Truckin' - Grateful Dead (1970) 3/8/22

"What a long, strange trip it's been."

Over the past 50 years, that lyric, taken from today's "Great Song of 1970," has become a part of America's cultural lexicon.

Those of us of a certain age have most likely quoted it as a description of our own lives...and we have the Grateful Dead to thank. :-)

The song, "Truckin'" (from their album "American Beauty"), is classic "Dead:" a mixture of country, folk and rock...with autobiographical lyrics that center around a drug bust at a hotel they were staying at in New Orleans.

According to bassist Phil Lesh, "we took our experiences on the road and made it poetry," lyrically and musically."

The best version of the song is the album cut, which was played extensively by Progressive and Album rock stations, but a single was also released. At the time, there were no charts for Progressive/Album formats, but if there had been, the song would most likely have peaked at or near the top.

The single only reached #64 on the Hot 100...but the because Dead were not then--or ever--mainstream, that was actually quite good!

In 1997, "Truckin'" was recognized by the United States Library of Congress in 1997 as a National Treasure," and that alone makes it a "Great Song of the '70s!"

Album version:

Single version: