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U.S. Blues
Composer: Jerry Garcia / Robert Hunter

U.S. Blues, in its completed form, was first performed by the Grateful Dead in February 1974, though the earlier version, named Wave That Flag, was first performed in February 1973. The song was then played every year, with steadily decreasing frequency, through to the last performance in the penultimate Grateful Dead show in July 1995.

In an interview in 1976 Garcia was asked if working with Hunter was usually a case of Garcia writing the music and Hunter the words;

"More often than not. But also it's a little freer than that, too. I edit his work an awful lot, for example, a tune like U. S. Blues really will start of with three hundred possible verses. Then it's a matter of carving them down to ones that are singable."



Grateful Dead

info Grateful Dead From The Mars Hotel, 1974
info Single (U. S. Blues / Loose Lucy), 1974, Grateful Dead 03
info Steal Your Face, 1976
info For Dead Heads, Various Artists, 1976 (US)
info For Dead Heads, Various Artists, 1976 (UK)
info Wake Of The Flood / From The Mars Hotel, 1977?
info The Grateful Dead Movie (video), 1981
info Der Sampler 32, Various Artists, 1989
info Delco Electronics Music System Sampler, Various Artists, 198?
info One From The Vault, 1991
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 6, 1996
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 7, 1997
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 12, 1998
info So Many Roads (1965-1995), 1999
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 24, 2002
info The Very Best Of The Grateful Dead, 2003
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 31, 2004
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 32, 2004
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 33, 2004
info Beyond Description, 2004
info Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack, 2004
info The Grateful Dead Movie (DVD), 2004
info Truckin' Up To Buffalo, 2005
info Truckin' Up To Buffalo (DVD), July 2005
info Grateful Dead Download Vol. 4: 6/18/76, 2005
info Grateful Dead Download Vol. 5: 3/27/88, 2005
info Grateful Dead Download Vol. 7: 9/3 & 4/80, 2005
info Road Trips: Vol 1, Number 4: Winterland 1978, 2008
info Road Trips Download: Philadelphia, Nov 6, 1979, 2008
info To Terrapin: Hartford '77, 2009
info Road Trips: Vol 2, Number 3: June 1974, Wall Of Sound, 2009
info Winterland June 1977: The Complete Recordings, 2009
info Flashback With The Grateful Dead, 2011
info Road Trips: Vol 4, No. 5: Boston Music Hall 6.9.76, 2011
info Dave's Picks Vol. 2: Hartford, CT, 7/31/74, 2012
info Dave's Picks Vol. 4: Williamsburg, VA, 9/24/76
info May 1977 (box set), 2013
info Complete Studio Albums Collection, 2013
info Dave's Picks Vol. 9: Missoula, 5/14/74, 2014
info Spring 1990 (The Other One), 2014
info Dave's Picks Vol 13: Winterland, SF, 2/24/74, 2015
info 30 Trips Around The Sun Box Set, 2015
info Dave's Picks Vol 17, 2016
info Capitol Theatre, 4/25/77, 2016
info Dave's Picks Vol 18, 2016
info July 1978 Complete, 2016
info Dave's Picks Vol 20: Boulder, 12/9/81, 2016
info May 1977: Get Shown the Light, 2017
info Dave's Picks Vol 23: Eugene, 1/22/78, 2017
info July 12 & 13, 1989, Washington, DC, 2017
info Grateful Dead Records Collection, 2017
info Pacific Northwest '73-'74: Complete Recordings, 2018
info Portland Mem. Col. 5/19/74, 2018
info Grateful Dead Records Collection (Digital), 2018
info Dave's Picks Vol 29: San Bernardino, 2/26/77, 2019
info Vol. 10: U.S. Blues / Loose Lucy, 2019
info June 1976, 2020
info Dave's Picks Vol 34: Miami 6/23/74, 2020
info Dave's Picks Vol 39, Philadelphia, 4/26/83, 2021
info Dave's Picks Vol 41: Baltimore, 5/26/77, 2022
info Dave's Picks Bonus CD 2022, 2022
info In and Out of the Garden: '81, '82, '83, 2022
info Madison Square Garden, New York, NY 3/9/81, 2022
info Boston 5/7/77, 2023
info Dave's Picks Vol 47 St. Louis, 12/9/79, 2023

Fare Thee Well shows 2015

info Fare Thee Well July 3, 4 & 5 2015 Complete Box, 2015

Other recordings

info Deadicated, Various Artists, 1991
info Long Live the Dead: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead, Billy and Terry Smith, 1996
info Swingin' To The Grateful Dead, Various Artists, 1999
info Dead Grass, Dead Grass, 2000
info Dirty Ditties and Cover Tunes, Snipe Hunt, 2000
info Long Strange Trip: Swingin' and Pickin' on the Grateful Dead, Various Artists, 2001
info Buckdancer's Choice, Wake The Dead, 2002
info Werewolves of Atlanta: Halloween 2004, Dark Star Orchestra, 2005
info Live Butter, August 17, 2007, Petaluma, CA, Hot Buttered Rum, 2007
info Live 2007, Mike Kornrich Band, 2008
info Let The Music Live, Skeleton Key Band, 2010
info On The Road: July 4, 2013, Austin, TX, String Cheese Incident, 2013
info Berkingman's Dead, Jason Berk, 2016
info Intermediary Stage, Frankenstein 3000, 2020
info From The Archives 10/12/18, John Kadlecik, 2020
info From The Archives 7/4/20, Splintered Sunlight, 2020
info Live At Brooklyn Bowl, Night 1, Grateful Shred, 2020

