Let us travel back in time to Thanksgiving Day 1972 in Austin, Texas. The Grateful Dead were in town, having played for the twirlers and butterfly catchers at Municipal Auditorium the night before. They were scheduled to play Memorial Auditiorium in Dallas the following night, meaning they had a free day to bum smokes, eat turkey, and jam with friends.

But, not just any friends. Former Bay Area running buddy and roots music encyclopedia, Doug Sahm, was scarin’ up an old-fashioned hootenanny with consummate sideman, Leon Russell, and a bevy of Austin talent. Representing the Dead were Phil Lesh and Jerry Garcia, who spent most of the night on pedal steel.

Convening at Armadillo World Headquarters (pictured below), the group wound their way through a cornucopia of R&B, early rock ‘n’ roll, honky-tonk, blues, bluegrass, and whatever other swingin’ morsels of Americana were left on the plate. Check out the setlist below and think about the versatility needed to credibly pull off those songs.

* FYI, if you’re ever in Austin, you can view the full-sized version of this Hopson pic at Threadgill’s South. You can find it, appropriately enough, in the main waiting area, facing the bar.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’m offering up the entirety of this fantastic archival recording, so come get you some! Be forewarned, the sound isn’t perfect. It’s a soundboard, so the vocals and kick drum are a little high and some instruments are a little low. There’s also some clicks and pops. Nevertheless, it’s still an impressive document of the best Turkey Day performance this side of The Last Waltz.

THANKSGIVING JAM SAMPLER

Doug Sahm and Friends – Wild Side Of Life [Hank Thompson]

Doug Sahm and Friends – Stormy Monday [T-Bone Walker]

Doug Sahm and Friends – Honky Tonkin’ > Dear John [Hank Williams]

DOWNLOAD FULL SET

Doug Sahm’s Thanksgiving Jam [Full Set] [269 MB]

EVENT

Doug Sahm, Leon Russell, Jerry Garcia and Friends

Thanksgiving Jam

Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, TX

November 23, 1972

SET ONE

01 High Heel Sneakers [Tommy Tucker]

02 Wild Side Of Life [Hank Thompson]

03 Swingin’ Doors [Merle Haggard]

04 Me & Bobby McGee [Kris Kristofferson/Janis Joplin]

05 Stormy Monday [T-Bone Walker]

06 That’s All Right (Mama) [Arthur Crudup/Elvis Presley]

07 Come On In My Kitchen [Robert Johnson]

08 T For Texas [Jimmie Rodgers]

09 Mr. Tambourine Man [Bob Dylan/Byrds]

10 (Is Anybody Goin’ To) San Antone [Charley Pride]

11 Sugarfoot Rag [Hank Garland]

12 I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry [Hank Williams]

13 Jambalaya [Hank Williams]

14 Today I Started Loving You Again [Merle Haggard]

15 Columbus Stockade Blues [Traditional]

16 Honky Tonkin’ > Dear John [Hank Williams]

SET TWO

01 Orange Blossom Special [Bill Monroe]

02 Kentucky Waltz [Bill Monroe]

03 Big Boss Man [Jimmy Reed]

04 Searchin’ [Coasters]

05 Those Lonely Lonely Nights [Earl King] > Shake A Hand [Faye Adams]

06 Hey Bo Diddley [Bo Diddley]

07 It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry [Bob Dylan]

08 A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall [Bob Dylan]

09 Wild Horses [Rolling Stones]

10 Slippin’ Into Christmas [Leon Russell]

11 Money Honey [Drifters/Elvis Presley]

12 Chug-A-Lug [Roger Miller]

13 Roll Over Beethoven [Chuck Berry] > Good Golly Miss Molly [Little Richard] > Roll Over Beethoven [Chuck Berry]

BAND

Doug Sahm – vocals, guitar

Leon Russell – vocals, piano, guitar (pictured left)

Jerry Garcia – vocals, guitar, pedal steel

Mary Egan (Greezy Wheels) – fiddle

Benny Thurman (13th Floor Elevators bassist) – fiddle

Phil Lesh – bass

^ Jerry Barnett (Shiva’s Headband) – drums

^ The drummer is often listed as Bill Kreutzmann from the Dead, but apparently he didn’t play. Here’s what I found on the interweb: “Though he was in attendance that evening, there is no verifiable evidence that Kreutzmann sat in with the band. When asked a few years ago, the owner of the Armadillo seemed to recall Bill feeling sick that night.”