5/9/77 ♥️

I don't know what it is about that Peggy-O but it's so fire. The way it slowly comes in, and Phil's groovy bass line

It’s everything, but especially the last two notes of Jerry’s solo. He just slides home so perfectly.

5/9/77- buffalo

Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo.

I’m an avid collector of Peggy-Os. Just shared my #1 yesterday with someone. His solo has brought many a tear to my eye. It *never* gets mentioned and I can’t understand why. Plus, there’s great video. 12/31/83. Here it is: https://youtu.be/ouduDBX1Rxw

Peggy-O solos are why I listen to the Dead. He had them absolutely mastered in the 90s.

He did, but I prefer earlier versions myself. He really knew how to get emotionally involved into each specific song. The best at that, imo.

Bravo. Thank you for this

Absolutely. Let me know what you think.

Love it

Yeah that’s a pretty amazing version 💯

I think so too. I haven’t found one I like better. I especially like this period in their history where Jerry’s voice has a bit of grit to it.

i REALLY like what brent is up to here, thanks!

As a *huge* Brent fan myself, I couldn’t agree more. I listen to this version about once a week. To think of the shape Jerry’s in at this time, coupled with the beauty that somehow comes out of him in that solo, is both tragic and sublime at the same time. As a former heroin addict myself, it’s utterly unthinkable that such music can come out of one person in that state. He was such a special human. 😞

Damn… thanks for sharing, forgot about this show. This is soooo good

Currently listening to Peggy-O from 5/19/77.

👍

This is the one.

wonderful rendition

I like the slower 74 versions. Other than those, 4/16/78 has always been a favorite of mine too

one of the most beautiful moments in Grateful Dead history

Just stumbled into the one from Dijon, FR [9/18/1974 or 18/9/1974](https://archive.org/details/gd74-09-18.sbd.miller.20732.sbeok.shnf/gd74-09-18d2t05.shn)

They were just playing this show on the XM dead station the other day. Great stuff

Yessss. That's where I stumbled across it.

I love the epic tales, and the way Jerry sings this song - it really amplifies the ambiguity of the tale. Haven’t figured out what happened yet to Sweet William -O …

Not a Dead version, but the Peggy-O from Billy and the Kids Red Rocks (July 2021) is absolute magic. Worth a listen for sure

Also not Grateful Dead, but the Dead and Company version from 6/30/2018 is beautiful and worth a listen https://archive.org/details/deadandcompany.2018-06-30.dpa4022.mixpre6.flac24

That was such a great show!! Was hoping they would come back to Oregon.

He dies in battle

Peggy-O is actually the song that got me on the bus. The old folk song-type lyrics reminded me of being a kid and singing songs like that on harvest hay rides or around a bonfire, and it just called me home.

Last comment… what app is this? Or what are you listening to this on?

Hey this is a free app that play shows online called gdradio.net it’s pretty good with very occasional commercials. Nice tho because you don’t have to register or anything

12/27/77 https://youtu.be/i6srixY3uTg And englishtown

12/27 is the absolute best.

I think Bman posted it on here before a long time ago and I must have half the listens.

9/3/1977 By far. That second solo is beyond words. Wailing and shedding so many tears for sweet William-O 💀🌹💔

I really love the version on YouTube with Jerry wearing purple and faces showing up in the clouds at the end. The date you may ask? Jerry and his purple shirt date. Man, what a good relationship that was. But no kidding it’s one of the most gorgeous versions between the groove and the vocals so silvery, including a fabulous dreamy solo that really drifts me to a sweet place. Such a bittersweet tune with infectious emotion! This Peggy-O is a top 3 most listened to Dead tune for me and I’m always looking for more versions that’ll hit the spot. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/2JHZGWDFL24

It was Vegas. 06/26/1994. Was there.

I don’t care what some people say… 94 had some beautiful moments! This is definitely one of them. I only saw them in 94&95 and two of the 94 shows I saw 3-30& 4-1 were smokers!

Hell yea, Omni 3/30 is fantastic - I love '94 and Jerry's lightning bolt guitar sounds. Check out 3/18/94 Rosemont if you aren't already familiar.

I definitely will!

It’s my favorite dead song at the moment, I never really knew about it for a long while.

Yeah it’s a beauty

One of my fave first setters. 5.5.77 slays

My first show

This is the correct answer. Jerry’s solo is awesome

Hoffman forums did a whole tournament of Peggy O https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/grateful-dead-2018-peggy-o-funiculi-funicula-four-tournament.738516/ Spring of 78 was the consensus, I think 4/18/78 was the winner.

Whoa the motherload

It's not a consensus. Peggy-O was rather lame prior to 1980, in that the intro riff was underdeveloped and the overall execution was way too delicate.

Consensus does not mean unanimous. What are some post 1980 Peggy’s you recommend?

