Sugaree
{{For|the Indian tribe|Catawba people}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Sugaree
| cover =
| alt =
| type = song
| artist = Jerry Garcia
| album = Garcia
| B-side = Eep Hour
| released = January 1972
| format =
| recorded = 1971
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Folk rock
| length = 5:54
| label = Warner Bros. Records
| composer = Jerry Garcia
| lyricist = Robert Hunter
| producer = Bob Matthews
Betty Cantor
Bill Kreutzmann
}}
"Sugaree" is a song with lyrics by long-time Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and music by guitarist Jerry Garcia.{{cite web|url=http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/sugaree.html|title=The Annotated "Sugaree"|accessdate=2007-03-11|author=Dodd, David|work=The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics}} It was written for Jerry Garcia's first solo album Garcia, which was released in January 1972. As with the songs on the rest of the album, Garcia plays every instrument himself except drums, played by Bill Kreutzmann, including acoustic guitar, bass guitar, and an electric guitar played through a Leslie speaker. Released as a single from the Garcia album, "Sugaree" peaked at #94 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1972 and was Garcia's only single ever on that chart.{{cite magazine |title=Jerry Garcia: Billboard Hot 100 chart history |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/jerry-garcia/chart-history |magazine=Billboard |access-date=10 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126120013/https://www.billboard.com/music/jerry-garcia/chart-history|archive-date=2021-01-26|url-status=dead}}
The song was first performed live by the Grateful Dead on July 31, 1971, at the Yale Bowl at Yale University, as was the song "Mr. Charlie". They played the song in numerous other concerts, including those later released as Dick's Picks Volume 3 and One from the Vault.
Predecessors
Elizabeth Cotten, the North Carolina folksinger, wrote and recorded a song called "Shake Sugaree" in 1966.{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/shake-sugaree-mw0000636068 |title=Shake Sugaree - Elizabeth Cotten | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |publisher=AllMusic |date=2004-09-21 |accessdate=2014-02-05}} The chorus of Cotten's song is "Oh lordie me/Didn't I shake sugaree?" Hunter was aware of this song when he wrote "Sugaree."{{cite book |last=Trager |first=Oliver |date=1997 |location=New York |publisher=Touchstone |title=The American Book of the Dead |page=292 |isbn=0684814021 }}
References in popular culture
The song is mentioned in Stephen King's 1981 novel Cujo.
The Persuasions included this song on their 2000 album of Grateful Dead covers, Might as Well… The Persuasions Sing Grateful Dead.{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/might-as-wellthe-persuasions-sing-grateful-dead-mw0000100124|publisher=Allmusic |title=Might as Well… The Persuasions Sing Grateful Dead. |accessdate=2021-12-21}}
Graham Parker covered the track on his 2004 album, Your Country.{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/your-country-mw0000328070 |publisher=Allmusic |title=Your Country |accessdate=2014-02-05}}
Jackie Greene recorded a cover for his 2009 release The Grateful EP.
On the 2016 charity album Day of the Dead, "Sugaree" was covered by Jenny Lewis and the band Phosphorescent.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dayofthedeadmusic.com/|title=Day of the Dead|website=Day of the Dead|access-date=2016-11-26}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.dead.net Dead.net], the official homepage of the Grateful Dead.
{{GratefulDead}}
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