WHOLE PAIL OF WATER

69 years ago today, Michael Hartman was born in Brooklyn, nowadays he is better known as Mickey Hart. Mickey along with Bill Kreutzmann were nicknamed the Rhythm Devils for there expansive drums solos late in the second set. Although there relationship was fractured when Mickey left the band after the Port Chester gig on 2/18/71.

Mickey joined the band on 9/29/67 as the bands second drummer. His New Yorker energy was a welcome addition to the lay back San Francisco attitude of the band. So when the band was looking for a new manager, Mickey suggested his reformed con man father, Lenny. Lenny managed the band alright. He managed to steal all their royalties from the two 1970 masterpieces, "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty." When it was discovered that he was stealing from them, Lenny fled the country with a girlfriend, who would later leave him when he was arrested and sent to jail for another con man scheme.
A depressed Mickey left the band to do some soul searching. He recorded his first solo album called "Rolling Thunder," which featured the "Greatest Story Ever Told" as the "Pump Song" and the instrumental march to "Playin' in the Band," which is "The Main Ten" jam.
In October of 1974, the Grateful Dead played 5 shows at Winterland Arena. The final night, Bill Graham printed "The Last One" on the tickets. Mickey Hart showed up to the concert with his drum kit in the back of his station wagon. Billy didn't want him to join them on stage. His point was, that they had played some of their best tours of date (Europe 72, Fall 73, and Wall of Sound) as a one drummer band and he didn't see the need. The other band members forced upon Billy, and after the show, he realized that he was wrong. His partner in crime was back for good.
Mickey didn't play the song that was written about his father, "He's Gone," 1976.

On Mickey's 30th birthday, the Grateful Dead played a show at the College of William and Mary. A soundboard of show can be downloaded HERE and HERE. This is the first show where Martin Fierro and Joe Ellis sit in with the band for "Weather Report Suite," "Let Me Sing Your Blues Away," and "Eyes of the World." All songs they had rehearsed parts for in the studio while recording "Wake of the Flood."

The show also features a 22 minute "Dark Star." The song explodes as Phil strong baseline are dropping the heavy sounds of the zone. Usually Phil will use these zone times to vault into "The Other One," but these baselines have more soul to the in between areas of plucked notes. Enabling the band to sink into "Dew." After the "Sugar Magnolia" closer the band is treated to a unique type of encore. A solicitation by Phil see the band again tomorrow for 3 bucks!

I: Promised, Sugaree, Race is on, Loser, LL Rain, Jed, Straw, China Cat, Rider, El Paso, Half Step, Playin'

II: Let Me Sing, Weather Report Suite, Row Jimmy, Big River, Deal, BIODTL, Dark Star, Dew, Sugar Mags

I'd also like to wish my mother in-law a happy birthday. She of course is not as old as Mickey. 

And if you want to listen to another Mickey birthday show, The Professor is currently posting 9/11/90 on his Deadpod found HERE.