Grateful Dead – “Little Red Rooster” Live
The Hound Begins To Howl!
“Little Red Rooster” is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon. It was first recorded by Howlin’ Wolf and released in October 1961 under Chess Records. Several musicians have then covered this track. Some of them added new words and with a touch of creativity, even included certain instrumentation to mimic animal sounds.
His vocal and slide guitar playing are key elements of the song. It is rooted in the Delta blues tradition and the theme is derived from folklore.
For the Grateful Dead version, Brent Mydland added a verse and also provided the vocals. Though there’s very few mention about their cover, it’s absolutely beautiful — a true stand-out among all the rest if I may say so. Brent rocks it and so did the boys. Another track to put on repeat!