Grateful Dead and Chuck Berrry

For these shows the Grateful Dead came out with a tight and frenetic first set, highlighted by a few Pigpen-fronted blues tunes. Chuck Berry followed that up with his first appearance at a Bill Graham show, entertaining the audience with his early rock classics and wild antics. Finally, the Dead returned to the stage for a set of pure, primal psychedelia. The Dead were naturally quite familiar with Berry’s work and did a number of Chuck Berry covers over the years, especially Around and Around (421 performances), Promised Land (434), and Johnny B. Goode (281).