[shadowboxer]

I'm having this debate with my bandmate. He's mortally opposed to Bob singing the Jerry songs and has been that way for years. He says that he walked out of a Dead and Company show when Bob sang Dear Prudence (yeah, a John Lennon song, but a JGB song in his mind). He watched a video of Dead and Company in Colorado and said he couldn't listen to Tennessee Jed because Bob was singing.
I know this has been debated over the years, but I didn't see any recent Dead and Company related threads on it. In my mind, I appreciate Bob singing these songs, I think he puts his own spin on them, and I don't feel that I necessarily prefer it coming from the guy in the Jerry role, whether it's Mayer or Kadlecik or Matson. It's not like Bob killed Jerry and took his songs.
So what's the consensus these days? Is Bob dishonoring Jerry? Is he stepping on John Mayer's toes? Should he just sing the Bob songs?

[lestera34]

Walked out of the show? What a dork. I could see if it was actually something to take issue over.

This isn't one of the things I'd leave a show over. Different strokes for different folks I guess. I'm glad there's a seriously kick ass version of a Dead band playing music and making people smile.

[aiq]

In my opinion, BW is carving out his legacy. The documentary, higher media profile, the tour with the drummers and a big draw pop star.

The Other One. You know, other than Jerry.

I am not into Dead Co but Bob has earned his wings.

[Lephty]

I have thought the same thing at times, but in recent days I have generally decided I'm OK with it--Bob is "the guy" at this point. As aiq says, he has earned his wings. The guy is still working his ass off, and he looks happier than I've ever seen him look onstage. His credentials speak for themselves.

[CountryMile Cadillac]

Does your buddy not sing Jerry songs?

[shadowboxer]

My buddy is the the lead singer, so he sings both the Jerry and Bob songs. I've made him aware of this thread so I'll try to be as accurate as I can be here. He doesn't mind at all when the guy in the "Jerry" role sings them. For example, he loves Dark Star Orchestra and has no problem with Matson singing it. Same for Kadlecik on his own. It's just when Bob sings the Jerry songs that he has this reaction. He'll say it's the style (talking through it, etc.) but he'll also say that Bob should just do his own songs which implies that he's crossing some kind of line.

I was thinking yesterday about similar situations. Does McCartney sing any "Lennon" songs these days? If he does, I guess one difference there would be that they shared song writing credit. Does he get any grief from fans for singing the Lennon songs?

[tcsned]

I think Bob should sing and play what he wants.

[flyingheelhook]

I think Bob should sing and play what he wants.

I agree - he has certainly earned the privilege.

[CountryMile Cadillac]

Now that i think about it.. Bobby has been singing Jerry songs for awhile... Early Dire Wolf (1969 I believe) pops to mind, but yeah he has the right to sing what ever he wishes in my opinion.

And if he is singing Jerry tunes, then he is somewhat playing that role in the band.. is he not? Jerry can't be conveyed by one person.. too unique! thats why we love him! and Bob!

[tatittle]

Thank God the world doesnt have to conform to the expectations and emotional comfort of individuals. We are getting there I suppose bc an awful lot of folks seem to think their opinion of how others should act is actually important lol. Bobby can sing any song he wants and I will count myself lucky for him sharing the experience with me. Jerry is what brought me to do Dead, and what keeps me coming back. But Bobby's right to free expession far outweighs any peculiar feelings I have about seeing things differently than which I have become accustomed. And as for dishonoring and all the superlatives, comeon....singing Jerry songs is almost by definition an act of honoring him. This reminds me of the idiotic squabbles kids on college campuses have these days...starving for a cuase I guess.

This sounds an awful lot like the guy that throws beer at the band because they didnt play the Free Bird solo exactly like it is on the record. Very non-Dead, non-spontaneous way of seeing things IMO.

[ebick]

Bob Weir is the frontman of what's left of the Grateful Dead. To omit Jerry's songs isn't the answer. To say that whoever is standing in for Jerry should be the one to sing them, isn't necessarily the answer either. To me, it's his call. My
"issue" with Bob singing Jerry's songs is just that he seems to be concentrating more on them and staying away from (playing less of) his songs.

Example:

The show I saw, Citifield

Shakedown - J
Jack Straw -B&J, but mostly B
Althea - J
Loose Lucy - J
Ramble On Rose - J
Sugaree - J
Passenger - B
Casey Jones - J
Dark Star - J
Friend Of The Devil - J
Scarlet Begonias - J
Fire On The Mountain - J
The Other One - B
Wharf Rat - J
Throwing Stones - B
Ripple - J
One More Saturday Night - B

By my count that's J = 12, B = 5

That's a big difference.

[flyingheelhook]

My
"issue" with Bob singing Jerry's songs is just that he seems to be concentrating more on them and staying away from (playing less of) his songs.

His songs are usually much more complex and, dare I say? Sophisticated.

[Little Boy Lost]

Bob has certainly earned the right to sing whatever he wants. It’s more of an homage than anything else. It’s more respect than disrespect. BUT, to me it’s very disconcerting and at times just bad. For instance, check out the version of HalfStep from Sunday night at Alpine---The weird phrasing and questionable intonation, talking instead of singing…Scarlet, same, Mission same, Touch, same…Terrapin, ouch. To me it’s almost cringeworthy at times. It’s not that there’s anything sacrilege about it---it just doesn’t serve the songs very well.
And the bad latent effect---For every Jerry song he does, it’s one less of one of his songs he does. Has he done Mexicali once this tour? Eassau, Dancin’, Mama, Sailor Saint, Minglewood, Smokestack, Walking Blues, WangDangDoodle, Memphis Blues, Desolation, LL Rain, BlackThroatd, Around, All Over Now, WRS…I know he might have done a few of these, but relatively few, not enough.

[shadowboxer]

Bob has certainly earned the right to sing whatever he wants. It’s more of an homage than anything else. It’s more respect than disrespect. BUT, to me it’s very disconcerting and at times just bad. For instance, check out the version of HalfStep from Sunday night at Alpine---The weird phrasing and questionable intonation, talking instead of singing…Scarlet, same, Mission same, Touch, same…Terrapin, ouch. To me it’s almost cringeworthy at times. It’s not that there’s anything sacrilege about it---it just doesn’t serve the songs very well.
And the bad latent effect---For every Jerry song he does, it’s one less of one of his songs he does. Has he done Mexicali once this tour? Eassau, Dancin’, Mama, Sailor Saint, Minglewood, Smokestack, Walking Blues, WangDangDoodle, Memphis Blues, Desolation, LL Rain, BlackThroatd, Around, All Over Now, WRS…I know he might have done a few of these, but relatively few, not enough.

My buddy says amen to the above, somebody finally came to his defense. He clarifies that Bob singing Jerry songs is not a show of disrespect, but he agrees that new phrasing and all is totally cringe-worthy to him as well. And he doesn't understand why Bob won't sing most of his own stuff like he did with the Grateful Dead. On top of this, the bassist and the drummer in our group have chimed in too. One says that they never listen to Bob's stuff, old or new. The other agrees that his new phrasing is off and he slows everything down too much by "ratdogging" it.

My view, he's not a cover artist. Dylan and Willie Nelson both get the same criticism for not singing it like they did on the records so Bob isn't the only one. And, for myself, I'm happy to listen.

[Arafel]

I think it depends on the context. It's OK for me in Dead & Co. However, I remember seeing a Ratdog show about 7-8 years ago and Bob sang only Jerry songs, except for Jack Straw, which I always felt was a Garcia-Weir, even if Bobby wrote it. It was weird to me that he was singing only Jerry songs. This was about when he grew the beard, and it struck me he was singing Jerry songs and trying to look like Jerry.