Grateful Dead Family Discography: Red Rocking Chair

Red Rocking Chair

Composer: Traditional

Red Rocking Chair was performed by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman in the 1990's. It's likely that the New Lost City Ramblers version of the song was the inspiration for the Garcia/Grisman version. The song was also performed by Garcia with the Hart Valley Drifters in late 1962. On the Hart Valley Drifters archive album it is given the title Sugar Baby.

It's possible that the song was also performed by Old & In The Way as the title Honey Babe occurs on an uncirculated tape for their March 3, 1973 show.

Red Rocking Chair is one title in a family of songs that also includes Sugar Baby, Sugar Babe, Honey Babe, Honey Baby Blues and Red Apple Juice. Some of these songs are very similar other differ to some extent. Note that there are other, different, songs with titles like Honey Babe or Sugar Babe.

Jerry Garcia recordings

Folk Time, Hart Valley Drifters, 2016

Other recordings

Red Rocking Chair
no info Bascom Lamar Lunsford, 1929
no info Charlie Monroe, 1945
no info Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners, 1949
no info Single, Carl Story and his Rambling Mountaineers, 195?
no info Single (Red Rocking Chair / I Know I've Lost You), Country Gentlemen, 1961
Sing And Play Folk Songs And Bluegrass, The Country Gentlemen, 1961
The New Lost City Ramblers, Vol. 3, The New Lost City Ramblers, 1961
Bluegrass At Carnegie Hall, The Country Gentlemen, 1962
More Banjo In The Hills, Various Artists (Country Gentlemen), 1962
String Band Project, Various Artists (The Mother Bay State Entertainers), 1965
The Flat-Picker's Guitar Guide: An Advanced Instruction Record, Jerry Silverman, 1966
Don Reno and Bill Harrell with the Tennesse Cutups, Don Reno and Bill Harrell with the Tennesse Cutups, 1967
no info Early Rural String Bands, Various Artists (Charlie Monroe and the Kentucky Pardners), 1968
no info Alleged in Their Own Time, The Holy Modal Rounders, 1975
Sings Songs Of Memory Lane Of His Uncle Charlie Monroe, James Monroe, 1976
no info Prairie Bluegrass, Bray Brothers & Red Cravens, 1976
Blue Grass Sring Band, Vol. 2, The Virginia Mountain Boys, 1977
no info Live, As We Know It, Hotmud Family, 1979
no info Red Rocking Chair, Doc and Merle Watson, 1981
no info Live in Japan, J.D. Crowe & the New South, 1982
Brandywine '83, Various Artists (Lily Mae Ledford), 1984
no info Making The Break, Walt Presley, Wayne Stacy & the Frosty Mountain Boys, 1984
Our Own, Jeff Winegar & Fred Meyer, 1985
no info A Lie of the Mind, Red Clay Ramblers, 1986
no info Forked Deer, Dan Gellert and Shoofly, 1986
no info A Song That Will Linger, Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin, 1988
no info Bluegrass At Carnegie Hall, Country Gentlemen, 1990
Folk Songs & Bluegrass, The Country Gentlemen, 1991
Grassroots to Bluegrass, Mac Wiseman, 1990
Muleskinner Live, Muleskinner, 1994
Rhythm of the Mountains, Various Artists (Mac Wiseman), 1994
no info Mountain Music Collection, Vol. 2: Fair and Tender Ladies, Various Artists (Mac Wiseman), 1994
no info Live at Last, Dry Branch Fire Squad, 1996
Watson Country, Doc Watson , 1996
Banjo Jamboree, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 1996
20 Bluegrass Favorites, Don Reno and Bill Harrell, 1997
no info Unicorn, Hesperus, 1997
High Lonesome: Complete Starday Recordings, The Country Gentlemen, 1998
no info Georgia Stomps, Atlanta Struts & Other Dance, John Fahey, 1998
Sounds Like Bluegrass to Me, Tony Ellis, 1999
no info Southern Mountain Classics, Wayne Erbsen, 1999
no info West Virginia Woman, Karen MacKay, 199?
Prairie Bluegrass, Bray Brothers & Red Cravens, 2000
no info Little Birdie, Jim & Jennie and the Pinetops, 2000
no info The Ballad Operas: The Martins & The Coys, Various Artists (Hally Wood & Pete Seeger), 2000
no info 14 Fabulous Tracks, Doc & Merle Watson, 2000
no info Where the Wild Birds Do Whistle, Atwater-Donnelly, 2000
no info Forks of the Ivy, John Rigsby, 2000
no info Something Different, Southern Pride, 2000
no info Up18North, Krüger Brothers, 2002
Crazy People, The Rowan Brothers, 2002
Gold Rush at Copper Creek, Various Artists (Tony Ellis), 2002
Run Mountain: North American Songs & Ballads, Kieron Means, 2002
Rhythm of the Mountains: Bluegrass Explores Its Roots, Various Artists (Mac Wiseman), 2002
Mountain Treasures, George Shuffler & Laura Boosinger, 2003
no info Gambling Eden, Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem, 2003
no info Legends of Bluegrass, Various Artists (Charlie Monroe), 2004
no info Cracks in the Floor, Carter Brothers, 2004
2004 Twilight Concert Series, Various Artists (Doc Watson), 2004
no info Rivers Roll on By, Jim and Jennie and the Pinetops, 2005
no info Two Wings, Lauren Sheehan, 2005
no info Who's Been Here Since I've Been Gone, Dyad, 2005
Feuding Banjos: Revenge of the Citybillys, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 2005
Blockbuster Bluegrass, Various Artists (Laura Boosinger), 2006
Red Rocking Chair, Breakin' Nu Ground, 2006
no info Sea Changes and Coelacanths: A Young Person's Guide to John Fahey, John Fahey, 2006
no info Black Mountain Rag, Doc Watson & Merle Watson, 2006
no info Post-War Country Classics: 1946-1950, Charlie Monroe, 2006
no info Bashful Mountain Broadcasters, Bashful Mountain Broadcasters, 2006
no info Bluegrass Heritage, Vol. 2: Roots and Branches: 25 More Bluegrass Classics, Various Artists (Don Reno & Bill Harrell), 2005
In the Mountaintops to Roam, David Peterson & 1946, 2006
Lee Hammons: Complete Banjo Recordings, Lee Hammons, 200?
25 Bluegrass Classics: Vintage 60's: Songs of Rural America, Various Artists (Don Reno), 2002
Bluegrass Heritage, Vol. 2: Roots and Branches: 25 More Bluegrass Classics, Various Artists (Don Reno), 2005
Black Mountain Rag, Doc & Merle Watson, 2006
I'm Old Kentucky Bound, Charlie Monroe, 2007
no info Log Cabin Songs, Wayne Erbsen & Laura Boosinger, 2007
no info Doin My Job, The Dappled Grays, 2007
no info Sound Traditions: That Good Ol' Bluegrass, Various Artists (Don Reno), 2008
no info Green Rocky Road, Karen Dalton, 2008
Sat 730, Deadwood Revival, 2009

