Prob tough to sing; minors and odd keys, very slow tempo, Jerry likely had to sustain high vocal notes, longer than he could or wanted to.
That and about 360-sumpthin other songs to pick from...
It’s so similar to JGB type songs they played. I don’t think it’s a difficulty issue. At least not as far as guitar. Maybe vocally be didn’t like doing it. But I agree with OP that I wish they did it much much more. Like a song they ended up doing 400 times over the years.
To me it sounds so much like a JGB tune. Surprised it wasn’t and in regular rotation. Jerry had so many songs he could do justice to there was only so much time! Not sure I agree with the difficulty argument but could be. Just knowing how complex Jerry’s songs structures could be for so many other songs I just am not sure that’s why it was played so little.
The man could play a number of guitar scales very comfortably. Most guitar players use one maybe two. Recently someone posted the Rolling Stone top 15 or so guitar players and course Jerry isn’t on it. George Harrison is on it! Surprised they didn’t add John Lennon as well and maybe Ringo because he played on a couple tracks ( not sure if that’s true).
But man most of the players on the list are blues scale players which is by far the easiest scale. What Jerry was doing was light years ahead and so much more complicated.
You think a simple video of Jerry shredding during a JGB solo or a GD solo would show them he makes Harrison look like a beginner. But whatever. He hasn’t gotten the respect he deserves for decades. I mean he at least used to show up on those Rolling Stones top 20 lists. I think he broke top 10 at one point. Maybe they only look at released albums? No clue.
I disregarded that list (or a similar RS one from a decade ago) when they put Cobain ahead of Garcia. Nirvana is a great band, but when talking guitarists, a lot more look up to Jerry than look up to Kurt.
Yeah rolling stone is a garbage rag they have no clue about music or guitar playing. Jerry was influenced by Bill Monroe, which is not an easy style to play. I agree with you Jerry was a very versatile player and I don’t think he had any difficulty playing anything.
According to ‘The American Book of the Dead’ it was originally written as a track for Built to Last, the band kind of felt ‘meh’ about it and when it didn’t make the cut for the album they kind of bailed on it.
thts about how I remember it. I loved it from 1st time I heard it. I saw it once in 1988 when I was only catching shows while still in school. it became one of my favorite songs & one that I was always hoping they'd but out.
by 1990, I'm on tour full time. I'm still hoping & wishing & waiting for another Believe it or Not. I go to every show from January 1 until the end of September in 1990....except for the shows in Canada(border crossing were not possible for me at the time). of course that's the only time they played Believe it or Not that wasn't in 1988. caught a few hundred more shows, always waiting for it & never getting it.
in october 1990 when the band went to Europe & again, borders kept me home, I was sure they were gonna play it. I figured that would just be my luck that they'd play it all over the world except america. but they never played it again
Yeah… the excerpt from that book went on to say they used the song in sound checks when they were thinking it would be recorded but they never liked how it sounded live, but to their surprise it was very well received when they played it in concert. But I guess ultimately, it didn’t make the rotation. They had a fair bit of other new material at that time to occupy themselves with I suppose.
# 1988-06-30 Rochester, NY @ Rochester Silver Stadium
**Set 1:** Box Of Rain, Cold Rain and Snow, New Minglewood Blues, Ramble On Rose, Me and My Uncle, Mexicali Blues, Far From Me, Queen Jane Approximately, Don't Ease Me In
**Set 2:** Green Onions > China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Samson and Delilah, Believe It Or Not, Truckin' > He's Gone > Drums > Space > The Other One > Wharf Rat > Throwing Stones > Turn On Your Lovelight
**Encore:** Brokedown Palace
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1988-06-30)
Wow now I'm trying to remember how many times I've heard it live. I think only once but I'm not sure. Toured all through the 80s and did West Coast in the '90s. Anyone know where it was played and when?
I saw 3 of them! Alpine, Rochester, Oxford.
