Grateful Dead Family Discography: Blues For Allah

Blues For Allah

Composer: Jerry Garcia / Robert Hunter

Robert Hunter explained the origin of the lyrics of this song in Box Of Rain: Lyrics 1965-1993;

This lyric is a requiem for King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, a progressive and democratically inclined ruler (and, incidentally, a fan of the Grateful Dead) whose assassination in 1975 shocked us personally.

Blues for Allah was performed a handful of times by the Grateful Dead in 1975.

Grateful Dead

Blues For Allah, 1975
One From The Vault, 1991
Beyond Description, 2004

Furthur

May 30, 2010, Angels Camp, CA
June 27, 2010, Brooklyn, NY
July 11, 2010, Philadelphia, PA

Other recordings

Eternity Blue, Henry Kaiser, 1995
Blues For Allah Project, Joe Gallant and Illuminati, 1996
Great Sky River, Jazz Is Dead, 2001
Dead Symphony No. 6, Lee Johnson/Russian National Orchestra, 2007