Sugar Baby / Sugar Babe or Ain't Got No Sugar Baby Now
no info Dock Boggs, 1927
Anthology Of American Folk Music, Vol. 3: Songs, Various Artists (Dock Boggs), 1952
Old Time Music At Newport 1963, Various Artists (Dock Boggs), 1964
Dock Boggs, Vol. 2, Dock Boggs, 1965
Another Monday, John Renbourn, 1966
Jim Kweskin's America, Jim Kweskin, 1971
no info Grass The Way You Like It, Jim Orange & the Orange Blossoms, 1977
Mike Seeger and Alice Gerrard, Mike Seeger and Alice Gerrard, 1980
His Twelve Original Recordings, Dock Boggs, 1983
Old Time North Carolina Mountain Music, David and Billie Ray Johnson, 1985
no info Folk Blues of John Renbourne, John Renbourne, 1988
no info Hannah at the Springhouse, Melvin Wine, 1989
no info Shady Grove, Morgan Sexton, 1995
no info Happy Man, Stephen Barry, 1995
no info John Renbourn/Another Monday, John Renbourn, 1996
no info Country Blues: Complete Early Recordings (1927-1929), Dock Boggs, 1997
no info Ticket to Transatlantic, Various Artists (John Renbourn), 1997
The Harry Smith Connection: A Live Tribute, Various Artists (Roger McGuinn, Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett), 1998
His Folkways Years: 1963-1968, Dock Boggs, 1998
North Carolina Banjo Collection, Various Artists (Scotty Wiseman), 1998
no info American Folk Music, Various Artists (Dock Boggs), 2000
no info Prayers From Hell: White Gospel & Sinner's Blues, 1927-1940, Various Artists (Dock Boggs), 2000
no info The Ballad Operas: The Martins & The Coys, Various Artists (Lily May Ledford and Pete Seeger), 2000
no info The Willies, Bill Frisell, 2002
no info Songcatcher II: The Tradition That Inspired the Movie, Various Artists (Dock Boggs), 2002
no info Songs from an Eastside Attic, Various Artists (Head Patrol), 2002
no info Times Ain't Like They Used to Be, Vol. 8: Early American Rural Music, Various Artists (Dock Boggs), 2003
no info Fried My Little Brains, The Kills, 2003
Friends Across The Pond, Various Artists (Ron Mullennex), 2004
Garden Of Joy / Jim Kweskin's America, Jim Kweskin, 2005
Fonotone Records, Various Artists (Happy Johnny), 2005
The Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited, Various Artists (Kate & Anna McGarrigle), 2006
no info The Good Work of the Dead, Michael Nace & The Nace Family, 2006
Banjo Gathering, Various Artists (Scott Ainslie), 2007
no info Double, Michael Jerome Browne, 2008
Bowling Green, Alice Gerrard and Mike Seeger, 2008