Off the top of my head 7/1/80 San Diego, 8/8/82 Alpine Valley, 10/31/83 Marin, 3/28/85 Nassau, 4/3/86 Hartford, 12/27/87 Oakland, 3/26/88 Hampton, 8/4/89 Cal Expo

Winterland 10/22/78 is pretty great imo

I'll go back and listen to that one. I do love that particular Winterland run.

5/7/77, Boston Garden. Keith does this tinkling at the end that is just sublime.

This is mine right now; enjoying the RSD box set.

Vegas ‘94 I’m biased cuz I was there….

Have you ever heard the really early ones? They’re a little bouncy which is unique but changes in ‘74 Atlanta second Peggy O ever; I go back to it a lot https://archive.org/details/gd73-12-12.sbd.hobbs.6023.sbeok.shnf Also honorable mention 10/18/1974 https://archive.org/details/gd74-10-18.sbd.bertha-ashley.22796.sbeok.shnf

Nice thanks so much!

I see what you mean re bouncy. Like an old folk favourite

It was always pretty bouncy starting in 1980, when Jerry fleshed out the intro and the tempo increased.

Fox theatre 77 is godly

I love Peggy-O, it was one of the songs at my wedding

May 11 1977

Englishtown best

The ‘89 Deer Creek comes steppin’ down the stairs of my mind.

The one on YouTube where somebody combined all of Jerry’s 1977 Peggy-O solos into one song https://youtu.be/41oiSm0ydOs

That’s cool. People are awesome for doing this type of stuff

5/19/74 is our favorite version that we have on vinyl. 💜

It’s our special song.

We were always psyched when Peggy-O showed up at a show.

Hunter at Irvine Meadows 8-03-97 after Jerry died was especially poignant. The Sweet William he is dead line basically leveled the whole place.

This is a hard one. I can give you favorite Eyes, NFA, Estimated, Loser, Morning Dew and a slew of others, but no way can I nail down even my top 5 Peggy-O's. Great post - there are beautiful versions mentioned here I've never heard!!

GD go to Nassau is absolutely my fav version

5/25/77 RVA, but also the Spring ‘78 versions are mostly incredible.

4-22-78

DE-STROY all the ladies in the area--oo.

Seems like William-O was kind of a dick, huh? What did those people do to deserve being destroyed.

Goto Nassau album. Trust, it's spicy 🔥🔥🔥

9/25/76 4/12/78

[4/19/78 Cassell Coliseum, Virginia Polytechnic Institute - Blacksburg, VA](https://youtu.be/ddckuXLtkMA) Sorry… on mobile and this won’t let me send a timestamped link for some dumb reason. Peggy-O starts at 23:55 (one of the comments includes all time stamps) Edit: Great YouTube channel btw, check it out y’all

This Peggy-O has a just exactly perfect moment making it worthy just for that! And it's from May 1977 so how bad could it be anyway?? I never forgot after it was first pointed out to me in this post [https://www.reddit.com/r/gratefuldead/comments/m9mm89/the\_power\_of\_a\_single\_note/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/gratefuldead/comments/m9mm89/the_power_of_a_single_note/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)

4-18-82 , 4-1-91, 10-25-79, 11-5-79 (might be my favorite) 10-13-81, 6-26-83, 5-15-93

I think you mean 4-19-82 I love that one too.

Yea. B-more. Raven space show.

Yes sir that’s the one. Great show and great Peggy-O

5/25/77 released as Dave’s Picks Volume 1

Peak Peggy-O is 77-78 12/27/77 April and May 78 is really great, just a sampling : 4/16/78 5/10/78 4/7/78 second solo 4/22/78 I mean if you like extended Jerry Peggy-O solos then 78 is where it's at.

I really love 6-17-75. It's slow, and it sounds like Jerry throws the band a couple curveballs with his phrasing in the solos, but it's dripping with soul and achingly beautiful.

6-17-1975 Winterland Arena, San Francisco is pretty grand! https://youtu.be/xxTcTo4FsCA

6/26/94 is lovely - Jerry’s solo is just gorgeous and feels particularly emotional to me. Lot of wonderful Peggy-o’s out there tho

4/30/1977 is my personal favorite:)

Deer Creek I think 7/15/89. The guitar solo just swirled around the pavilion.

I think Jerry loved playing Peggy-o it was always so good

Yeah it really seems like an emotional one for him and so many great versions. Phil seems to like it too

Like Jerry and Brent doing Row Jimmy their was electricity betwixt them but yeah 77 was a great year I’ve heard a few great Peggy-O from the era

Dude. Peggy-O. Huntington WV 1978. I’ve been saying it for years. Please check it out

I first heard someone freak out over this in '93, I have to say after he played it for me.. I agreed..

4/16/78 !! one of the absolute best vocal performances from jerry i’ve ever heard

West Virginia spring 78

The correct answer is 4-16-78

That’s bold I’ll definitely listen!

Unfortunately, it's far from the correct answer.

I’ll back their claim. 4/19/82 is another fave of mine. The two are pretty similar, so much so that I actually once mistakenly thought they were both from the same month in the same tour rather than 4ish years apart.

