Grateful Dead Family Discography: Pike County Breakdown

Pike County Breakdown

Composer: Rupert Jones / Bill Monroe?

Pike County Breakdown is an instrumental that was performed by the Wildwood Boys at the Tangent in Palo Alto on February 23rd 1963. The Wildwood Boys were a group that existed, on and off, for over 6 months. Group members were Jerry Garcia, Norman Van Maastricht, Robert Hunter and David Nelson.

Authorship of Pike County Breakdown is uncertain. The on-line HFA, BMI and Library of Congress sites and some LP/CDs credit Rupert Jones as the sole writer. Other recordings credit Bill Monroe or Jones and Monroe. In Bluegrass 1950-1955 by Charles K Wolff and Neil V Rosenberg, Bill Monroe is quoted as saying "I wanted to write something and title it after something up in the eastern part of Kentucky. You remember Sweet Betsy From The Pike? I listened to that and wrote the Pike County Breakdown."

Jerry Garcia recordings

Before The Dead, Jerry Garcia, 2018

Other recordings

no info Single (Pike County Breakdown / Old Salty Dog Blues), Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs & the Foggy Mountain Boys, 1952
no info Single (Mighty Pretty Waltz / Pike County Breakdown), Bill Monroe, 1952
no info EP, Green Valley Boys, 1953
no info EP (Pike Country Breakdown /New Mule Skinner Blues / Uncle Pen / Blue Moon Of Kentucky), Bill Monroe, 1956
Country Music, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys, 1958
The Original Sound of Flatt and Scruggs, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys, 1963
no info Original Theme from Bonnie & Clyde, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs & the Foggy Mountain Boys, 1968
no info The Original Foggy Mountain Breakdown, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs & the Foggy Mountain Boys, 1968
no info They Cut Down The Old Pine Tree, Curly Ray Cline, 1971
no info Sacred Songs and Mountain Ballads, Lee Allen & the Dew Mountain Boys, 1972
no info Old Grass / New Grass, Country Comfort, 1974
no info The World's Greatest Ten String Banjo Picker, Cranford & Company, 1974
no info Heartlands, Tony Trischka, 1975
no info Bluegrass Tarheels, Bluegrass Tarheels, 1975
Live At McClure, Ralph Stanley & Guests, 1976
no info Pickin' And Singin', Barrier Brothers, 1977
no info A Tribute to Charlie Monroe, Bobby Atkins & the Countrymen, 1977
no info Bluegrass Kinsmen, Bluegrass Kinsmen, 1979
no info Acoustic Steel, Dan Huckabee, 1980
Down Home, Volume 1, Various Artists (Bill Monroe), 1986
Classic Bluegrass Instrumentals, Bill Monroe & his Blue Grass Boys, 1987
no info Mercury Sessions, Vol. 1, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs & the Foggy Mountain Boys, 1987
Live at the Opry: Celebrating 50 Years on the Grand Ole Opry, Bill Monroe, 1989
Ralph Stanley And Raymond Fairchild, Ralph Stanley And Raymond Fairchild, 1989
Bluegrass 1950-1958, Bill Monroe, 1990
Bluegrass 1959-1969, Bill Monroe, 1991
Complete Mercury Sessions, Flatt and Scruggs, 1992
1948-1959, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, 1992
no info Newfoundland Bluegrass, Crooked Stovepipe, 1993
no info Don't Mean Maybe, John Hickman, 1994
The Music Of Bill Monroe, Bill Monroe, 1994
no info The Best of Bluegrass, Vol. 1, Various Artists (Flatt & Scruggs), 1994
no info Bluegrass '95, Scott Vestal et al, 1995
Stanley Series, Vol. 3 #4, Stanley Brothers, 1996
Out Of The Frying Pan, Jon Sholle, 1997
no info Harlan County Five String, Steve Sparkman, 1997
Blue Ridge Mountain Banjo, Various Artists (Scott Vestal et al), 1997
no info The Early Years, Tony Trischka, 1998
no info Golden Gate Promenade, Butch Waller, 1999
Bluegrass Special, Red Allen, 19??
American Traveler, Bill Monroe, 2000
33 Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals, Clarence White, 2000
no info 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of, Flatt & Scruggs, 2001
no info My Cabin in Caroline, Flatt & Scruggs, 2001
no info Foggy Mountain Breakdown, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs & the Foggy Mountain Boys, 2001
no info Hit Parade of Love, Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys, 2001
no info Glory on the Big String, Rafe Stefanini, 2001
no info Live at Midnight, Black Mountain Bluegrass Boys, 2001
no info Memories of Foggy Mountain, Josh Graves, 2002
The Complete Mercury Recordings, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and The Foggy Mountain Boys, 2003
no info Alive & Pickin', Upland Express, 2003
July 1963: Two Days at Newport, Bill Monroe, 2003
The Essential Earl Scruggs, Earl Scruggs, 2004
no info Selected Sides 1947-1953: The Very Best of Bluegrass, Flatt & Scruggs/Stanley Brothers, 2004
no info A Proper Introduction to Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, Flatt & Scruggs, 2004
no info Down the Road, Flatt & Scruggs, 2005
no info Mountain Breakdown: Presenting, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, 2006
no info Murders, Drownings and Lost Loves, Danny Knicely and Will Lee, 2006
no info Vintage Bluegrass Masters, Various Artists (Flatt & Scruggs), 2006
no info Sound Traditions: Burnin' Up the Strings, Various Artists (Bobby Atkins & Vassar Clements), 2006
Bluegrass Holiday, J.D.Crowe & the Kentucky Mountain Boys, 2007 (CD bonus track)
Bluegrass 1981-1994: My Last Days on Earth, Bill Monroe, 2007
Gloria's Waltz, Jim Nunally, 2007
no info Steppin' Out, Jason Davis, 2007
no info Bluegrass Masters, Various Artists (Flatt & Scruggs), 2007
Front Porch Pickin', Various Artists (Eanes / Atkins / Clements), 2008
no info Bluegrass Goes Back to the Future, Various Artists (Jim Eanes, Bobby Atkins, Vassar Clements), 2008
1950-1958 (JSP box set), Bill Monroe And His Bluegrass Boys, 2009
Live On The Radio March 20, 1966, Red Allen & The Kentuckians, 2010