Top Ten Songs Buffett Covered: Uncle John’s Band (#7)

Tweet

This is a countdown basically for @NJChicaa , who’s our resident Parrothead. She didn’t know a song I’d used was a Buffett cover, so I’m counting down my favorite songs that Buffett has covered. Here’s one that a lot of people might know and think, “wow, Buffett covered that?” Yes he did. #7: Uncle John’s Band - Grateful Dead This is a switch, isn’t it! Usually it was the Dead doing the covering! Robert Hunter, who wrote the lyrics to the song, told the moderator of “The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics,” that “Uncle John” was a reference to New Lost City Ramblers member John Cohen. The lyrics of the song contain a number of song titles from the Ramblers’ folk career. It’s one of those songs that is a staple of 70s FM rock, so it seems natural that Buffett — or anyone who was around then — would acknowledge one of the Dead’s best-known songs. Uncle John’s Band Written by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter Recorded by the Grateful Dead From Workingman’s Dead, 1970 Covered by Buffett on Fruit Cakes, 1994 How does the song go: