[astroman99]

I guess I thought my question would become a chance for people to talk up Robert Hunter, it obviously has backfired, because I don't think anyone has ansered the call, and given Hunter the credit I think he deserves, funny in the responses everyone else has been mentioned(even people from other bands), but no one has talked up old Bob Hunter, so I will simply say
"once in a while you get shown the light, if you look at it right"bh

[JackORoses]

I guess I thought my question would become a chance for people to talk up Robert Hunter, it obviously has backfired, because I don't think anyone has ansered the call, and given Hunter the credit I think he deserves, funny in the responses everyone else has been mentioned(even people from other bands), but no one has talked up old Bob Hunter, so I will simply say
"once in a while you get shown the light, if you look at it right"bh

I don't think robert hunter gets even half the credit he deserves, he is by far the most important member of the grateful dead next to garcia, while now 12 years after jerrys death the songs him and garcia wrote together remain just as powerful and the lyrcis ring ever true. In life time Robert Hunter will never get the credit he deserves but in 100-200 years I think the timelessness writing of his lyics maybe given the credit they deserve as true poetic masterpieces

[Tennessee Jedi]

...remember,when you quote Hunter,you are singing Jerrys melody.
Hunter is under-rated like you say.
Also JackoRoses,the words were edited by Jerry.
This is a good thread,with lots of good ideas.

[hesgone95]

I don't think the dead would have lasted without a lyricist for Jerry. He wasn't a poet. You may have seen a different Dead with another lyricist, but the point is moot. I fully agree with previous posters that the Dead was the sum of the parts. While everyone had their favorite, at the bottom of it all it was the BAND as a whole that brought in the audience. Hunter is a genius, and without him to share his inspiration with Jerry, it would have been a different animal, perhaps an animal that would have died a long time ago and left the individual members to pursue their solo careers. Careers that would probably have been really obscure imo, because as strummin pointed out it was Deadheads that went to JGB or Bobby shows not vice versa.

But yes Hunter was and is the man, one of the greatest 20th century American poets and the connection between him and Jerry has given us some amazing art. His lyrics really inspired and moved alot of people, after the music brought them onto the bus....

[jackr]

Well if you want to talk up Hunter, I am a big fan. To me he is maybe one rung down to the Bob Dylan class of lyric writers.

He could right imo great lyrics seemingly with no trouble. I can write decent melodies and chord progressions but I cant write words. Maybe I am too inhibited, I dont know.

I cant imagine singing Stella Blue with different lyrics!

How did it work? Did Hunter give Jerry the words and then Garcia wrote the tune?

[I'm on the Bozo Bus]

Well….
WAY off thread here….
All of you have absolutely destroyed the myth of Deadheads being a bunch of pot-smoking, thoughtless, “Couldn’t put two thoughts together”, “Wanna-be” or (has-been) hippies. I don’t think any of you smoke pot… (There is a joke in there somewhere….)

Thank you!

Back on track, Hunter was part of the glue that kept the different directions the individuals in the band took back together to a common point. I’m sure as all of you have noticed before, his tunes would pass along advice without judgment, tell a story without judgment (in most cases) and it personified situations that we all find ourselves in; i.e. “The words come out like an angry stream. You hear yourself say things you could never mean. When you cool down you find your mind. You got a lot of words you’ve got to stand behind” (Comes a Time… just in case).

For me, I’ve been there and done that on too many occasions….

IMO, (it’s been said previously) the Grateful Dead may have had some moderate underground success because of their love of playing music however the listen-ablity of them to the masses was solid with Hunter’s lyrics. It brought in a bigger crowd that later learned of what else these musicians can do other than “Truckin’” and “Casey Jones”.
You folks rock….
Peace.
Phil

[Shaggy]

Robert Hunter is a masterful writer. He was hugely important, he was the member that didn't get up on stage and play. Barlow was good and important as well but not as much as Hunter.

If Jerry had have found proper satisfation and decent bluegrass band mates early on he may have never gone down the rock and roll route. So we'd never know.

But he was the greatest talent within the band and for the better or worse the glue that they surrounded themselves around.

Like Billy said when he met Jerry he knew he had to spend the rest of his life following this man because he couldn't miss out on the trip he was taking.

With Hunter he wrote so many great songs the rest of the band banked upon for so long, without him or even that level of output the band wouldn't have lasted.

[Shaggy]

Did Hunter give Jerry the words and then Garcia wrote the tune?

Mostly. But it worked both ways.

[Shaggy]

To the Jerry = GD crowd I have to ask then why did it take Jerry 20 years to get a solid club band together and gain notoriety? Do you really think he'd have gained that alone? I love JOM, JGB, Recon, etc but I the magic we see from Jerry with those club bands would have been lost had he not shone so brightly and magically with the GD. In reality it was the Deadheads who listened to JGB not JGB fans who listened to the Dead.

How many other members of big, popular and proflic bands do you know who have other proper full on bands that they maintain? There aren't many.

JGB or anything else he was upto including his art was all things that he needed, none of it was the be all and end all. The GD was what mattered to him. But he had so much music in him he had to get it out, so he'd form another band to play it. He didn't care whether it was to a full house in a flash place or in a dmup to a dozen stoned deadheads. It was all just about the music to him.

Like Weir once said he thought Jerry must never need sleep because while he was totally drained and mentally finished after a tour Jerry was back out playing some club the first chance he got.

But Jerry would have threw it all away for the GD, as Peter Rowan said when the GD ship began moving again he'd drop everything to catch it.

Comparing members importance boarders on petty. And I've always found it silly that there dead fans in it just for Jerry or just for Bob and will defend their corner forever more. The point is they were a great band that knitted together tight as one, they all added their parts to create a wonderful whole.

[Tennessee Jedi]

All about the melody.
Thats what brings in the "masses".
The words went in Jerrys head and came out as tunes.
Ripples melody is what makes the tune memorable.
You know,its humm-able.
The difference between Bob D. and Hunter is Bob wrote songs and Rob wrote poetry.
Hunter is awesome for sure,but the Dead is powered by Jerry.
1st you find Jerry and then you find Hunter.

[JackORoses]

The difference between Bob D. and Hunter is Bob wrote songs and Rob wrote poetry.

This is completely untrue, while hunter did write lots of poetry he also wrote lots of songs, there are numerous hunter solo songs which wrote all of,

just think must have been the roses and easy wind are both all hunter, not mention all his solo songs

[tigerstrat]

Speakin of Dylan AND Hunter, I've always wondered what parts each wrote in their collaboration "Silvio", which Dylan recorded with Jerry, Weir and Brent singing harmonies.

"Si-i-i-lvio, we gotta go / Find out something only dead men know"

Now whenever I hear the song I think of the Sopranos character and vice versa

[JackORoses]

Speakin of Dylan AND Hunter, I've always wondered what parts each wrote in their collaboration "Silvio", which Dylan recorded with Jerry, Weir and Brent singing harmonies.

"Si-i-i-lvio, we gotta go / Find out something only dead men know"

Now whenever I hear the song I think of the Sopranos character and vice versa

music is dylan, hunter wrote the lyrics, if you go to robert hunters webstite you can see the original handwritten lyrics silvio and black muddy river where original one set of lyrics

[Tennessee Jedi]

Hunter was a poet who wrote some some songs.
Dylan was a poetic songwriter.
I think there is def. a difference (subtle yes) between the two.
The original poster asked how far the Dead would have gone without Hunter.
I am merely asking back -would the Dead have gotten anywhere w/Hunter and not Jerry?
Did Hunter write songs?-without a doubt.
But Its not like he was sitting at a piano with a pencil in his mouth,cranking out songs for the Dead.

[Tennessee Jedi]

Hunter was a poet who wrote some some songs.
Dylan was a poetic songwriter.
I think there is def. a difference (subtle yes) between the two.
The original poster asked how far the Dead would have gone without Hunter.
I am merely asking back -would the Dead have gotten anywhere w/Hunter and not Jerry?
Did Hunter write songs?-without a doubt.
But Its not like he was sitting at a piano with a pencil in his mouth,cranking out songs for the Dead.