RIP Robert Hunter

[dominattorney]

I heard that the yin to jerry Garcia's yang passed away on the evening of the 23rd. He will be missed.  The man wrote some truly spectacular lyrics. Light one up in his honor. 

[anjimj]

The guy was brilliant writing box of rain and ripple amongst others. RIP Robert. Lighting up a Bolivar CJ in his honor.

[Auspaul]

RIP

[cfc1016]

Shame, man. We lost JPB not long ago, too. So sad.

[YOM'$]

Incredible lyricist, thanks for all of your wise words!

[GinFizzLove]

Fare you well....?Sparked up a El Principe tonight. Appropriately tasted like rose water.

 

[GinFizzLove]

2 hours ago, anjimj said:

The guy was brilliant writing box of rain and ripple amongst others. RIP Robert. Lighting up a Bolivar CJ in his honor.

American Beauty is a legitimately great album and should be played more.

[SigmundChurchill]

I was very sad to hear the news.  About 30 years ago, he signed my Grateful Dead Family Album for me. I have been meaning to dig it up out of the attic since I heard the news, just to look at it.

RIP

[Hammer Smokin']

An extremely sad time for deadheads.

Fare thee well Mr Hunter.

Once and a while you get shown the light,

in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

[Wookie]

Wow...I remember the last Dead show I saw at RFK not long before Jerry took ill. I remember New Years Eve 1986/87 at a small venue in Oakland. Saw a lot of shows for a casual fan. Drank beers with Bill Kreutzman and Phil Lesh at Kingston Mines after a Chicago show where I was so bombed I jumped on stage with the blues band and sang a bit. What a collaboration they had with Hunter.  RIP. 

[Hammer Smokin']

3 minutes ago, Wookie said:

Wow...I remember the last Dead show I saw at RFK not long before Jerry took ill. I remember New Years Eve 1986/87 at a small venue in Oakland. Saw a lot of shows for a casual fan. Drank beers with Bill Kreutzman and Phil Lesh at Kingston Mines after a Chicago show where I was so bombed I jumped on stage with the blues band and sang a bit. What a collaboration they had with Hunter.  RIP. 

 

Henry J Kaiser Convention Center. You are right, a very small venue for the Grateful Dead at that time. Could only imagine how amazing that would have been. I'd love to know what Billy was like. Phil, he's just weird. (in a good way, but still). Bill always seemed down to earth, and really cool. Likely due to his military family background.

 

Reach out your hand if your cup be empty
If your cup is full may it be again
Let it be known there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of men

[Wookie]

3 minutes ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

 

Henry J Kaiser Convention Center. You are right, a very small venue for the Grateful Dead at that time. Could only imagine how amazing that would have been. I'd love to know what Billy was like. Phil, he's just weird. (in a good way, but still). Bill always seemed down to earth, and really cool. Likely due to his military family background.

 

Reach out your hand if your cup be empty
If your cup is full may it be again
Let it be known there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of men

Yes, the Kaiser...smallest venue I ever saw them play and it was marvelously intimate, made more magical because it was New Years Eve. The Kingston Mines night we invited Bill and Phil to join us at our table and they did.  But we were all pretty bombed so it was just slamming beers and listening to the blues with some banter that I cannot recall.  But it was cordial and fun because we hung together for an hour or two. 

[Hammer Smokin']

if nothing else, that makes the story even cooler...

they were just two normal guys...fucking Phil and Billy, but still, two normal guys.

awesome!!

[Hammer Smokin']

btw, the night before 12/30, is full video show on Youtube.

But it's like 12/31 doesn't exist in video form (one of the extremely few NYE's since 1971 that didn't have a video leaked...ya'll were having far too good of a time!!! Awesome!)

Look out of any window
Any morning, any evening, any day
Maybe the sun is shining
Birds are winging or
Rain is falling from a heavy sky,
What do you want me to do,
To do for you to see you through?

[tigger]

"A few words on Hunter. Robert Hunter believed in dignity. It is rare to meet a truly dignified person and when you do, that calm, measured energy lingers for days afterward. Hunter always radiated it.
Wryly amused at life, and with sharp glittering eyes he walked the ancient poets path. With music and words he expressed what it feels like to be human in a way that bridges the gaps between us all. We resonate profoundly with words and music that have real power, and his work will be a true source of inspiration for generations to come. It is hard to express the life long love Jerry had for Bob. The music they made together tells their story better than anyone could put into words. They understood and communicated the beauty and pain of life in a way that made it easier to bear for us all.
We can only hope that they are now greeting each other as the brothers they are on the other side. With Hunter’s sly teasing and Jerry’s big ‘aw shucks’ smile as they pick up their instruments and play on.
Thank you Hunter. We love you." - Annabelle Garcia

?

[Wookie]

Ha! More to the story. I had a ticket to that 12/30/86 show and really enjoyed it. I was on an epic x-mas vacation that took me from Ann Arbor to Vail for skiing, then the Dead shows, then UMich in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.  I did not have a ticket for the NYE show but I was determined to see it.  Ultimately someone sold me their NYE ticket for $300.  Short money today but that was a big number for a college kid back then.  Now I laugh about how cheap that show was.  Got back to the frat in Ann Arbor and the utility had shut us down. Pirhanas were floating upside down in the tank. It was freezing. Needless to say, I contracted mononucleosis promptly thereafter. Still, what a great memory. 

