Today, The Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast launched its seventh season by delivering the first of two episodes dedicated exclusively to Ron “Pigpen” McKernan. The in-depth look at the founding member of the Grateful Dead lands on the 50th anniversary of the artist’s passing, which occurred on March 8, 1973. 

The spoken-word biography explores the musician’s career. It features commentary from Jim Sullivan, steward of the McKernan archive and longtime family friend, in addition to Tom Constanten (Grateful Dead keyboardist, 1968-1970). Also included are archivist David Lemieux and Starfinder Stanley, son of legendary LSD chemist Owsley Stanley, as well as friends from the early days, Eric Thompson, Denise Kaufman and Ted Claire.

The Deadcast will showcase the blues-rooted multi-instrumentalist’s teen years on the Palo Alto folk scene before following up with background on McKernan’s first R&B band and the initiation of his musical reputation, which ultimately led to his role in the formation of the Grateful Dead. 

The episodes are built on a cache of newly unearthed documents and recordings, with added material from the McKernan family archive, including Pigpen’s early writing and 1968 through 1973 song notebook. In addition, the Deadcast will also boast a pair of never-heard ‘64 tapes (including one with Jerry Garcia), plus audio from the only full-length interview of Pigpen known to survive.

The third episode of the season will continue with the Pigpen theme and features a deep dive into the Bear’s Choice album, which was compiled in the wake of the musician’s death by Owsley “Bear” Stanley in 1973. 

The material which makes up the Bear’s Choice was curated in collaboration with the rest of the band as a tribute to their fallen friend. To mark the 50th anniversary of the legacy release, Grammy award-winning sound engineer David Glasser has remastered the album from the original analog two-track tapes using Plangent Processes. Scroll down to view the official tracking list. 

Pre-order the remastered 50th Anniversary Edition Of History Of The Grateful Dead, Volume 1 (Bear’s Choice) now. 

Listen to the first episode of the seventh season of  The Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast here.

LP Tracking List: 

Side One

1.     “Katie Mae”

2.     “Dark Hollow”

3.     “I’ve Been All Around This World”

4.     “Wake Up Little Susie”

5.     “Black Peter”

Side Two

1.      “Smokestack Lightnin’”

2.     “Hard To Handle”