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Grateful Dead

The Other One

Anthem of the Sun · 1968 · Bob Weir / Bill Kreutzmann

GLI10

Pure Garcia

Confidence 95% · evidence quality, not position

Jerry Garcia and Mickey Hart on stage at Red Rocks, 11 August 1987. — Mark L. Knowles (User:Grateful Dead) · CC BY-SA 3.0

It began as the middle of a composed suite. The band kept only the part that left room.

GARCIAPerformance creates the music

DEAD CENTERNeither wins

LENNONComposition creates the music

100

The Other One · 10

Hollow marks: the other 49 scored songs · Hatched band: the Crossover Zone

The case

The strongest honest argument for each side, then the ruling.

The Garcia argument

What is fixed is a rhythmic cell and two short verses. Everything between verse one and verse two is open, and the band used that opening in at least 586 known performances. The piece breaks down into free playing, swallows other songs whole and comes back when somebody decides it should. Where it starts and where it ends move from night to night.

The Lennon argument

It began as the centre of a composed suite on Anthem of the Sun, with a written prelude and reprise on either side. The riff is rigid, and Weir sings the same words to the same melody every time. Next to Dark Star, more of the frame is nailed down.

The verdict: GLI 10

The suite fell away and the band kept the part that left room. The riff gives the players something to push against without telling them what to play. It is a little more specified than Dark Star, so it sits a little to its right.

What is fixed

The triplet riff
Two verses
The bass entry that announces it

What is open

Duration
Everything between the verses
Whether the pulse holds
What it swallows or leads into

Evidence dimensions

Each runs from 0, Garcia, to 100, Lennon. Their weighted composite is 9. The published GLI is 10, 1 higher after comparison with neighbouring songs. The allowed margin is 6.

Structural FixityHow much of sequence, form and duration is settled beforehand?

Elastic

Fixed

A rhythmic cell and two short verses. Everything between them is unmeasured.

Performance ConsistencyHow far can two performances differ and still be the same work?

Transformative

Reproducible

The entry, the exit and the middle all move. It regularly dissolves into free playing and absorbs other songs.

PredeterminationHow much of what matters exists before the performance begins?

Emergent

Predetermined

The riff says how to push, not what to play.

Development MethodHow does the music move forward?

Exploratory

Composed

Interaction around a pulse, with the band free to abandon the pulse.

Recording SpecificityDoes the recording document an occurrence, or define the object?

Documents event

Defines work

The Anthem of the Sun version is a studio collage of live tapes, and the band left it behind almost at once.

Transformational tolerance

It survived losing the suite it was written into. What it cannot lose is the galloping figure.

Confidence: 95%

At least 586 documented performances across 27 years.

Keep arguing

Every placement is relative. These are the songs this one was measured against.

The record

First released inside the suite "That's It for the Other One" on Anthem of the Sun.Source ↗
Played at least 586 times, which puts it among the band's most-performed pieces.Source ↗
Still in the set at Soldier Field on 8 July 1995.Source ↗

Where the sources disagree

First performance: 3 February 1968 (dead.net), 17 February 1968 (setlist.fm) or October 1967 (deaddisc).

Catalog facts

Catalog no.: GLI·GD·002
Artist: Grateful Dead
Writers: Bob Weir / Bill Kreutzmann
Release: Released as the middle section of "That's It for the Other One", Anthem of the Sun, 18 July 1968.
Released: 18 July 1968
Duration: 7:40 (full suite)
Performed: 586 times (dead.net ("at least 586 times that we know of")); 497 per setlist.fm
First played: 3 February 1968
Last played: 8 July 1995

Sources

Classified 5 October 2026