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Big River
Composer: Johnny Cash

Big River was first performed by the Grateful Dead on New Year's Eve 1971. It was then a part of the repertoire from May 1972 to July 1995, though performed with decreasing regularity through the 1980's and 1990's.

The original Johnny Cash recording of the song was released on Sun (Sun 283) as the flip-side of Ballad Of A Teenage Queen in December 1957. The catalyst for the writing of the song was Cash reading a magazine article with the headline 'Johnny Cash has the big river blues in his voice.'

Big River was one of the Dylan/Band Basement Tapes songs. It was also recorded by Bob Dylan with Johnny Cash during the Nashville Skyline sessions on February 18, 1969, but not released. Bob Dylan has said that when he first heard the words of Big River they seemed to him like "words turned to bone".



Grateful Dead

info Steal Your Face, 1976
info One From The Vault, 1991
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 1, 1993
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 5, 1996
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 6, 1996
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 7, 1997
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 11, 1998
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 12, 1998
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 14, 1999
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 19, 2000
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 20, 2001
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 21, 2001
info View From The Vault II, 2001
info View From The Vault II (DVD), 2001
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 23, 2001
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 24, 2002
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 25, 2002
info View From The Vault III, 2002
info View From The Vault III (DVD), 2002
info View From The Vault IV, 2003
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 28, 2003
info The Closing of Winterland, 2003
info The Closing of Winterland (DVD), 2003
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 31, 2004
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 32, 2004
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 34, 2005
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 36, 2005
info Grateful Dead Download Series Vol. 4: 6/18/76, 2005
info Grateful Dead Download Series Vol. 8: 12/10/73, 2005
info Winterland 1973: The Complete Recordings, 2008
info Road Trips: Vol 2, Number 3: June 1974, Wall Of Sound, 2009

The Dead

info Indianapolis, IN, July 25, 2004
info Charlotte, NC, August 18, 2004
info Dead ’09: Buffalo, NY, April 21, 2009

Ratdog

info Wilkes-Barre PA: October 21, 2003
info Toronto ON: October 29, 2003
info Chicago IL: November 3, 2003
info Columbus OH: November 8, 2003
info Columbia MO: November 17, 2003
info Anaheim CA, February 23, 2004
info Portland OR, March 5, 2004
info Ridgefield CT, April 25, 2005
info Baltimore, MD, August 10, 2005
info Cleveland, OH, November 1, 2005
info Tucson, AZ, December 6, 2005
info Reno, NV, December 14, 2005
info North Charleston, SC, March 16, 2006
info Hampton Beach, NH, March 31, 2006
info Alpine, CA, June 26, 2006
info Baltimore, MD, August 26, 2006
info Chicago IL, October 20, 2006
info Westbury NY, November 1, 2006
info Atlanta GA, November 13, 2006
info Concord NH, March 12, 2007
info Jim Thorpe PA, March 16, 2007
info Lincoln RI, July 11, 2007
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info Lebanon, NH, October 28, 2007
info Baltimore, MD, April 8, 2008
info San Diego, CA, July 1, 2008
info Hershey, PA, August 25, 2008
info Munhall, PA, November 1, 2008
info Upper Darby, PA, November 14, 2008

Phil Lesh & Friends

info June 18, 2006: Bonnaroo Music Festival, 2006
info Instant Live: June 24, 2006, Orlando, FL, 2006
info Instant Live: July 1, 2006, Holmdel, NJ, 2006
info Instant Live: July 7, 2006, Wantagh, NY, 2006
info Instant Live: July 15, 2006, Indianapolis, IN, 2006

 
Other recordings

This list is not intended to be comprehensive.

no info Single (Ballad Of A Teenage Queen / Big River), Johnny Cash, 1957
no info Songs That Made Him Famous, Johnny Cash, 1958
info Mr. Bluegrass, Bill Monroe, 1960
no info The Highwaymen, The Highwaymen, 1961
no info I Walk The Line, Johnny Cash, 1964
no info Original Sun Sound, Johnny Cash, 1965
no info Original Golden Hits, Volume II, Johnny Cash, 1969
no info Story Songs of Trains and Rivers, Johnny Cash, 1969
no info Showtime, Johnny Cash, 1969
no info Single (Big River / Come In Stranger), Johnny Cask, 1971
info High Country, High Country, 1971, Raccoon 7
no info Family Album, Stoneground, 1972
no info Superbilly, Johnny Cash, 1977
no info Second Wind, Delbert McClinton, 1978
info Right Or Wrong, Rosanne Cash, 1979
no info The Sun Years, Johnny Cash, 1984
no info Up Through The Years 1955-1957, Johnny Cash, 1986
no info The Boys Are Back In Town, Nashville Bluegrass Band, 1990
no info Man In Black 1954-1958 (Box Set), Johnny Cash, 1990
no info The Sun Years, Johnny Cash, 1990
info Bluegrass 1959-1969, Bill Monroe, 1991
no info Long Long Time, Ian and Sylvia, 1994
info Vanguard Newport Folk Festival Sampler, Various Artists (Johnny Cash), 1996
info Right Or Wrong / Seven Year Ache, Rosanne Cash, 2001
info Backwards Bluegrass, Cletus and the Burners, 2001
info Kindred Spirits: A Tribute to the Songs of Johnny Cash, Various Artists (Hank Williams Jr.), 2002
info I Don't Miss Trains, The Orchard Boys, 2006
info Secret Agent Man: The Ultimate Johnny Rivers Anthology, Johnny Rivers, 2006
info Lovin' Sound / Full Circle, Ian & Sylvia, 2007
info The Roots of the Grateful Dead, Various Artists (Johnny Cash), 2008

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