[Hammer Smokin']

mono goes away....

memories of Jerry and the boys on NYE runs will last a lifetime.

My greatest single memory of my life is seeing my boys (phish) on 12/31/99 --- the BIG NYE.

Everglades Florida with 150K of my closest friends

Be well my friend,

 

 

 

Dust off those rusty strings....just.....one.....more.....time

 

[Deeg]

A true poet among lyricists.  So many incredible compositions, though "Ripple" towers over all of them for me.

I saw a lot of Dead shows back in the 80's, and listened to a lot of bootleg tapes (pre-Youtube) of Hunter's live folk appearances.  He and Garcia were an amazing artistic partnership and created sublime music together, but Hunter was an underrated solo performer too.  If you're a fan a good version of the complete "Terrapin Station" is a must.  

 

[Hammer Smokin']

I saw Robert Hunter in a solo performance in a bar in hamilton ontario in the late 90's.

It was poorly advertised, and only had maybe 75 folks show up. He played a private solo show for us.

A night I'll likely never forget.

His version of Friend of the Devil is so much fun....a hootenanny!

[SigmundChurchill]

1 hour ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

if nothing else, that makes the story even cooler...

they were just two normal guys...fucking Phil and Billy, but still, two normal guys.

awesome!!

In 1990 I lived in San Rafael for a couple of years, and then Mill Valley after that, so it was pretty normal to run into those guys at places like the supermarket, the bagel store, etc.  They were all very down to earth, except maybe Bobby.  He wasn’t bad, but he seemed to have a bit more of an ego than the other guys.  

I was a graduate student at the time, and at night, I delivered Italian food.  We had the only decent pizza in the county, so I got to deliver to some pretty cool people.  I never knew who was going to be on the other side of the door when it opened.  Jerry was a regular customer.  He and Manasha were always very nice when I came to the door, that is, after the usual attack by their 2 giant, goofy Newfoundlands, who were always trying to grab the pizza out of my hands.  A bit unrelated, but I often delivered large orders to Skywalker Ranch which was always a memorable experience, but that is for another thread.

I only met Robert Hunter maybe 2 or 3 times, but he was a very nice guy.

 

[Hammer Smokin']

I would like to sit down and enjoy a couple cold ones with ya...

I bet you'd have some awesome stories.

Bob has always been a little of a premadonna. But now, it's Bob F*cking Weir!

Back in the 70's and 80's, it was more "bob weir, what are you doing?"

[Grateful13]

5 minutes ago, SigmundChurchill said:

In 1990 I lived in San Rafael for a couple of years, and then Mill Valley after that, so it was pretty normal to run into those guys at places like the supermarket, the bagel store, etc.  They were all very down to earth, except maybe Bobby.  He wasn’t bad, but he seemed to have a bit more of an ego than the other guys.  

I was a graduate student at the time, and at night, I delivered Italian food.  We had the only decent pizza in the county, so I got to deliver to some pretty cool people.  I never knew who was going to be on the other side of the door when it opened.  Jerry was a regular customer.  He and Manasha were always very nice when I came to the door, that is, after the usual attack by their 2 giant, goofy Newfoundlands, who were always trying to grab the pizza out of my hands.  A bit unrelated, but I often delivered large orders to Skywalker Ranch which was always a memorable experience, but that is for another thread.

I only met Robert Hunter maybe 2 or 3 times, but he was a very nice guy.

 

Did you liberate the Pizza Tapes? ?

[Deeg]

12 minutes ago, SigmundChurchill said:

In 1990 I lived in San Rafael for a couple of years, and then Mill Valley after that, so it was pretty normal to run into those guys at places like the supermarket, the bagel store, etc.  They were all very down to earth, except maybe Bobby.  He wasn’t bad, but he seemed to have a bit more of an ego than the other guys.  

I was a graduate student at the time, and at night, I delivered Italian food.  We had the only decent pizza in the county, so I got to deliver to some pretty cool people.  I never knew who was going to be on the other side of the door when it opened.  Jerry was a regular customer.  He and Manasha were always very nice when I came to the door, that is, after the usual attack by their 2 giant, goofy Newfoundlands, who were always trying to grab the pizza out of my hands.  A bit unrelated, but I often delivered large orders to Skywalker Ranch which was always a memorable experience, but that is for another thread.

I only met Robert Hunter maybe 2 or 3 times, but he was a very nice guy.

 

What kind of a tipper was Jerry?

[SigmundChurchill]

1 minute ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

I would like to sit down and enjoy a couple cold ones with ya...

I bet you'd have some awesome stories.

Bob has always been a little of a premadonna. But now, it's Bob F*cking Weir!

Back in the 70's and 80's, it was more "bob weir, what are you doing?"

You never know.  The cigar world isn’t that big, maybe we will meet up for those cold ones one day.?

In my whole collection of pictures, this will always be my favorite one.  

Jerry just got back from scuba diving in Hawaii, so he was all relaxed and tan.  After telling me about the scuba trip, we had a long conversation about virtual reality, which, at the time, was something I never heard of.  But Jerry knew a lot about it.  He was telling me about all the cool things we will be able to do with it in the future.  I wish he lived to see it.

 

[SigmundChurchill]

3 minutes ago, Deeg said:

What kind of a tipper was Jerry?

Great tipper.  Always rounded up.  He liked a weird combination of extra sauce, light on the cheese.  It was something like $12, but he would always give me a $20 and let me keep the change.