The passing of Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir has brought about a surge in streaming numbers for the iconic band’s music. According to Rolling Stone, data compiled by Luminate shows a significant increase in streams, with the band’s numbers reaching 9.5 million between Jan. 9 and Jan. 13, a 53% jump from the previous week. Among the tracks gaining attention, the band’s 1970 classic “Friend of the Devil” stands out as the most popular on Spotify, with an impressive 135,379,243 streams. Following closely behind are “Casey Jones” with 108,601,129 streams, “Ripple” with 99,051,275 streams, “Touch of Grey” with 84,014,048 streams, and “Althea” with 72,702,780 streams.
The live premiere of “Friend of the Devil” took place at the legendary Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York, shortly before the Grateful Dead began incorporating acoustic sets into their performances. The song’s inclusion on the album American Beauty catapulted it to instant popularity among Deadheads and remains one of the beloved tunes in their catalog. In a 1978 interview with Jeff Tamarkin, Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter reminisced about the collaborative process of writing “Friend of the Devil” with Jerry Garcia and John “Marmaduke” Dawson, lead singer of the New Riders of the Purple Sage.
“We were sitting around practicing one night and I had ‘Friend of the Devil’ more or less already written,” Hunter recalled. “I said, ‘Try this out,’ and [NRPS guitarist] David Nelson and John Dawson helped by smoothing out some of the rough changes…Then we went down to get some coffee and Marmaduke said, ‘It’s a real good song but it has one repeating line.’ The line was, ‘It looks like water but it tastes like wine,’ and he asked me if I could get anything punchier. I said, ‘I got it’ and came out with ‘A friend of the devil is a friend of mine.’” The next day, Garcia was caught listening to a tape of the song, leading to the Grateful Dead’s adoption of it.
The music history of the Grateful Dead is filled with stories like these, where collaborations and creative sparks led to timeless classics that resonate with audiences even decades later. As the streaming surge following Bob Weir’s passing demonstrates, the band’s music continues to touch the hearts of listeners around the world, keeping their legacy alive in the realm of rock and roll.
Peace Nero is a writer and blogger who loves to explore different topics of self-development. She shares her personal experiences in order to help people discover their true purpose in life.