Sugar Magnolia (3:13)

As I mentioned yesterday, Weir’s “Sugar Magnolia” was the first Dead song that I learned on the guitar, and I took a folk guitar with me when I first drove cross-country from Philadelphia to California when I was 18 (in my brand new emerald green AMC Gremlin) – and must have sung it for many dozens along the way. So today, as promised, I worked up a version of “Sugar Magnolia” for you. I literally haven’t played this song for at least 30 years and wasn’t sure if my fingers would remember how to play it, but here it is.

OK. Here’s my Bob Weir story about the time when I physically protected Bob Weir from his fans on-stage during an encore of “One More Saturday Night” at a concert in LA. I had found myself alone in the wings for the encore (how I got there is a story for another time, but it had to do with our mutual interest in supporting efforts to cure international blindness). Anyway, anyone who has ever been to a Grateful Dead show knows that there is a lot of dancing, including many ‘whirling dervishes.’

Well,  during the encore some of the more uncontrolled dancers jumped up on stage in front of Bob Weir and were getting closer by the second. He looks to his left and gestured in my direction to come out on stage to help get the situation under control. I looked behind me, assuming I’d see a roadie or someone used to this kind of stuff, but there was nobody there but me.  When he gestured to me more urgently, out I went, crouched in front of him and as gently as possible, tried to guide the threatening dancers off the stage while he finished up singing “One More Saturday Night.”

It may have just been one more Saturday night for him, but for me, it was pretty surreal – ambling off the stage with the band and hearing Brent Mydland say “OK, I guess it’s Miller time.”

Rest in Peace, Bob.

Dr. Weiss