"Friend of the Devil", The Grateful Dead, and GIVING SONGS
When I was a young man—I figure I was probably around 15 years old, I had these two friends: Josh and Jeff. This was in Visalia, CA, where I grew up. I was learning how to play guitar at the time—and I liked singing a lot too. I was very much interested in a lot of the music that was permeating the airwaves in the 1960’s, as well as, music that was part of the counter-culture in that era. This came fast on the heals of a lot of the grunge music that was big at the time of my teenage years, for my generation. It’s been humorous watching all the teenagers around now, 2023, wearing the clothing of “grunge” era musicians—much as we did at their age, wearing the tie die clothing, bell bottoms, and making the same aesthetic choices as those of our parents when they were are age. It’s a 30 year cycle of sorts that perpetually rears its head once more, as a way of making us laugh thirty years later, and perhaps to remember where we came from.
The Grateful Dead seemed to me to be the pinnacle of that counter culture. At the moment, at the age of 15, I had never listened to their music aside from an MTV music video for a song of theirs called “Touch of Grey.” Yet, I constantly saw Josh and Jeff wearing these beautiful tie-die t-shirt designs that screamed for a person’s attention: namely mine. So, eventually I asked: “Who are The Grateful Dead?” We were swimming in a pool at Jeff’s house at the time of my query.
He was happy hop out of the pool, and to show me their music, and I was so surprised by what it sounded like. It was country and rock and bluegrass and jam… all mixed into a lovely little package of beautiful.
The lyric writing on many of these songs were sublime. They told stories.
I’m 44 years old now. I love the Grateful Dead. I remember when Jerry Garcia passed away and how many people felt his loss. I remember attending a tribute show to Jerry in the Angeles National Forest with my brother Clark.
I remember a lot of things. Music often is the border collie that herds our memories out of the darker pastures of our subconscious, bringing memories and experiences, once again to the forefront.
At any rate: I was in Michigan on tour again this Summer, and every time I come to Michigan, I perform a cover song for a charity called GIVING SONGS.
You can learn more about what they do HERE, however, in short, the music they release every month helps fundraise and provide wheelchair accessible vehicle grants for families in need.
This year, I decided to get stoned and perform “Friend of the Devil” with another local talent from Michigan named Rob Nelson, who sang background vocals and also played lead guitar on this track, while I played rhythm and sang. Rob sounds sublime and inspired.
Written by Jerry Garcia, John Dawson, and Robert Hunter, FRIEND OF THE DEVIL was released by the Grateful Dead in 1970 on an album called AMERICAN BEAUTY. To this day, it make me smile playing it. It was one of the first songs I ever learned to play. It has been covered by countless others—and I hope that we did a great job in its rendition.
You can download a free copy of the song here, or you can make donation to GIVING SONGS while also downloading the song. It can be as big or as little of a contribution as you would like.
If you are interested in giving it a listen first, you can do so here:
However, all proceeds from your donation will go directly to GIVING SONGS.
WHO IS MIKE VITALE?
I am a storyteller, singer, songwriter, music producer, traveling musician, Jungian dream analyst, all-around curious fellow (Spiritual, Mathematical Historical, Scientific), Taoist, and much much more, based out of Los Angeles, California. I’m constantly releasing new music, in all sorts of different genres. You can listen to me below, on Spotify: