AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Bob Weir

Artist:Bob Weir
Dong:Playing In The Band
Album:Ace





Of course Bob Weir is best known as one of the founders of The Grateful Dead. But he released his first solo album in 1972 and Playing In The Band was on The Grateful Dead setlist before Weir released Ace. He was born Oct. 16, 1947 in San Francisco. He had undiagnosed dyslexia and was expelled from every school he ever attended. It was in one of those schools that he met frequent songwriting partner John Perry Barlow. Weir was 16 years old when he met Jerry Garcia in a guitar store. After jamming, they decided to form what eventually became The Grateful Dead. Weir played rhythm guitar and sang in The Grateful Dead for thirty years. When the band signed a new contract with Warner Bros. in 1970, part of the deal was the group members got to record solo albums. Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart and Weir all released solo albums in 1972. Ace is a solo album in name only as The Grateful Dead play on the album. The only difference was that Ron "Pigpen" McKernan was in the process of leaving the band and his replacement Keith Godchaux played keyboards. Most of the songs on Ace became standards at Grateful Dead concerts. Playing In The Band appeared on the 1971 live album Grateful Dead. The version on Ace was the first studio recording. Weir wrote the song with Mickey Hart and Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. Typically Weir recorded side projects when The Grateful Dead took a break from touring. This included the 70s band Kingfish. Weir was friends with the band's leader Matthew Kelly. His 1978 album Heaven Help The Fool was recorded with studio musicians. He toured to support that album. In the 80s he formed the jazz fusion group Bobby and the Midnites with Kelly, singer Bobby Cochran who toured with Weir, pianist Brent Mydland who joined The Grateful Dead in 1979, bassist Tim Bogert of Vanilla Fudge and Beck, Bogert & Appice and and jazz drummer Billy Cobham. Since Garcia's 1995 death and the end of The Grateful Dead, Weir recorded with bassist Rob Wasserman which led to the group RatDog. They recorded two albums. And he has participated in several reformations of the surviving members of The Grateful Dead. He tours with Phil Lesh as Furthur. He is currently touring with a variation of that band with Don Was on bass. That band has never recorded. Weir's 2016 album Blue Mountain is an album of cowboy songs. Here's the video for Playing In The Band by The Grateful Dead with Bob Weir on lead vocals.