Grateful Dead Family Discography: Dark Star

Dark Star

Composer: Grateful Dead / Robert Hunter

Dark Star was the first lyric that Robert Hunter wrote with the Dead. He had previously sent a few lyrics to them from New Mexico and was then invited to join them. Hunter describes the journey in the introduction to his collected lyrics Box Of Rain;

The trip took six weeks with a surreal layover in Denver. By the time I hit Nevada I had a dime in my pocket which I put in a slot machine and parlayed into enough to make a phone call and tell the guys I was on my way. I arrived in San Francisco with a case of walking pneumonia and the clothes on my back. The next day I was writing Dark Star, feeling pretty much as the lyric suggests.

The initial lyrics were written at Rio Nido where the Dead were playing when Hunter joined them.

The single version of Dark Star was recorded in the studio during the recordings sessions for Anthem Of The Sun. Robert Hunter speaks the words at the close of the song.

Dark Star was first performed, without lyrics, by the Grateful Dead in September 1967. The first version with lyrics was in the December of that year. The song was a major focus for improvisation and was played regularly through the 1960's and up to 1973. After 1974 it only appeared on odd occasions in 1978, 1979, 1981 and 1984 before making a comeback in October 1989. It was then played about 25 times through the 1990s the last performance being in March 1994.

Grateful Dead recordings

Dark Star / Born Cross-Eyed, 1968
Live/Dead, 1969
Zabriskie Point Soundtrack, Various Artists, 1970
Glastonbury Fayre, Various Artists, 1972
What A Long Strange Trip It's Been, 1977
The History Of Rock, Volume 23, Various Artists, 1984
Rock Goes To The Movies - Vol. 1, Various Artists, 1990
Two From The Vault, 1992
Rock Goes To The Movies - In Dreams, Various Artists, 1992
Dick's Picks, Vol. 2, 1995
Dick's Picks, Vol. 4, 1996
Dick's Picks, Vol. 7, 1997
Fillmore East 2.11.69, 1997
Zabriskie Point Soundtrack (Extended double CD version), Various Artists, 1997
Dick's Picks, Vol. 11, 1998
Dick's Picks, Vol. 14, 1999
So Many Roads (1965-1995), 1999
So Many Roads (1965-1995), 1999
Dick's Picks, Vol. 16, 2000
Dick's Picks, Vol. 19, 2000
Ladies and Gentlemen ... The Grateful Dead, 2000
Dick's Picks, Vol. 22, 2001
View From The Vault II, 2001
View From The Vault II (DVD), 2001
Nightfall Of Diamonds, 2001
The Golden Road (1965-1973), 2001
Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead: England '72, July 2002
Dick's Picks, Vol. 26, 2002
Dick's Picks, Vol. 27, 2003
Dick's Picks, Vol. 28, 2003
The Closing of Winterland, 2003
The Closing of Winterland (DVD), 2003
Dreamers Soundtrack, Various Artists, 2004
Rockin' The Rhein, 2004
Rockin' The Rhein bonus CD: Academy Of Music, 2004
Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack, 2004
The Grateful Dead Movie (extended DVD), 2004
Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings, 2005
Fillmore West 1969: Compilation, 2005
Dick's Picks, Vol. 36, 2005
Trilogy, 2005
Grateful Dead Download Vol 12: 4/17/69, 2006
Love Is The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970, Various Artists, 2007

The Dead

Holmdel, NJ, June 25, 2003
Millwaukee, WI, July 1, 2003
Morrison, CO, July 10, 2003
Joliet, IL, August 2, 2003
Mountain View, CA, September 19, 2003
Oakland, CA, December 31, 2004
Mountain View, CA, June 26, 2004, 2004
Boston, MA, July 31, 2004, 2004
Darien Lakes, NY, August 6, 2004, 2004
Wantagh, NY, August 13, 2004, 2004

Ratdog

Atlanta GA: October 12, 2003, 2003
Boston MA: October 18, 2003, 2003
Cleveland OH: October 31, 2003, 2003
Chicago IL: November 4, 2003, 2003
Lawrence KS: November 18, 2003, 2003
New Orleans LA: November 22, 2003, 2003
Anaheim CA, February 23, 2004, 2004
Los Angeles CA, March 1, 2004, 2004
Bozeman MT, March 10, 2004, 2004
Boulder CO, March 15, 2004, 2004
Boulder CO, March 16, 2004, 2004
Burlington VT, March 23, 2004, 2004
Washington, March 31, 2004, 2004
St. Louis MO, September 16, 2004, 2004
Phoenix AZ, February 5, 2005, 2005
Las Vegas NV, February 6, 2005, 2005
Madison WI, March 29, 2005, 2005
Royal Oak MI, April 2, 2005, 2005
Sayreville NJ, April 12, 2005, 2005
Johnson City NY, May 1, 2005, 2005
St. Louis, MO, June 10, 2005, 2005
Ocean City, MD, August 9, 2005, 2005
Mariaville, NY, August 12, 2005, 2005
Gilford, NH, September 2, 2005, 2005
Buffalo, NY, October 29, 2005, 2005
Mashantucket, CT, November 5, 2005, 2005
Jim Thorpe, PA, November 10, 2005, 2005
Jim Thorpe, PA, November 11, 2005, 2005
Boca Raton, FL, November 19, 2005, 2005
Seattle, WA, December 17, 2005, 2005
Majesty of the Seas, Carribean Sea, February 5, 2006, 2006
Norfolk, VA, March 18, 2006, 2006
Syracuse, NY, March 30, 2006, 2006
Santa Rosa, CA, June 9, 2006, 2006
Morrison, CO, July 1, 2006, 2006
Oklahoma City, OK, July 4, 2006, 2006
Mansfield, MA, July 15, 2006, 2006
Ridgefield, CT, August 22, 2006, 2006
Baltimore, MD, August 26, 2006, 2006
Geneva NY, October 30, 2006, 2006
Atlanta GA, November 13, 2006, 2006
Orlando FL, November 16, 2006, 2006
San Francisco CA, February 14, 2007, 2007
New York NY, March 10, 2007, 2007
Athens GA, March 22, 2007, 2007
Asheville NC, March 23, 2007, 2007
Masontown WV, July 13, 2007, 2007
Council Bluffs IA, July 20, 2007, 2007
San Diego CA, July 27, 2007, 2007
Bridgeport CT, August 11, 2007, 2007
Bushkill PA, August 18, 2007, 2007
Darien Center NY, August 19, 2007, 2007
Hampton Beach NH, October 27, 2007, 2007
Charlotte, NC, November 8, 2007, 2007
Boca Raton, FL, November 17, 2007, 2007

Phil Lesh & Friends

Phil Lesh and Friends Live at the Warfield, 2006
Phil Lesh & Friends: June 22, 2006, Boca Raton, FL, 2006
Phil Lesh & Friends: Instant Live: June 27, 2006, Asheville, NC, 2006
Phil Lesh & Friends: Instant Live: July 7, 2006, Wantagh, NY, 2006
Phil Lesh & Friends: Instant Live: July 9, 2006, Bethel, NY, 2006

Other recordings

Fresh Tracks In Real Time, Tom Constanten, 1989
Those Who Know History Are Doomed To Repeat It, Henry Kaiser, 1988
Heart's Desire, The Henry Kaiser Band, 1990
Bloomington, Branford Marsalis Trio, 1991
Nightfall Of Diamonds, Tom Constanten, 1992
Relix Bay Rock Shop No. 2, Various Artists, 1992
A Historical Retrospective, Solar Circus, 1993
Dead Ringers, Dead Ringers, 1994
Eternity Blue, Henry Kaiser, 1995
Dark Star - The Music of the Grateful Dead, David Murray, 1996
Pickin' On The Grateful Dead, Various Artists, 1997
Space Debris, Space Debris, 1997
With His Funky Friends: Live, Merl Saunders, 1998
Welcome To Our World (For Members Only), JGB, 1998
The Serpent Unrolled, Fit & Limo, 1998
Realms, Jamie Janover, 1998
Dead Delites, Vol. 1, Various Artists, 1998
Dead Delites, Vol. 3, Various Artists, 1998
Blue Light Rain, Jazz Is Dead, 1998
Struggling Man, Merl Saunders, 2000
Stolen Roses, Various Artists, 2000
Search For Intelligent Life, Dose Hermanos, 2000
Grateful Dreams, Tom Constanten, 2000
Live At Roseland, Ratdog, 2001
Long Strange Trip: Swingin' and Pickin' on the Grateful Dead, Various Artists, 2001
The Sea To The North, Garth Hudson, 2001
There and Back Again (Special bonus disc release), Phil Lesh & Friends, 2002
Electronic Tribute To The Grateful Dead, Various Artists, 2002
3/13/98 Cedar Cultural Centre, The Big Wu, 2002
88 Keys to Tomorrow, Tom Constanten, 2002
Pluck!, Eric Golub, 2003
Brescia, Italy: June 30, 2004, Little Feat, 2004
Ocean City, NJ: August 2, 2004, Little Feat, 2004
Omaha, NE: August 31, 2004, Little Feat, 2004
Tornoto, Canada: November 8, 2004, Little Feat, 2004
Maui, HI: March 4, 2005, Little Feat, 2005
Portland, OR: March 12, 2005, Little Feat, 2005
Jerry Jams, Jerry Cares, Various Artists, 2005
Live At Mojo, Dreadnaught, 2005
The 1000th Show, Dark Star Orchestra, 2005