. This is from a JamBase feature called ‘Songs of Their Own’. They put a jazz swing into it. I just love every aspect of this recording.

In 2016, Courtney Barnett recorded ‘New Speedway Boogie’ as part of a tribute album called ‘Day of the Dead’. This project was commissioned by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National. Barnett brings the song down to a blues-based lament and it works in a very contemplative way.

As I continued to dig, I unveiled this 2020 version by Dogs in a Pile with Jason Crosby and Andrea Whitt. This is yet another fascinating cover and the personnel adds to the intrigue. Jason Crosby has a lengthy musical resume that includes work with Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana and Susan Tedeschi as well as Bob Weir and Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead. As you watch this video you will feel the music flow through this band. Whitt’s pedal steel playing would make Jerry smile and Crosby’s fiddle during the song’s outro is pretty special. This is what Ted Tocks Covers is all about.

Listening to ‘New Speedway Boogie’ in 2021, I can’t help but reflect on where we currently reside as a global community. It is a clear condemnation of conservative policy and the retroactive analysis of mainstream media. Tracing things back to the article by Ralph J. Gleason, this may be one of the passages that set Robert Hunter off:

Is this the new community? Is this what Woodstock promised? Gathered together as a tribe, what happened? Brutality, murder, despoliation, you name it. The name of the game is money, power and ego, and money is first, and it brings power.”

Ralph J. Gleason

The irony is the statement aimed at the integrity of ‘Woodstock nation’ is actually the root of so many of the ills that has faced society for years.

The carefully crafted rhyme presented in ‘New Speedway Boogie’ implores people to be better, but talk is cheap. If you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem. We need to be progressive. We need to look out for each other.

Now, I don’t know but I been told
If the horse don’t pull you got to carry the load
I don’t know, whose back’s that strong
Maybe find out before too long?”

Robert Hunter

Like so many Robert Hunter songs, ‘New Speedway Boogie’ stands the test of time.

Better days are ahead, but we all have a role to play. The load is lighter when we share.