Audiobook5 hours
Cornell '77: The Music, the Myth, and the Magnificence of the Grateful Dead's Concert at Barton Hall
Written by Peter Conners
Narrated by Johnny Heller
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
On May 8, 1977, at Barton Hall, on the Cornell University campus, in front of 8,500 eager fans, the Grateful Dead played a show so significant that the Library of Congress inducted it into the National Recording Registry. The band had just released Terrapin Station and was still finding its feet after an extended hiatus. In 1977, the Grateful Dead reached a musical peak, and their East Coast spring tour featured an exceptional string of performances, including the one at Cornell.
Many Deadheads claim that the quality of the live recording of the show made by Betty Cantor-Jackson (a member of the crew) elevated its importance. Once those recordings-referred to as "Betty Boards"-began to circulate among Deadheads, the reputation of the Cornell '77 show grew exponentially. With time the show at Barton Hall acquired legendary status in the community of Deadheads and audiophiles.
Rooted in dozens of interviews-including a conversation with Betty Cantor-Jackson about her recording-Cornell '77 is about far more than just a single Grateful Dead concert. It is a social and cultural history of one of America's most enduring and iconic musical acts, their devoted fans, and a group of Cornell students whose passion for music drove them to bring the Dead to Barton Hall. Peter Conners has intimate knowledge of the fan culture surrounding the Dead, and his expertise brings the show to life. He leads listeners through a song-by-song analysis of the performance, from "New Minglewood Blues" to "One More Saturday Night," and conveys why, forty years later, Cornell '77 is still considered a touchstone in the history of the band.
As Conners notes in his Prologue: "You will hear from Deadheads who went to the show. You will hear from non-Deadhead Cornell graduates who were responsible for putting on the show in the first place. You will hear from record executives, academics, scholars, Dead family members, tapers, traders, and trolls. You will hear from those who still live the Grateful Dead every day. You will hear from those who would rather keep their Grateful Dead passions private for reasons both personal and professional. You will hear stories about the early days of being a Deadhead and what it was like to attend, and perhaps record, those early shows, including Cornell '77."
Many Deadheads claim that the quality of the live recording of the show made by Betty Cantor-Jackson (a member of the crew) elevated its importance. Once those recordings-referred to as "Betty Boards"-began to circulate among Deadheads, the reputation of the Cornell '77 show grew exponentially. With time the show at Barton Hall acquired legendary status in the community of Deadheads and audiophiles.
Rooted in dozens of interviews-including a conversation with Betty Cantor-Jackson about her recording-Cornell '77 is about far more than just a single Grateful Dead concert. It is a social and cultural history of one of America's most enduring and iconic musical acts, their devoted fans, and a group of Cornell students whose passion for music drove them to bring the Dead to Barton Hall. Peter Conners has intimate knowledge of the fan culture surrounding the Dead, and his expertise brings the show to life. He leads listeners through a song-by-song analysis of the performance, from "New Minglewood Blues" to "One More Saturday Night," and conveys why, forty years later, Cornell '77 is still considered a touchstone in the history of the band.
As Conners notes in his Prologue: "You will hear from Deadheads who went to the show. You will hear from non-Deadhead Cornell graduates who were responsible for putting on the show in the first place. You will hear from record executives, academics, scholars, Dead family members, tapers, traders, and trolls. You will hear from those who still live the Grateful Dead every day. You will hear from those who would rather keep their Grateful Dead passions private for reasons both personal and professional. You will hear stories about the early days of being a Deadhead and what it was like to attend, and perhaps record, those early shows, including Cornell '77."
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Reviews for Cornell '77
Rating: 4.285714285714286 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
7 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the classic SF description, a single piece of a hologram, no matter how small, contains the lossless entirety of the hologram. What Peter Conners has tried to do, with some success, is to present Barton Hall 77 as the lossless entirety of the Dead experience. That is, in this one concert of thousands, and this one book, also of thousands, Mr. Conners hopes to present the entirety of Dead reality. It almost works.Anyone above a certain age knows the cultural and musical significance of the Grateful Dead, and anyone who knows much about the Dead knows (reveres, is in awe of) the 1977 concert at Barton Hall, Cornell University. The concert is so important that in 2011 the recording was added to the National Registry by the US Library of Congress. You can hear it in its entirety online.The main reason that the book as hologram doesn't quite work is that no matter how lucidly Mr. Connors writes, the reader without at least some background and experience with the Grateful Dead, is plunged in the deep end of the pool. If you are new to the Grateful Dead, you might find some background reading helpful before you start. If you are a Deadhead, this book will give you shivers of excitement and metaphysical joy. I received a review copy of "Cornell '77: The Music, the Myth, and the Magnificence of the Grateful Dead's Concert at Barton Hall" by Peter Conners (Cornell University Press) through NetGalley.com.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Book received from NetGalley.The biography of what many Deadheads consider the best Grateful Dead concert ever, though to the band it was just another concert. The book discusses everything from the venue, to the fans, to the weather that all likely had contributing factors to the music that night. I admit I'm a Deadhead, and I've heard the concert and while I enjoy listening to it, I'm not completely sure it the "best" of any of their shows. After reading the book and seeing the reminisces of those who were there that night, I can understand a bit better why so many feel the way they do about the show. If you're a fan of The Dead, I highly suggest reading this book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Listen to Johnny bring out Pwte's story of Cornell 77
This is what writing from one's Soul is all about. The Dead, the Ancestral Dead, The Grateful Dead. In 1977 I will go to Red Rocks before University begins at Boulder, in Boulder,. The Dead and Famimy will blow my mind to such a degree I will end up living my life with the Maya up in the Mountains Highlands of Guatemala. That is having your mind expanded. I just felt like going home. And this story brought me back to my Tribe like all great myth does. Myth makes us feel at home in the world and that is what Jerry and the Boys did fir us whose soul's hungered for true myth, and that is what the song the Dead sing say, we are here, we are human and we fail but we are here in this world. Peace. PEACE VIN MAN