Honey Baby / Honey Babe / Honey Babe Blues or Ain't Got No Honey Baby Now
Folk Songs and Instrumentals With Guitar, Elizabeth Cotten, 1958
no info Old-Time Music at Clarence Ashley's, Part 1, Clarence Ashley, 1961
no info Sandy and Jeanie Darlington, Sandy and Jeanie Darlington, 1966
Waitress In A Donut Shop, Maria Muldaur, 1974
Close To Home, Roscoe Holcomb, 1975
Freight Train and Other North Carolina Folk Songs and Tunes, Elizabeth Cotten, 1989
no info Remembering Merle, Doc & Merle Watson, 1992
Original Folkways Recordings of Doc Watson and Clarence Ashley, 1960-1962, Clarence Ashley and Doc Watson , 1994
no info Songs From the Southern Mountains, Doc Watson & Family, 1994
no info Solomon Poss Presents Vanguard Records vs. Sugar Hill Records: A Vanguard and Sugar Hill Sampler, Various Artists (Doc Watson), 19??
no info Who Says There's No Beach in Stockport, Pete Farrow, 2000
no info A Stringband from Chattanooga, Citico, 2003
Trouble in Mind: Doc Watson Country Blues Collection, Doc Watson, 2003
An Untamed Sense of Control, Roscoe Holcomb, 2003
Livin' With the Blues, Vassar Clements, 2004
no info Sittin' Here Pickin' The Blues, Doc & Merle Watson, 2004
no info Time Again, Dirk Powell, 2004
no info Early Song, Faun Fables, 2004
no info Five Miles from Town, David Lovett & Friends, 2005
no info Early Country Radio, The Carter Family, 2005
no info Old School, Mountain Style, The Southern Schoolhouse Rascals, 2006
no info Scale Down, Rising Appalachia, 2007
Movin' On, Gee Gee Kettel & Soluna Samay, 2007

Red Apple Juice
no info Tell the World About This, The Tarriers, 1959
no info The Joys of Love, Little Sisters, 1963
no info A Portrait of Nancy, Nancy Ames, 1963
5-String Banjo Greats, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 1964
no info Two Sides of Benji Aronoff, Benji Aronoff, 1965
no info Versatile, Nancy Ames, 1966
Feuding Banjos, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 1973
no info Streets, Ralph McTell, 1975
The Very Best of Country Banjo, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 1975
no info Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Been, Spider John Koerner, 1986
no info Saturday Rolling Around, The GP's, 1991
Feuding Banjos, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 1992
no info Loud & Lonesome, Eric Ambel & Roscoe's Gang, 1995
no info Streets of London, Ralph McTell, 1995
Best of Bluegrass: 18 Banjo Favorites, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 1995
Banjo Jamboree, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 1996
Banjo Festival, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 1997
Ad Astra Per Aspera, Bingo, 2001
no info Moutain Breakdown: The Bluegrass Collection, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 2002
no info The Best of the Bluegrass Tradition, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 2002
Mountain Breakdown: The Bluegrass Collection, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 2002
no info Bluegrass Roots, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 2003
Feuding Banjos: Revenge of the Citybillys, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 2005
Bluegrass Banjo, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 2005
Traditional Banjo Music of the Ozarks, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 2005
The Journey: Recordings 1965 - 2006, Ralph McTell, 2006
Feuding Banjos: Bluegrass Banjo Of The Southern Mountains, Various Artists (Dick Rosmini), 2006
11/09/11, Bloomington, IL, Yonder Mountain String Band, 2011
11/2/11, Pittsburgh, PA, Yonder Mountain String Band, 2011