Old & in the Way was a one-shot bluegrass band whose legacy lasted far longer than the band. Led by
Grateful Dead member
Jerry Garcia (banjo, vocals), the band also featured
David Grisman (mandolin, vocals),
Vassar Clements (fiddle),
Peter Rowan (guitar, vocals), and
John Kahn (bass).
Garcia formed the band in 1973 as a way to revisit his bluegrass roots and demonstrate his affection for the music. To round out the lineup, he recruited
Clements and
Kahn as well as
Grisman and
Rowan, who were both West Coast session musicians who had previously played together in the band
Muleskinner. Taking their name from a
Grisman composition,
Old & in the Way played a handful of gigs, most of them at the Boarding House in San Francisco in October. An album, also called Old & in the Way, was culled from these shows but not released until 1975 on
the Grateful Dead's own record label, Round. The record combined standards and
Rowan originals, which later became standards. Although the album was the only one the lineup released during the 1970s, the members continued to play together in various permutations over the next two decades, and the record continued to sell steadily. The group reunited after
Garcia's death in 1995, releasing a second album (actually composed of 1973 recordings), That High Lonesome Sound, in early 1996. A third album of 1973 vintage appeared at the end of 1997. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine