Cornell '77

The Music, the Myth, and the Magnificence of the Grateful Dead's Concert at Barton Hall

By: Peter Conners

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

On May 8, 1977, at Barton Hall, on the Cornell University campus, in front of 8,500 eager fans, the Grateful Dead played a show so significant that the Library of Congress inducted it into the National Recording Registry. The band had just released Terrapin Station and was still finding its feet after an extended hiatus. In 1977, the Grateful Dead reached a musical peak, and their East Coast spring tour featured an exceptional string of performances, including the one at Cornell.  

Many Deadheads claim that the quality of the live recording of the show made by Betty Cantor-Jackson (a member of the crew) elevated its importance. Once those recordings-referred to as "Betty Boards" - began to circulate among Deadheads, the reputation of the Cornell '77 show grew exponentially. With time the show at Barton Hall acquired legendary status in the community of Deadheads and audiophiles.  

Rooted in dozens of interviews - including a conversation with Betty Cantor-Jackson about her recording - Cornell '77 is about far more than just a single Grateful Dead concert. It is a social and cultural history of one of America's most enduring and iconic musical acts, their devoted fans, and a group of Cornell students whose passion for music drove them to bring the Dead to Barton Hall. Peter Conners has intimate knowledge of the fan culture surrounding the Dead, and his expertise brings the show to life. He leads listeners through a song-by-song analysis of the performance, from "New Minglewood Blues" to "One More Saturday Night," and conveys why, 40 years later, Cornell '77 is still considered a touchstone in the history of the band.  

As Conners notes in his Prologue: "You will hear from Deadheads who went to the show. You will hear from non-Deadhead Cornell graduates who were responsible for putting on the show in the first place. You will hear from record executives, academics, scholars, Dead family members, tapers, traders, and trolls. You will hear from those who still live the Grateful Dead every day. You will hear from those who would rather keep their Grateful Dead passions private for reasons both personal and professional. You will hear stories about the early days of being a Deadhead and what it was like to attend, and perhaps record, those early shows, including Cornell '77."

©2017 Peter Conners (P)2018 Tantor

Great Show to Start Of With

Just finishing this rockling,throughly entertaining audiobook, in the world of Deadheads, this show is spoken in hush tones as the best show that the band ever played, as a Deadhead whose first show was the also epic 11-17-73 UCLA Pauley Pavilion,
I have to have my say, that it's among the best shows that the Dead played, I mean c'mon it's like whose sibling is the best? It's an awesome show, but we are speaking about a group who each night inspires each other in playing improvisation, different time signatures for songs,slow or fast and play what they feel like, unlike rock groups who are forever tied to playing their greatest hits, The Dead celebrate the way music is played, heard and felt. Indeed Cornell '77 sails into the heavens with playing singing and just being in the moment, The NOW, like jazz musicians it's the call of the moment and oh how the Gods answered back.
I do agree that for a novice to hear Cornell '77 and just get the idea that this why we follow this band for decades and after Jerry's passings,the Dead and Company are taking up the torch and lead newbies and the tie died followers into new interpolations of the Dead's repertoire.
Indeed they're a band beyond of description like Jehovah's favorite choir and this book excels in describe this moment in time. Thank You Mr. Connors and Mr. Heller.

Well written and fun

Great background on the dead and just enough history to put this epic concert in historical perspective- made me go back to my dead colllection and relisten again to my old tapes

this should be made as a film.

this is a well put together audiobook rock doc, lots of neat little facts about the show. it's no long strange trip, but it's very focused on the Cornell show and does add a lot of little stories to the dead lore.

Amazing

I thought I new everything about the Grateful Dead but boy was I wrong. Peter Conners tells not only the story of Cornell '77 but also tells the story of the Grateful Dead. I recommend this book to anyone that calls themselves a Dead Head or anyone wanted to learn more about the Dead.

Great Album....

...Great book. very unique perspective over a short period of time. buy it, read it

The Golden Road to Unlimited Devotion

Anyone who is familiar with the Grateful Dead will understand the obsessiveness of the Deadhead community. Followers of the band are able to analyse and debate the merits of live shows with academic rigour and will articulate precisely why they consider that a certain soundboard recording of a certain show is superior to another. It helps that the Dead left behind a vast legacy of over 2,000 shows which, over the years, have been chronicled and debated in minute detail by aficionados and connoisseurs. It is widely regarded, although not exclusively so, that the concert that the Dead gave at Cornell University, upstate New York, 5/8/77 was the "best show ever". This is, of course, highly subjective and I would describe myself as "dead-lite" and have only listened to around 100 shows, but I do agree it was excellent and probably one of the best ever from what I hear from others. This excellent book by Peter Conners explains the background to Cornell 77 and quotes from fans who were there and describes the history of each song played citing the number of live performances of each and the first and last performance in a typically obsessive way that many have come to expect of Deadheads. It is a fitting tribute, not only to the show itself, but to a unique set of musicians that captured the imagination of a generation and whose legacy continues to shine and the unlimited devotion of their fans.