Truckin' by Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead didn’t coin the phrase “keep on truckin’”—It first appeared in a '30s blues song by Blind Boy Fuller (later covered by Hot Tuna), and made its way to the hippie vernacular from there. Vintage blues fan R. Crumb created a famous cartoon based on Fuller’s lyric (Crumb’s character, the “doodah man,” made his way into the Dead lyric).

But the Dead’s “Truckin’” was one of their best-loved songs and a central piece of Dead mythology. Set to an easy-rolling country-blues groove, it includes some true stories from the band’s touring (the bust in New Orleans really happened) and wraps up with the most-quoted Dead line: “What a long strange trip it’s been.”

Yet the trip was less than half-over when this song was recorded in 1970; the Deadhead phenomenon would begin in earnest as their touring caravan built momentum in the early '70s.

"Truckin’" was the eighth most-frequently played song at Grateful Dead concerts.

Since the Dead’s drum parts were usually played by two drummers—or by one, very out-there drummer—they can be tough to master.

Don’t expect to be fixed on the same beat throughout the song. You’ll be switching from double to single hits, then single hits on the second note, then parts where the kick pedal drops in and out. Take some practice time to get into the Dead’s flow.

Different subgroups of the Grateful Dead have carried the torch since the death of leader Jerry Garcia in 1995. the surviving members played a benefit for Barack Obama in 2008.

“Truckin” as performed by Grateful Dead courtesy of Warner Music Group
Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, Bob Weir, Philip Lesh
Ice Nine Publishing Company (ASCAP). All rights reserved. Used by permission