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Big Railroad Blues
Composer: Noah Lewis

Written by Noah Lewis who was a member of Cannon's Jug Stompers. There appear to be no recorded covers of the song prior to the release of the Grateful Dead version in 1971. The Dead, who first performed the song in 1966, presumably based their version of the song on the Cannon's Jug Stompers recording or on versions by contemporary groups who performed but did not record the song. Big Railroad Blues was a regular in Grateful Dead set lists from the end of 1970 through to 1973 and again through the first half of the 1980's. It was performed only rarely in other years.


Cannon's Jug Stompers

no info Single (Big Railroad Blues / Springdale Blues), 1928 (Victor 21351)
no info Single (Big Railroad Blues / Ripley Blues), 1928 (Bluebird 5287)
info The Complete Works In Chronological Order 1927-1930, 1975
info Jazz Tribune No. 51: Memphis Blues 1928-30, Various Artists, 1984
info The Complete Works: 1927-1930, 1989
info Complete Recorded Works Vol 1 1927-1928, 1990
info Legendary 1928-30 Recordings, 1994
info The Music Never Stopped: Roots of the Grateful Dead, Various Artists, 1995
info Ruckus Juice & Chitlins, Vol. 1, Various Artists, 1998
info The Best of Cannon's Jug Stompers, 2001
info The Roots Of The Grateful Dead & Jerry Garcia, Various Artists, 2001
info Gus Cannon and His Jug Stompers / Sleepy John Estes, 2002
info Memphis Jug Band / Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, 2005
info The Roots of the Grateful Dead, Various Artists, 2008
info Wembley Empire Pool, 4/8/1972, 2022
info Lyceum '72: The Complete Recordings, 2022
info Here Comes Sunshine 1973, 2023
info Dave's Picks Vol 48 Los Angeles, 11/20/71, 2023

Other recordings

info And Furthurmore, Hot Tuna, 1999
info Johnnie & The Lowdowns, Johnnie & The Lowdowns, 2004
info From The Archives 2/12/17, Voodoo Dead, 2020

 
Grateful Dead

info Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses), 1971
info Fruity, Various Artists, 1972
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 1, 1993
info Hundred Year Hall, 1995
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 13, 1999
info The Golden Road (1965-1973), 2001
info Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead, 2002
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 28, 2003
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 30, 2003
info Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack, 2004
info Rare Cuts and Oddities 1966, 2005
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 35, 2005
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 36, 2005
info Grateful Dead Download Vol. 3: 10/26/71, 2005
info Grateful Dead Download Vol. 8: 12/10/73, 2005
info Road Trips: Vol 1, Number 3: Summer 1971, 2008
info Road Trips: Vol 4, Number 3: Denver 1973, 2011
info Road Trips: Vol 4, No. 4: Spectrum 4.6.82, 2011
info Europe '72, The Complete Recordings, 2011
info Europe '72: London, 4/8/1972, 2011
info Europe '72: Newcastle, 4/11/1972, 2011
info Europe '72: Copenhagen, 4/17/1972, 2011
info Europe '72: Frankfurt, 4/26/1972, 2011
info Europe '72: Hamburg, 4/29/1972, 2011
info Europe '72: Paris, 5/4/1972, 2011
info Europe '72: Amsterdam, 5/10/1972, 2011
info Europe '72: Rotterdam, 5/11/1972, 2011
info Europe '72: Lille, 5/13/1972, 2011
info Europe '72: London, 5/23/1972, 2011
info Europe '72: London, 5/25/1972, 2011
info Dave's Picks Vol. 3: Chicago, 22/10/71, 2012
info Spring 1990 (box set), 2012
info Live Albums Collection, 2013
info Dave's Picks Vol 14: Academy Of Music, 3/26/72, 2015
info 30 Trips Around The Sun Box Set, 2015
info Dave's Picks Vol 22: New York, 12/7/71, 2017
info Dave's Picks Vol 26: Albuquerque, 11/17/71, 2018
info Dave's Picks Vol 27: Boise, 9/2/83, 2018
info Pacific Northwest '73-'74: Complete Recordings, 2018
info Portland Mem. Col. 5/19/74, 2018
info Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses) 50th Anniv. Ed., 2021
info Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 12/10/71, 2021
info Listen to the River: St. Louis '71 '72 '73, 2021
no info Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 12-10-71 5 LP edition, 2021