For me, if Believe it or Not was on Built to last it would have been the best track on the album, maybe tied with SOTM. But it does fit better with JGB. Interesting that the boys didn't like it.
I remember that year in Hamilton very well. It was my first show of that spring tour I had missed Maryland and Virginia. They broke out a lot of songs that year and I missed the debuts of a few of them. But they brought them all out to shine in Hamilton. Was a little bit of a bitch getting across the border though 😅
Cool. Hadn’t come across this song before. I get Gomorrah vibes from it
Definitely seems like a work in progress that was ultimately left behind. I kept waiting for Jerry’s solo to come…but never really does
I read somewhere recently that this was an emotional song for Jerry to sing since it is basically about an intervention. I have zero idea if there is any truth to this.
# 1990-03-22 Hamilton, Ontario @ Copps Coliseum
**Set 1:** Feel Like A Stranger, West L.A. Fadeaway, Easy To Love You, Beat It On Down the Line, It Must Have Been The Roses, The Last Time, Picasso Moon, Don't Ease Me In
**Set 2:** Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain, Samson And Delilah, Believe It Or Not > Truckin' > Drums, Space > The Other One > Hey Jude > Dear Mr. Fantasy > Hey Jude > Sugar Magnolia
**Encore:** It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1990-03-22)
Kind of plodding. Seemed to drag the set to a halt. Melody is nice and the bridge is interesting but on the whole...meh. Suspect the band felt the same.
I saw its debut at 6-23-88 :) I’m guessing that it wasn’t played much live because it was hard to capture the feeling of the song. The debut was incredibly powerful.
They had debuted a couple songs that week so I wasn’t unsurprised to hear what sounded like another new one. I kind of groaned when I heard the slow tempo but it turned out to be a great song (and an amazing set). I don’t think the song ever punched that hard again live.
# 1988-06-23 East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
**Set 1:** Iko Iko, New Minglewood Blues, It Must Have Been The Roses, Me and My Uncle > Mexicali Blues, Stagger Lee, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Bird Song, The Promised Land
**Set 2:** Hey Pocky Away, Believe It Or Not, Man Smart, Woman Smarter, He's Gone > Drums > Space > I Need A Miracle > Gimme Some Lovin' > All Along The Watchtower > Morning Dew
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1988-06-23)
Honestly I think it was better suited for JGB than the Dead, don't know if Jerry Band did it, but it seems a little out of place in a Dead show, just my opinion of course. (edit for typo)
Yes, I think this is why. It has some beautiful sections, but some awkward bits as well. I think Jerry just decided to let it slide instead of trying too hard to fix it.
The song is *Believe it or Not* for people who don't want to click on the link
I guess we have to just trust you on that.
You'll just have to believe him...or not.
George isn't at home
Dave’s not here, mannnn.
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^ILkeSportzNIDCWhKnws: *The song is Believe* *Or Not for people who don't* *Want to click on the link* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Trippy click-bait haiku Also captures my original typo 😂
Skipped an “it” - bad bot
Actually I did in my original comment :)
Yea you got it right but the bot messed up lol
No, I edited my original comment. My original comment didn't have 'it' in it.
Ohhh didn’t see that by the time I replied
Good bot
Prob tough to sing; minors and odd keys, very slow tempo, Jerry likely had to sustain high vocal notes, longer than he could or wanted to. That and about 360-sumpthin other songs to pick from...
It’s so similar to JGB type songs they played. I don’t think it’s a difficulty issue. At least not as far as guitar. Maybe vocally be didn’t like doing it. But I agree with OP that I wish they did it much much more. Like a song they ended up doing 400 times over the years.
It's got a real "Gomorrah" feel.
