A few years back, we went up to BB King's in Times Square and sat in a small dark room with Ramblin' Jack Elliott, an upside down Stetson, and a whole mess of coffee. Tim didn't know how to work a camera, I didn't know how to do an interview, but Ramblin' Jack sure did know how to talk. He gave us a little info about him and Bob Dylan touring together as the Rolling Thunder Revue and we just about lost it:"I was the first one to put the flower in my hat on Rolling Thunder Revue. We got into the Rolling Thunder Revue hat/flower contest, who could have more flowers in their hat. At each successive show, I'd have 3 flowers, Bob had 4. I'd have 4 and he'd have 5. We were just playing around with the makeup too. I had a heart painted on my face one time. Another time I had a tear coming out of my eye. We were like rodeo clowns. I remember when Arlo [Guthrie] asked Bob why he always had that clown white on his face. Arlo said, 'What's that shit on your face?' Bob said, 'What face?'"MP3: Bob Dylan - Love Minus Zero/No Limit (Live) MP3: Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Hard Travelin'Youtube: Bob Dylan - IsisYoutube: Ramblin Jack - Salt Pork, West Virginia
Mickey Hart's Rolling Thunder
In 1972, while Mickey Hart had temporarily left the Grateful Dead, he put out his first solo record, Rolling Thunder, named after Shoshone medicine man, shaman, teacher, and activist of the same name. (He's the one talking on that first mp3 below.) The album was mostly recorded in a barn on Mickey's California ranch and features lots of aggressive percussion, fast guitar solos and, most importantly, two songs that would later become Dead staples. "Pump Song", which starts off with a beat from the pump outside Mickey's barn, would later become "The Greatest Story Ever Told" and "The Main Ten", whose rain stick intro lasts for two minutes, is now "Playing In The Band." Both songs are sung by Bobby Weir and are some of the sharpest "studio" versions of Dead songs you'll ever hear.MP3: Mickey Hart - Rolling Thunder (Shoshone Invocation)MP3: Mickey Hart - Pump Song (Featuring Bobby Weir On Vocals)