The Closing of Winterland
Encyclopedia
The Closing of Winterland is a 4 CD soundtrack of the Grateful Dead
's New Year's Eve show 1978. The concert was also released as a 2 disc DVD. The title derives from the fact that it was the last concert in San Francisco's Winterland Arena
, which was shut down shortly thereafter. The Dead celebrated the Closing as an approximately five hour long party (complete with breakfast with the audience at dawn) and invited some guests including guitarist John Cipollina
of Quicksilver Messenger Service
and Ken Kesey
as well as actor Dan Aykroyd
who provided the midnight countdown. It was certified
Double Platinum by the RIAA
on December 15, 2003 under the category of longform video, selling 200,000 units.
Preordered box sets included a bonus CD containing an additional nine tracks recorded on New Year's Eve in 1971, 1972 and 1977.
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
's New Year's Eve show 1978. The concert was also released as a 2 disc DVD. The title derives from the fact that it was the last concert in San Francisco's Winterland Arena
Winterland Ballroom
The Winterland Ballroom, often referred to as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland, was an old ice skating rink and 5,400-seat music venue in San Francisco, California...
, which was shut down shortly thereafter. The Dead celebrated the Closing as an approximately five hour long party (complete with breakfast with the audience at dawn) and invited some guests including guitarist John Cipollina
John Cipollina
John Cipollina was a guitarist best known for his role as a founder and the lead guitarist of the prominent San Francisco rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service...
of Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band, formed in 1965 in San Francisco.-Introduction:Quicksilver Messenger Service gained wide popularity in the Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe and several of their albums ranked...
and Ken Kesey
Ken Kesey
Kenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a...
as well as actor Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
who provided the midnight countdown. It was certified
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
Double Platinum by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
on December 15, 2003 under the category of longform video, selling 200,000 units.
Preordered box sets included a bonus CD containing an additional nine tracks recorded on New Year's Eve in 1971, 1972 and 1977.
Disc One
- "Sugar Magnolia" (Robert HunterRobert Hunter (lyricist)Robert C. Hunter is an American lyricist, singer-songwriter, translator, and poet, best known for his association with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead.-Biography:He was born Robert Burns in San Luis Obispo, California...
, Bob WeirBob WeirBob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
) – 7:21 - "Scarlet BegoniasScarlet Begonias"Scarlet Begonias" is a song by the Grateful Dead in 4/4 time. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music by Jerry Garcia. The song first appears on the 1974 release Grateful Dead from the Mars Hotel....
" (Hunter, Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
) – 11:55 - "Fire on the Mountain" (Hunter, Mickey HartMickey HartMickey Hart is an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band the Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971, and from October 1974 to August 1995...
) – 13:12 - "Me and My Uncle" (John Phillips) – 3:11
- "Big River" (Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
) – 7:05 - "Friend of the Devil" (John Dawson, Hunter, Garcia) – 10:48
- "It's All Over Now" (Bobby WomackBobby WomackRobert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...
, Shirley Womack) – 8:55 - "Stagger Lee" (Hunter, Garcia) – 8:03
- "From the Heart of Me" (Donna GodchauxDonna GodchauxDonna Jean Godchaux-MacKay is an American singer best known for having been a member of the Grateful Dead rock group.-Biography:...
) – 3:49 - "Sunshine Daydream" (Hunter, Weir) – 3:15
Disc Two
- "Samson and Delilah" (traditional, arr. Weir) – 9:17
- "Ramble on Rose" (Hunter, Garcia) – 9:35
- "I Need a Miracle" (John BarlowJohn Perry BarlowJohn Perry Barlow is an American poet and essayist, a retired Wyoming cattle rancher, and a cyberlibertarian political activist who has been associated with both the Democratic and Republican parties. He is also a former lyricist for the Grateful Dead and a founding member of the Electronic...
, Weir) – 11:19 - "Lady with a Fan" / "Terrapin Station" (Hunter, Garcia) – 12:23
- "Playing in the Band" (Hunter, Hart, Weir) – 13:06
Disc Three
- "Rhythm Devils" (Hart, Bill Kreutzman) – 19:23
- "Not Fade AwayNot Fade Away (song)"Not Fade Away" is a song credited to Buddy Holly and Norman Petty and first recorded by Holly's band The Crickets in Clovis, New Mexico, on May 27, 1957...
