“Cassidy” by Bob Weir

"Cassidy" sits on Ace, Bob Weir's 1972 solo album, a folk-rock tune with Weir's music under words by John Perry Barlow. The title belongs to Cassidy Law, born in 1970 to Grateful Dead crew member Rex Jackson and Eileen Law, once Weir's housemate, but Barlow's lyric also nods to Neal Cassady, who ran with the Beats in the 1950s, then with the Acid Test crowd that gave the Dead their start. Some of it grew out of the death of Barlow's father, so the song carries a child's name and a father's passing at once.

On the record Donna Jean Godchaux sings with Weir in the two-part harmony the song usually calls for. Weir recorded it with Betty Cantor-Jackson, and Jerry Garcia mixed it. The Economist later quoted it in its obituary for Barlow.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.