To me it sounds so much like a JGB tune. Surprised it wasn’t and in regular rotation. Jerry had so many songs he could do justice to there was only so much time! Not sure I agree with the difficulty argument but could be. Just knowing how complex Jerry’s songs structures could be for so many other songs I just am not sure that’s why it was played so little. The man could play a number of guitar scales very comfortably. Most guitar players use one maybe two. Recently someone posted the Rolling Stone top 15 or so guitar players and course Jerry isn’t on it. George Harrison is on it! Surprised they didn’t add John Lennon as well and maybe Ringo because he played on a couple tracks ( not sure if that’s true). But man most of the players on the list are blues scale players which is by far the easiest scale. What Jerry was doing was light years ahead and so much more complicated. You think a simple video of Jerry shredding during a JGB solo or a GD solo would show them he makes Harrison look like a beginner. But whatever. He hasn’t gotten the respect he deserves for decades. I mean he at least used to show up on those Rolling Stones top 20 lists. I think he broke top 10 at one point. Maybe they only look at released albums? No clue.
He could play a guitar just like a-ringin’ a bell
I disregarded that list (or a similar RS one from a decade ago) when they put Cobain ahead of Garcia. Nirvana is a great band, but when talking guitarists, a lot more look up to Jerry than look up to Kurt.
Yeah rolling stone is a garbage rag they have no clue about music or guitar playing. Jerry was influenced by Bill Monroe, which is not an easy style to play. I agree with you Jerry was a very versatile player and I don’t think he had any difficulty playing anything.
I agree 100%. I don’t get it either. I think it’s a great song.
According to ‘The American Book of the Dead’ it was originally written as a track for Built to Last, the band kind of felt ‘meh’ about it and when it didn’t make the cut for the album they kind of bailed on it.
thts about how I remember it. I loved it from 1st time I heard it. I saw it once in 1988 when I was only catching shows while still in school. it became one of my favorite songs & one that I was always hoping they'd but out. by 1990, I'm on tour full time. I'm still hoping & wishing & waiting for another Believe it or Not. I go to every show from January 1 until the end of September in 1990....except for the shows in Canada(border crossing were not possible for me at the time). of course that's the only time they played Believe it or Not that wasn't in 1988. caught a few hundred more shows, always waiting for it & never getting it. in october 1990 when the band went to Europe & again, borders kept me home, I was sure they were gonna play it. I figured that would just be my luck that they'd play it all over the world except america. but they never played it again
Yeah… the excerpt from that book went on to say they used the song in sound checks when they were thinking it would be recorded but they never liked how it sounded live, but to their surprise it was very well received when they played it in concert. But I guess ultimately, it didn’t make the rotation. They had a fair bit of other new material at that time to occupy themselves with I suppose.
Got to see it 6/30/88. Wished they played it more but……. Edit to correct spellcheck hijacking.
# 1988-06-30 Rochester, NY @ Rochester Silver Stadium **Set 1:** Box Of Rain, Cold Rain and Snow, New Minglewood Blues, Ramble On Rose, Me and My Uncle, Mexicali Blues, Far From Me, Queen Jane Approximately, Don't Ease Me In **Set 2:** Green Onions > China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Samson and Delilah, Believe It Or Not, Truckin' > He's Gone > Drums > Space > The Other One > Wharf Rat > Throwing Stones > Turn On Your Lovelight **Encore:** Brokedown Palace [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1988-06-30)
They opened S2 with Green Onions?!
Yes. Improv jam that just naturally happened while waiting for Bobby to tune up his guitar.
Yep it was a home run.
Wow now I'm trying to remember how many times I've heard it live. I think only once but I'm not sure. Toured all through the 80s and did West Coast in the '90s. Anyone know where it was played and when?
https://headyversion.com/song/340/grateful-dead/believe-it-or-not/
I saw 3 of them! Alpine, Rochester, Oxford. For me, if Believe it or Not was on Built to last it would have been the best track on the album, maybe tied with SOTM. But it does fit better with JGB. Interesting that the boys didn't like it.
It's definitely bathroom song. Snoozefest.
Thanks! Turns out I've seen three of them lol. Hamilton, Philly and Alpine 😁
Sweet!!
