Thanksgiving weekend, 1972: the Grateful Dead found themselves in Austin, allowing Garcia and Lesh to rendezvous with an old Bay Area running buddy, Mr. Tex-Mex himself, Doug Sahm, and piano-journeyman Leon Russell, at the famed Armadillo World Headquarters for a musical cornucopia of roots music. No genre was left untouched – blues, bluegrass, R&B, rock & roll, honky tonk and, naturally, Bob Dylan. All played with an ad hoc band, including members of Texas psychedelic pranksters The 13th Floor Elevators and Shiva’s Headband, with a setlist that effortlessly bounces from hellcat versions of Kristofferson’s “Me & Bobby McGee” and the Stones’ “Wild Horses”, to a don’t-spill-your-beer “T For Texas”, saddled with stompin-the-nails-out-of-the-floorboard cuts like “Hey Bo Diddley” and “Money Honey”. This is a shitkicker of show, best served turned up, with fistfuls of turkey and pint glass of your favorite sumthin’.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.panicstream.com/vault/wp-content/uploads/jerry-austin.jpg?resize=627%2C494&ssl=1)
Doug Sahm, Leon Russell, Jerry Garcia and Friends
Thanksgiving Jam
Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, TX
November 23, 1972
Disc One
01 High Heel Sneakers [Tommy Tucker]
02 Wild Side Of Life [Hank Thompson]
03 Swingin’ Doors [Merle Haggard]
04 Me & Bobby McGee [Kris Kristofferson/Janis Joplin]
05 Stormy Monday [T-Bone Walker]
06 That’s All Right (Mama) [Arthur Crudup/Elvis Presley]
07 Come On In My Kitchen [Robert Johnson]
08 T For Texas [Jimmie Rodgers]
09 Mr. Tambourine Man [Bob Dylan/Byrds]
10 (Is Anybody Goin’ To) San Antone [Charley Pride]
11 Sugarfoot Rag [Hank Garland]
12 I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry [Hank Williams]
13 Jambalaya [Hank Williams]
14 Today I Started Loving You Again [Merle Haggard]
15 Columbus Stockade Blues [Traditional]
16 Honky Tonkin’ > Dear John [Hank Williams]
Disc Two
01 Orange Blossom Special [Bill Monroe]
02 Kentucky Waltz [Bill Monroe]
03 Big Boss Man [Jimmy Reed]
04 Searchin’ [Coasters]
05 Those Lonely Lonely Nights [Earl King] > Shake A Hand [Faye Adams]
06 Hey Bo Diddley [Bo Diddley]
07 It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry [Bob Dylan]
08 A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall [Bob Dylan]
09 Wild Horses [Rolling Stones]
10 Slippin’ Into Christmas [Leon Russell]
11 Money Honey [Drifters/Elvis Presley]
12 Chug-A-Lug [Roger Miller]
13 Roll Over Beethoven [Chuck Berry] > Good Golly Miss Molly [Little Richard] > Roll Over Beethoven [Chuck Berry]
BAND:
Doug Sahm – vocals, guitar
Leon Russell – vocals, piano
Jerry Garcia – vocals, guitar, pedal steel
Phil Lesh – bass
* Jerry Barnett – drums (Shivaís Headband)
Mary Egan – fiddle (Greazy Wheels)
Benny Thurman – fiddle (13th Floor Elevator bassist)
* The drummer is often listed as Bill Kreutzman from the Dead, but apparently he didn’t play. Here’s what I found on the interweb: “Though he was in attendance that evening, there is no verifiable evidence that Bill Kreutzmann sat in with the band. When asked a few years ago, the owner of the Armadillo seemed to recall Bill feeling sick that night.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.