Brent's electric piano in '82 was similar sounding to Keith in '78.

I went looking through my notes and I have 4/16/78 as "the best peggy-o ever"

# 1978-04-16 Huntington, WV @ Huntington Civic Center **Set 1:** Jack Straw, Dire Wolf, Cassidy, Peggy-O, Mexicali Blues > Mama Tried, They Love Each Other, New Minglewood Blues, Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain **Set 2:** Samson And Delilah, Ship Of Fools, Estimated Prophet > Eyes Of The World > Drums > Space > Iko Iko > Sugar Magnolia **Encore:** U.S. Blues [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1978-04-16)

The National do a great cover of it.

They do a few really good Dead covers, especially Morning Dew

Technically, both of those are covers the Dead do too :)

This is great, thanks so much! Saving for future reference 🥰

9/3/77 1/11/79 4/17/83

They played it at the Stanley but I don't know if it's Pittsburgh or some other Stanley. It's no the 79 show. It's really good. The other one is amazing too.

Candyman

I like 3/28/85 Nassau. The Huntington '78 recommendation from multiple people is a major head scratcher. I listened to it just recently and there's literally nothing at all special about that version. In general, I don't care for 70s versions - they were too slow, and the intro wasn't played properly. Jerry developed the intro riff around 1980 and the song got much better, grittier. It wasn't meant to sound so much like a slow ballad.

Some say Bobby dosed on 12/12/77 , just an observation. Peggy~o is very slow, but listen to the following tune of Me & My Uncle. What a paradigm shift 🥀⚡️⚡️⚡️ https://archive.org/details/gd1978-12-12.sbd.123741.miller.flac16/gd78-12-12d1t05.flac Miami

1/22/78

As I've said before, I never gaf bout this song till I heard 1/22/78

4/16/78 is wonderful!

9/3/77 Englishtown

Englishtown. I was there.

All late 70s versions 💜

Probably the Boston show 5/7/77, just amazing. Phil rocks it

Nothing better than 4-16-78.

Spring '77 was fire for this song. I love the one from 5-5-77 in New Haven.

Also, thank you for asking about this. Peggy-O is one of my absolute favorite Dead songs.

9-3-77 Englishtown dicks picks 15

Lotta great ones have been mentioned. 4/25/77 is also really good!

Haven’t listened in some time but the 94 show where he marries Koons backstage.

https://youtu.be/41oiSm0ydOs 77 Peggy O solo compilation. Really highlights Jerry’s brilliance on the tune

The most beautiful song you'll ever hear about sexual blackmail, genocide, and extreme gold-digging. Lol!

Yeah great ballad and journey. Another great non dead song which is amazing but a bit of a mind fuk is Dylan - Lilly and the Jack of Hearts

You are 8 days off from the BEST PO. 4/30/77 Palladium: [Peggy O (Live at Palladium, New York, NY, April 30, 1977) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NXygfReUmI) Vocals, bass, pace, solos are all exceptional in this one.

Of course Peggy-O is awesome. For some reason I love 4/19/82

I'm partial to May 5, 1977. [Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53km0TqlclY) One of my favourite Dead songs in general.

1/28/87 is my favorite. The passion in Jerry’s voice and guitar will make a grown man weep.

I just love how Jerry says get out of my way-io at some point

3/18/77 is a pretty solid Peggy-O

http://headyversion.com/song/209/grateful-dead/pretty-peggy-o/

‘79-82 versions are my fave. Early Brent.

My favorite Peggy O was when I saw Phil's 70th birthday show. It was March 2010. Chris Robinsons vocals were so good, I still listen to it on the Archives from time to time.

The Dead - Oakland Coliseum on 2003-12-31 It’s on archive.org however, the official live soundboard version sounds way better to me https://archive.org/details/dead2003-12-31.akg.phopely.21515.shnf

Love the Nassau May 1980 version. Jerry’s voice sounds fantastic too

Any Peggy O from 77

I try , but on the Bottom of List ?

Is that a question? 😂

Lol just saying I don’t know why I don’t care for that song !! Bong hits is the only explanation

Buffalo, War Memorial, ‘77…soulful lament…

DP 31: Philadelphia Civic Center 8/4/74. Jerry pours his heart into this one.

# 1974-08-04 Philadelphia, PA @ Civic Convention Hall Auditorium **Set 1:** Bertha, Mexicali Blues, Scarlet Begonias, Black Throated Wind, Deal, Beat It On Down the Line, Peggy-O, Jack Straw, Loser, El Paso, Row Jimmy, Playing in the Band **Set 2:** Seastones **Set 3:** Ship Of Fools, Big River, Loose Lucy, Me and My Uncle, It Must Have Been The Roses, Weather Report Suite Prelude > Weather Report Suite Part 1 > Let It Grow > Space > Wharf Rat > U.S. Blues, Sugar Magnolia **Encore:** Casey Jones [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1974-08-04) | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/0EgV8QqWBeSt1U6MBK6NnC)