" (Buddy HollyBuddy HollyCharles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
, Norman PettyNorman PettyNorman Petty was an American musician, songwriter, and pioneer record producer who helped shape modern popular music, including pop and rock....
) – 19:34 - "Around and AroundAround and Around"Around and Around" is a 1958 rock song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry. It originally appeared under the name "Around & Around" as the B-side to the single "Johnny B. Goode".- The Rolling Stones :...
" (Chuck BerryChuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
) – 9:19
Disc Four
- "Dark Star" (Hunter, Garcia, Hart, Kreutzman, Phil LeshPhil LeshPhillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
, Pigpen, Weir) – 12:05 - "The Other One" (Kreutzman, Weir) – 4:45
- "Dark Star" (Hunter, Garcia, Hart, Kreutzman, Lesh, Pigpen, Weir) – 1:15
- "Wharf Rat" (Hunter, Garcia) – 11:00
- "Saint Stephen" (Hunter, Garcia, Lesh) – 7:52
- "Good Lovin'" (Artie Resnick, Rudy Clark) – 11:00
- "Casey Jones" (Hunter, Garcia) – 5:17
- "Johnny B. Goode" (Berry) – 4:42
- "And We Bid You Goodnight" (trad., arr. Grateful Dead) – 1:30
Disc Five (Bonus)
- "Easy Wind" – 9:35
- "Jam" – 2:07
- "Black Peter" – 8:42
- "Playing in the Band" – 18:26
- "Lazy Lightning" – 3:36
- "Supplication" – 5:35
- "Sugar Magnolia" – 11:59
- "Scarlet Begonias" – 8:48
- "Fire on the Mountain" – 10:06
Grateful Dead
- Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
– guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Bob WeirBob WeirBob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
– guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, vocals - Phil LeshPhil LeshPhillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
– electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Donna GodchauxDonna GodchauxDonna Jean Godchaux-MacKay is an American singer best known for having been a member of the Grateful Dead rock group.-Biography:...
– vocals - Keith GodchauxKeith GodchauxKeith Richard Godchaux was a musician best known for his tenure in the rock group the Grateful Dead.-Biography:Keith Godchaux was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Concord, California...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Mickey HartMickey HartMickey Hart is an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band the Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971, and from October 1974 to August 1995...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Bill Kreutzman – drums, percussion
Guests
- Bill GrahamBill Graham (promoter)Bill Graham was an American impresario and rock concert promoter from the 1960s until his death.-Early life:...
– master of ceremonies - Dan AykroydDan AykroydDaniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
– midnight countdown - John CipollinaJohn CipollinaJohn Cipollina was a guitarist best known for his role as a founder and the lead guitarist of the prominent San Francisco rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service...
– guitar - Ken KeseyKen KeseyKenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a...
– thunder machine - Matthew KellyMatthew Kelly (musician)Matthew Kelly, also known as Matt Kelly, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He plays guitar and harmonica. Kelly is best known for being the leader of the rock band Kingfish, and for his association with Bob Weir and the Grateful Dead....
– harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes... - Lee OskarLee OskarLee Oskar is a Danish harmonica player, notable for his contributions to the sound of the rock-funk fusion group War, which he formed with Eric Burdon, his solo work, and as a harmonica manufacturer...
– harmonica - Greg ErricoGreg ErricoGreg Errico, sometimes missspelled as Gregg Errico, is an Italian American musician/record producer, best known for being the drummer for the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band, Sly & the Family Stone...
– drums
Production
- Producers – David Lemieux, Jeffrey Norman
- Mixing – Jeffrey Norman
- Archival research – Eileen Law
- Cover art – Stanley MouseStanley MouseStanley George Miller , better known as Mouse and Stanley Mouse, is an American artist, notable for his 1960s psychedelic rock concert poster designs and Grateful Dead album cover art.-Early life:...
, Alton Kelley - Photography – Ed Perlstein
- Additional photography – Michael Zagaris, Steve Schneider
- Package design & production – Robert Minkin
- Liner notes – Gary Lambert, Glenn Lambert