The Dead

info Dead '09: Washington, DC, April 14, 2009

Furthur

info Feb 12, 2010, Hampton, VA
info July 9, 2010, Masontown, WV
info September 26, 2010, Morrison, CO
info March 19, 2011, Upper Darby, PA
info July 26, 2011, Canandaigua, NY
info Sept 28, 2011, West Valley City, UT
info Nov 12, 2011, Atlantic City, NJ
info February 24, 2013, Broomfield, CO
info April 24, 2013, Port Chester, NY
info July 18, 2013, Boston, MA
info Oct 4, 2013, Los Angeles, CA

Dead & Company

info San Francisco, CA, 23 May, 2016
info Camden, NJ, 20 June, 2016
info Cuyahoga Falls, OH, 28 Jun, 2017
info Los Angeles, CA, 7 July, 2018
info Foxborough, MA, 22 Jun, 2019
info Hampton, VA, 9 Nov, 2019
info San Francisco, CA, 31 Dec, 2019
info New York, NY, Aug 20, 2021
info Hartford, CT, Sep 5, 2021
info Noblesville, IN, Sep 15, 2021
info Morrison, CO, Oct 19, 2021
info Phoenix, AZ, Oct 25, 2021
info Mountain View, CA, June 13, 2022
info Chicago, IL, June 25, 2022
info Burgettstown, PA, July 12, 2022
info Dallas, TX, May 26, 2023
info Maryland Heights, MO, June 7, 2023
info Saratoga Springs, NY, June 18, 2023
info George, WA, July 7, 2023
info San Francisco, CA, July 15, 2023

Phil Lesh & Friends

info November 8, 2014, Port Chester, NY, 2014
info November 22, 2014, Port Chester, NY, 2014
info November 7, 2015, Port Chester, NY, 2015
info February 28, 2016, Las Vegas, NV, 2016
info October 29, 2016, Port Chester, NY, 2016

Ratdog

info San Francisco CA, March 3, 2004
info Bozeman MT, March 10, 2004
info Rochester NY, March 19, 2004
info Jim Thorpe PA, March 27, 2004
info LaFayette GA, September 18, 2004
info Madison WI, March 29, 2005
info Mashantucket CT, April 9, 2005
info Washington DC, April 26, 2005
info Gilford, NH, September 2, 2005
info Baltimore, MD, November 2, 2005
info Jim Thorpe, PA, November 10, 2005
info St. Petersburg, FL, November 18, 2005
info Denver, CO, December 2, 2005
info Portland, OR, December 16, 2005
info Majesty of the Seas, Carribean Sea, Feb 5, 2006
info Norfolk, VA, March 18, 2006
info Poughkeepsie, NY, March 28, 2006
info Kansas City, MO, July 7, 2006
info Mansfield, MA, July 15, 2006
info Baltimore, MD, August 26, 2006
info St. Paul MN, October 22, 2006
info Albany NY, November 3, 2006
info San Francisco CA, February 14, 2007
info Rochester NY, March 3, 2007
info Jim Thorpe PA, March 17, 2007
info Cleveland OH, July 16, 2007
info Detroit Lakes MN, July 21, 2007
info Holmdel NJ, August 22, 2007
info University Park, PA, November 4, 2007
info Orlando FL, November 16, 2007
info Syracuse, NY, WI, March 29, 2008
info New York, NY, April 4, 2008
info Seattle, WA, June 21, 2008
info Quincy, CA, July 5, 2008
info Hiram, ME, August 10, 2008
info Canandaigua, NY, August 22, 2008
info Westbury, NY, October 31, 2008
info Bridgeport, CT, November 9, 2008
info Boca Raton, FL, November 22, 2008
info Negril, Jamaica, January 29, 2009
info Atlantic City, NJ, July 11, 2009
info Hampton Beach, NH, July 24, 2009
info Missoula, MT, August 26, 2009
info Upper Darby, PA, October 17, 2009
info Negril, Jamaica, January 26, 2010
info Montclair, NJ, February 20, 2014
info Port Chester, NY, March 1, 2014
info Knoxville, TN, March 14, 2014

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