The Music Never Stopped: Roots of the Grateful Dead is a 1995 compilation album of songs, performed by the original artists, that the American rock group the Grateful Dead covered and performed live throughout their career. Several of the tracks on this album can be found on no other compact disc, including "Rain and Snow" as performed by Obray Ramsey and "Big Railroad Blues" by Cannon's Jug Stompers. The eclectic nature of the Grateful Dead's music is highlighted on this album with the inclusion of songs from such diverse genres as folk ("Morning Dew", "Goin' Down This Road Feelin' Bad"), the blues ("The Red Rooster", "Turn On Your Love Light"), country ("Mama Tried", "El Paso"), gospel ("Samson & Delilah"), and straight out rock and roll ("The Promised Land", "Not Fade Away").
| The Music Never Stopped: Roots of the Grateful Dead | |
|---|---|
 Cover art by Robert Crumb | |
| Compilation album by Various Artists | |
| Released | October 17, 1995 |
| Genre | Country rock, folk rock, rock, blues |
| Length | 52:20 |
| Label | Shanachie |
| Producer | Various |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
| Entertainment Weekly | (A+) link |
| The Music Box | link |
| San Francisco Examiner | (not rated) link |
Cover and title
editThe cover, drawn by underground cartoonist Robert Crumb, depicts some of the artists appearing on the album performing to skeletal Deadheads.
The title comes from the song "The Music Never Stopped" from the Grateful Dead album Blues for Allah.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Original artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rain and Snow" | Obray Ramsey | 3:25 |
| 2. | "Mama Tried" | Merle Haggard | 2:10 |
| 3. | "Iko Iko" | Dixie Cups | 2:00 |
| 4. | "Samson & Delilah" | Rev. Gary Davis | 4:03 |
| 5. | "Big Railroad Blues" | Cannon's Jug Stompers | 3:18 |
| 6. | "El Paso" | Marty Robbins | 4:20 |
| 7. | "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" | Bob Dylan | 4:13 |
| 8. | "Spoonful" | Charlie Patton | 3:11 |
| 9. | "The Red Rooster" | Howlin' Wolf | 2:23 |
| 10. | "Promised Land" | Chuck Berry | 2:26 |
| 11. | "Don't Ease Me In" | Henry Thomas | 2:59 |
| 12. | "Big Boss Man" | Jimmy Reed | 2:49 |
| 13. | "Turn On Your Love Light" | Bobby "Blue" Bland | 2:36 |
| 14. | "Morning Dew" | Bonnie Dobson | 4:05 |
| 15. | "Not Fade Away" | Buddy Holly | 2:20 |
| 16. | "Goin' Down This Road Feelin' Bad" | Woody Guthrie | 2:47 |
| 17. | "I Bid You Good Night" | The Pindar Family with Joseph Spence | 2:47 |
Credits
edit- Produced by Henry Kaiser and David Gans
- Mastered by Paul Stubblebine
- Notes by Blair Jackson
- Front cover design by R. Crumb
- Art direction by Joan Pelosi
References
edit- The Music Never Stopped on deaddisc.com
- Hilburn, Robert. "Roots of Cash's Hit Tunes", Los Angeles Times, August 22, 2006
- Strauss, Neil. "The Pop Life", The New York Times, October 19, 1995