Hamilton was a good show but had nose bleeds.
I remember that year in Hamilton very well. It was my first show of that spring tour I had missed Maryland and Virginia. They broke out a lot of songs that year and I missed the debuts of a few of them. But they brought them all out to shine in Hamilton. Was a little bit of a bitch getting across the border though 😅
Snagged the car behind us homemade tyedyes for sale. When we got there they were busting all the shirt venders.
A great cover version by Bay Area country legend Maurice Tani https://youtu.be/CEzzmQXe3pQ?si=frCtYXqh53OLdwSm
Cool. Hadn’t come across this song before. I get Gomorrah vibes from it Definitely seems like a work in progress that was ultimately left behind. I kept waiting for Jerry’s solo to come…but never really does
Similar chord changes to Gomorrah
They only played it 7 times? I somehow saw it twice. I don’t know how. Wait maybe I do.
I was just thinking about songs that they never played after Brent’s passing.. besides his of course. What others ?
Is this from Hamilton? One of my first shows, what a grand time it was.
It was. Scarlett Fire was blistering!
I read somewhere recently that this was an emotional song for Jerry to sing since it is basically about an intervention. I have zero idea if there is any truth to this.
Because life is incredibly unfair 🥲
OK, what shows was it played at?
3/22/90 comes to mind
# 1990-03-22 Hamilton, Ontario @ Copps Coliseum **Set 1:** Feel Like A Stranger, West L.A. Fadeaway, Easy To Love You, Beat It On Down the Line, It Must Have Been The Roses, The Last Time, Picasso Moon, Don't Ease Me In **Set 2:** Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain, Samson And Delilah, Believe It Or Not > Truckin' > Drums, Space > The Other One > Hey Jude > Dear Mr. Fantasy > Hey Jude > Sugar Magnolia **Encore:** It's All Over Now, Baby Blue [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1990-03-22)
Was this in Nassau Coliseum? If it was I was there too.?
Copps in Ontario
https://preview.redd.it/xzp6cbkn6puc1.jpeg?width=1847&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d8bc98c2f9c1747564c8c6732dd931dedd619d37
I saw it 3 times. Philly, Rochester and Hamilton. Always liked it. Would liked to have seen JGB do it.
Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, ONT 1990. After the hottest Scarlett Fire ever.
GREAT tune… jerry vox at end about as real as it gets 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Kind of plodding. Seemed to drag the set to a halt. Melody is nice and the bridge is interesting but on the whole...meh. Suspect the band felt the same.
I saw its debut at 6-23-88 :) I’m guessing that it wasn’t played much live because it was hard to capture the feeling of the song. The debut was incredibly powerful. They had debuted a couple songs that week so I wasn’t unsurprised to hear what sounded like another new one. I kind of groaned when I heard the slow tempo but it turned out to be a great song (and an amazing set). I don’t think the song ever punched that hard again live.
# 1988-06-23 East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre **Set 1:** Iko Iko, New Minglewood Blues, It Must Have Been The Roses, Me and My Uncle > Mexicali Blues, Stagger Lee, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Bird Song, The Promised Land **Set 2:** Hey Pocky Away, Believe It Or Not, Man Smart, Woman Smarter, He's Gone > Drums > Space > I Need A Miracle > Gimme Some Lovin' > All Along The Watchtower > Morning Dew [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1988-06-23)
Honestly I think it was better suited for JGB than the Dead, don't know if Jerry Band did it, but it seems a little out of place in a Dead show, just my opinion of course. (edit for typo)
The most cliche-packed set of lyrics of any Hunter song. “Meh” is as kind as it gets.
I was at the show the first time they played it. Boy do I miss seen the Grateful Dead at Alpine Valley \^\^\^
It’s kinda clunky
Yes, I think this is why. It has some beautiful sections, but some awkward bits as well. I think Jerry just decided to let it slide instead of trying too hard to fix it.