 
The Dead

info Columbia, MD, June 18, 2003
info Indianapolis, IN, August 5, 2003
info Wantagh, NY, August 10, 2003
info Morrison, CO, June 18, 2004
info Boston, MA, July 30, 2004
info Holmdel, NJ, August 10, 2004
info Atlanta, GA, August 19, 2004
info Dead '09: E. Rutherford, NJ, April 28, 2009
info Dead '09: Mountain View, CA, May 14, 2009

Furthur

info Dec 13, 2009, Asbury Park, NJ
info Feb 6, 2010, Orlando, FL
info Feb 26, 2010, Uncasville, CT
info July 4, 2010, Oxford, ME
info November 17, 2010, Baltimore, MD
info March 29, 2011, Binghamton, NY
info July 16, 2011, Bethel, NY
info July 31, 2011, Alpharetta, GA
info Sept 28, 2011, West Valley City, UT
info Nov 11, 2011, Syracuse, NY
info April 21, 2012, Live Oak
info July 18, 2012, Rochester Hills, MI
info September 21, 2012, Morrison, CO
info April 15, 2013, Port Chester, NY
info Sept 29, 2013, Berkeley, CA

Dead & Company

info Cincinnati, OH, 16 June, 2016
info Hartford, CT, 28 June, 2016
info Boulder, CO, 03 July, 2016
info Boston, MA, 15 July, 2016
info Irvine, CA, 26 July, 2016
info Mountain View, CA, 30 July, 2016
info Los Angeles, CA, 1 Jun, 2017
info Salt Lake City, UT, 7 Jun, 2017
info Bristow, VA, 22 Jun, 2017
info Chicago, IL, 30 Jun, 2017
info New York, NY, 14 Nov, 2017
info Hartford, CT, 22 Nov, 2017
info Atlanta, GA, 29 Nov, 2017
info Riviera Maya, MX, 18 Feb, 2018
info Orlando, FL, 27 Feb, 2018
info Cincinnati, OH, 4 Jun, 2018
info New York, NY, 15 Jun, 2018
info George, WA, 29 Jun, 2018
info Chula Vista, CA, 6 July, 2018
info Boulder, CO, 13 July, 2018
info Arrington, VA, 26 Aug, 2018
info Riviera Maya, MX, 20 Jan, 2019
info Hollywood, CA, 4 Jun, 2019
info Saratoga Springs, NY, 18 Jun, 2019
info Bristow, VA, 26 Jun, 2019
info Boulder, CO, 5 Jul, 2019
info Uniondale, NY, 5 Nov, 2019
info Los Angeles, CA, 27 Dec, 2019
info Cancún, MX, 19 Jan, 2020
info New York, NY, Aug 20, 2021
info Mansfield, MA, Sep 3, 2021
info St. Louis, MO, Sep 13, 2021
info The Woodlands, TX, Oct 15, 2021
info Phoenix, AZ, Oct 25, 2021
info Los Angeles, CA, Oct 30, 2021
info Mountain View, CA, June 14, 2022
info Maryland Heights, MO, June 21, 2022
info Clarkston, MI, June 29, 2022
info Burgettstown, PA, July 12, 2022
info Riviera Cancún, Mexico, Jan 17, 2023
info Phoenix, AZ, May 23, 2023
info Charlotte, NC, May 30, 2023
info Chicago, IL, June 9, 2023
info New York, NY, June 21, 2023
info Boulder, CO, July 2, 2023
info San Francisco, CA, July 14, 2023

Ratdog

info Philadelphia PA: October 16, 2003
info Indianapolis IN: November 10, 2003
info Lawrence KS: November 18, 2003
info San Diego CA, February 27, 2004
info Verona NY, April 8, 2005
info Hampton Beach NH, April 22, 2005
info Washington DC, April 27, 2005
info Terra Alta, WV, August 5, 2005
info Cleveland, OH, November 1, 2005
info Jim Thorpe, PA, November 11, 2005
info Orlando, FL, November 20, 2005
info Oklahoma City, OK, July 4, 2006
info Mariaville, NY, August 19, 2006
info Columbus OH, October 26, 2006
info Stroudsburg PA, November 6, 2006
info Boca Raton FL, November 18, 2006
info Seattle WA, February 17, 2007
info Baltimore MD, March 19, 2007
info Greensboro NC, March 24, 2007
info Detroit Lakes MN, July 21, 2007
info Burlington, VT, November 2, 2007
info Quincy, CA, July 5, 2008
info Holmdel, NJ, August 15, 2008
info Washington, DC, November 5, 2008
info Upper Darby, PA, November 15, 2008
info Missoula, MT, August 26, 2009
info New York, NY, October 24, 2009
info Westbury, NY, February 21, 2014
info Milwaukee, WI, March 8, 2014
info Grand Rapids, MI, June 10, 2014

Weir/Robinson/Greene Trio

info May 29, 2012, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, Ashville,NC, 2012
info June 4, 2012, Chautauqua Auditorium, Boulder, CO, 2012

Phil Lesh & Friends

info Instant Live: June 22, 2006, Boca Raton, FL, 2006
info Instant Live: July 7, 2006, Wantagh, NY, 2006
info November 14, 2014, Port Chester, NY, 2014
info March 17, 2017, Port Chester, NY, 2017

Bill Kreutzmann

info Kreutzmann, Burbridge, Murawski Trio: April 20, 2008, Chicago, 2008
info 7/12/21, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO, Billy & The Kids, 2021

Other Dead related

info Move Me Brightly performance/documentary, 2013

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