Jerry Garcia's Amazing Grace

By John Newton

Book Overview

February of 1993, Jerry Garcia met with David Grisman and Tony Rice to have an acoustic jam session. Tony's wife asked Jerry to sing Amazing Grace, and he obliged, with Grisman on mandolin and Rice on guitar. Together, the three played one of the most hauntingly poignant versions ever recorded of this classic song.

Undoubtedly saved by his own "amazing grace," John Newton was a slave ship captain turned preacher who wrote the first version of this timeless hymn in the late 1760s. It went on to become one of the most beloved songs in America. Recorded hundreds of times, it resonates as strongly today as it did when it was originally written.

Garcia recorded Amazing Grace for the first time while jamming with Grisman and Rice (recorded on Acoustic Disc's The Pizza Tapes), making it a rare event -- and the inspiration for this book.

Jerry Garcia was an artist, a poet, and a world-renowned musician. "Amazing Grace" is a classic song that has inspired countless generations. Here for the first time, the lyrics of this song are illustrated with a selection of Jerry Garcia's own wildly imaginative artwork, which was painstakingly chosen in cooperation with Deborah Koons Garcia from more than four hundred pieces of her late husband's works.

A CD of the 1993 Garcia/Grisman/Rice recording of Amazing Grace is included in this book, making Jerry Garcia's Amazing Grace a unique keepsake for art and music lovers alike.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060297107
• ISBN13: 9780060297107
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: It Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.3" x 7.3"
• Age Range: 1 year and up
• Grade Range: Preschool and higher

Customer Reviews

Been there, done that

What can I say? I love the song Amazing Grace and I love how Judy Collins sings it. Though there are two verses in the book I don't recall and one verse I love is missing, the true worth of the book; however, is in Collins' introduction. Therein she writes: "Religion is for those who are afraid of going to Hell, ... and the spiritual is for those who have already been there." Don't know if I've ever read a more profound thought. If the song means something to you, buy this book, you'll treasure it for a lifetime.