Beat It on Down the Line

"Beat It on Down the Line" was written by the great Jesse Fuller, who performed it as a one-man band on 12-string guitar, harmonica, kazoo, high-hat cymbal, and fotdella (a six-string upright bass of his own invention and construction, played with his right foot). It was covered by the Grateful Dead on their first album, and most covers since have been of the Dead's version.

Unusually, this post begins with two audio clips because (1) I cannot find a video of Fuller performing this song, and (2) I really like the tambourine coming in on the third verse of the Dead's recording -- at 1:44. It is probably my single favorite moment in the entire Grateful Dead oeuvre -- which for some reason was not used in their live performances. There is also a video clip of Fuller at the bottom of this post.

Jesse Fuller probably would have gotten a kick out of this; not so sure about the Grateful Dead (although they might have gotten some tips from the vocals):

Different Line

Yet another line:

Definitely not influenced by the Grateful Dead (recorded before the Dead's first album):

Fiddle player is definitely channeling 1968

Just because I like the name of the tribute band (Dead Heads will get the allusion):

The Dead Covers Project of 2013 looks pretty interesting (or maybe pretty weird -- which would not be unexpected); will have to investigate.

 

Comments

[Walter Effross]

I agree that the Grateful Dead's rendition is classic, but it still could have used some cowbell.

[O Stanley]

Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions was an earlier incarnation of what became the Grateful Dead. It included Garcia, McKernan and Weir.

See this link:

http://www.musicbox-online.com/gd-mcree.html#axzz7r3LrnH6G

Keep up your work on early obscure musicians; it's good info.

[Jeff Rice]

The mere idea of imitation Dead bands crack me up. And like many superannuated groups, are their own imitation. Love listening to real Jesse Fuller tunes. And he is a good reminder of how the Dead are bearable for three minute long songs. They were okay as long as they stuck to covering country and blues numbers.