Dark Hollow

Grateful Dead

About Dark Hollow

This article is about the song. For other Dark Hollow articles, see Dark Hollow disambiguation page. "Dark Hollow" is a folk song first recorded by folk singer-songwriter Bill Browning in 1958. It is included as the B-side of his single "Borned with the Blues". Though usually credited to Browning, the song has some lyrical similarities to the traditional "East Virginia Blues/East Virginia" and "Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies", likely Browning's inspiration. "Dark Hollow" is considered to be the most popular of Browning's short career, but it did not reach the peak of its popularity until it was recorded by Grateful Dead in the early 1970s. They began performing acoustic covers of the song in 1970. Electric covers soon followed in 1973 followed by more acoustic covers in 1980. In total, Grateful Dead performed "Dark Hollow" around 30 times. Their version appears on History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One (Bear's Choice) and the live recording Reckoning. 


Year:
2001
3:52
534 

Lyrics currently unavailable…


Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long musical improvisation. "Their music," writes Lenny Kaye, "touches on ground that most other groups don't even know exists." These various influences were distilled into a diverse and psychedelic whole that made the Grateful Dead "the pioneering Godfathers of the jam band world." They were ranked 57th in the issue The Greatest Artists of all Time by Rolling Stone magazine. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and their Barton Hall Concert at Cor… more »

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10 facts about this song

Song Origin
"Dark Hollow" was not originally composed by Grateful Dead; instead, it is a traditional folk song that has been performed by various artists throughout the years.
First Performance
Grateful Dead gave their first live performance of the song in 1970 at the Fillmore East in New York City.
Album Feature
Despite being performed live numerous times, "Dark Hollow" was not included in a studio album by Grateful Dead, but rather on the live acoustic record "Reckoning" released in April 1981.
Duration
The song "Dark Hollow" is relatively short, with most of the Dead versions running under five minutes.
Instrumentation
This song features the band's unique acoustic sound, characterized by Garcia's lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Weir's rhythm guitar, Lesh's bass guitar, and two drummers - Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart.
Song Style
"Dark Hollow" is part of Grateful Dead's traditional bluegrass repertoire, with roots in Appalachian music.
Original Version
The first recorded version of "Dark Hollow" divides credit between traditional, arranged by Bill Browning, who released his version in 1958.
Song Interpretation
Given to improvisational performances, Grateful Dead's interpretation of the song often varied from show to show, a hallmark of the band's live concerts.
Compilation Appearance
"Dark Hollow" appears on multiple Grateful Dead compilations, including "The Very Best of Grateful Dead" in 2003.
Final Performance
The last live performance of Dark Hollow by the Grateful Dead was on October 3, 1980, at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco.

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