Grateful Dead Vault Is Unlocked/ Robert Johnson as you've never heard him/Gillian Welch and David Rawlings' sublime Dead acoustic A few interesting musical items that I learned about this week.

Robert Johnson as you've never heard him.

open.substack.com/pub/alanpaul...

E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt Never Took an Acting Lesson. The Sopranos Didn't Care The guitarist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band found a second act as a star of ‘The Sopranos.’ How playing Silvio Dante taught him he'd been performing all along

E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt Never Took an Acting Lesson. The Sopranos Didn't Care. The guitarist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band found a second act as a star of The Sopranos. How playing Silvio Dante taught him he'd been performing all along.

alanpaul.substack.com/publish/post...

Dickey Betts: Nobody Knows // Marking the one year anniversary of his death Marking the first anniversary of Dickey's death with a reflection on the life and legacy of the ABB guitarist and vocalist, after 30 years of interviewing and writing about him.

And another year has passed. Two years ago we lost Dickey Betts. Here’s what I wrote then:

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Alan Paul (@alanpaul) Had a really interesting livestream with @Chris Dalla Riva last night. Check it out here.

Had a really interesting livestream with author and musician Chris Dalla Riva last night. Check it out here.

substack.com/@alanpaul/no...

ICE Arrests 85-Year-Old French Widow Who Married Her G.I. Sweetheart

A new low?

ICE Arrests 85-Year-Old French Widow Who Married Her G.I. Sweetheart www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/u...

I love this picture of Lamar Williams and Dickey Betts. Allman Brothers Band, 1974. Photo by A.G. Burton. I had never seen this before I found it in a box of Red Dog's photos at Jaimoe's house! The original print is now in the hand of Lamar Williams Jr.

From Early Nirvana To Phish, A Chicago Fan's Secret Recordings Of 10,000 Shows Are Now Online Aadam Jacobs has secretly recorded over 10,000 local concerts since 1989. Now, they are cleaned up and ready to listen to for free online.

From Early Nirvana To Phish, A Chicago Fan’s Secret Recordings Of 10,000 Shows Are Now Online. Aadam Jacobs has secretly recorded over 10,000 local concerts since 1989. Now, they are cleaned up and ready to listen to for free online.

blockclubchicago.org/2026/04/10/f...

Fantastic. My first job was being a PG delivery boy. And Rebecca’s first journalism job and the start of our romance was a summer PG internship.

RIP to Scrap Iron, Phil Garner, sparkplug for the World Champion 1979 "We Are Family" Pittsburgh Pirates. He was always hustling around with a dirty uniform, was a great hitter - and looked like he could go out on the road with my emerging favorite, the Allman Brothers Band.

Clarence Gatemouth Brown - "Honky-Tonk" [Live from Austin, TX] YouTube video by Live From Austin TX

Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown was such a delight. I saw him many times. Check him out playing "Honky-Tonk" [Live from Austin, TX]

youtu.be/Mnx1cheoSkg

My good friends the Deadful Greats are playing tomorrow 4/15 8 PM at the Homestead in Morristown, NJ. Free show, great venue, great Grateful Dead tunes. What else do you need Jersey people?

Guitar World interviewed Warren Haynes about the triple-pickup SG he was holding on the cover of the July 94 issue - which was the highlight of my career to that point and still stands tall for me. The guitar is now on display at The Big House Museum.

Me and Andy Aledort with Bill Carter, Texas songwriter. He and his wife Ruth Ellsworth wrote "Crossfire" for Stevie Ray Vaughan. Photo - Austin, 2019, back porch of C-Boys, after a fantastic book release gig for Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan, which Andy and I co-wrote.

Israeli Musician David Broza on Why We Should Choose Music Over Politics The interview is old, but the sentiment is as relevant as ever.

Israeli Musician David Broza on Why We Should Choose Music Over Politics

The interview is old, but the sentiment is as relevant as ever.

open.substack.com/pub/alanpaul...

Yes!

Nice piece on Bob Weir. Always good stuff from Alan Paul. And I love this Don Was quote about Bobby!

RIP Bobby... I'm still working through the denial stage of mourning, which is weird for me. He was a huge part of my musical identity.

#AlanPaul #MusicSky #MusicWriting #BobWeir #GratefulDead

Thank you!

The Music Never Stopped: A deep dive into Bob Weir's 60-year journey It's still hard to believe he's gone. Here's my very extensive Guitar World obituary.

Don Was on Bob Weir.

from The Music Never Stopped: A deep dive into Bob Weir's 60 year musical odyssey.

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The Music Never Stopped: A deep dive into Bob Weir's 60-year journey It's still hard to believe he's gone. Here's my very extensive Guitar World obituary.

The Music Never Stopped: A deep dive into Bob Weir's 60-year journey

It's still hard to believe he's gone. Here's my extensive Guitar World obituary.
Photo - Kirk West

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Another great night at The Capitol Theatre.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (and bassist Paul Kowert) playing the Grateful Dead was lovely. Full sound, some clever percussion touches and explorations that went beyond acoustic expectations.

Warren Haynes' Emotional Look Back At The Allman Brothers In this 2014 interview, Warren and I discussed his tenure with the band and why he and Derek Trucks decided to call it quits.

Happy Birthday to Warren Haynes, the person I've interviewed more than any other. First time was in 1990. Last time was probably last week. Here's a conversation we had in 2014, as the Allman Brothers Band was getting ready to play their final shows.

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Testing Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks' Music Knowledge | Track Star* YouTube video by Track Star*

This is a lot of fun. Derek and Susan on "Track Stars."
youtu.be/FMNuWu4w18c?...

Muddy Waters - Hoochie Coochie Man (Live) YouTube video by MUDDYWATERSVEVO

Happy Birthday to the GOAT, Muddy Waters.

youtu.be/e_l6A7krjrQ?...

Big In China -- about the book YouTube video by Alan Paul

I forgot about this trailer we put together for my first book, Big in China. All music from me and my band Woodie Alan.

youtu.be/tAth-nW9L5U?...

Just a beautiful night of music close to home last night. Julian Lage, John Medeski, Kenny Wolleson and Jorge Roeder at South Orange Performing Arts Center.

Blow by Blow: The Jeff Beck Story Amazon.com: Blow by Blow: The Jeff Beck Story (Audible Audio Edition): Brad Tolinski, Chris Gill, Da Capo: Books

This is going to be great! "Blow by Blow, The Jeff Beck Story" by my friends and and longtime Guitar World colleagues Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill.

Preorder now and be pleasantly surprised when it shows up July 16! -> amzn.to/4ckCoRY

Bruce Springsteen E Street Band Tom Morello Purple Rain Minneapolis MN March 31, 2026 Target Center YouTube video by seanesq30

Bruce opened his tour in Minneapolis last night and played Prince’s “Purple Rain.” Stellar guitar work by Nils Lofgren and Tom Morello. These 75 year old diehards are out there waving the flag. Chag Sameach to my fellow Tribe members.

youtu.be/0_STaxhaIJg?...

Derek Trucks with Terrapin Flyer performing “Dark Star” | Martyrs’ Chicago | Relix YouTube video by Relix

Derek Trucks playing Jerry's Tiger with Terrapin Flyer in Chicago at the tiny Martyr's club. "Dark Star" RIP Doug Irwin! Amazing this happened.

youtu.be/Prn8KjqU6cM?...

Going through some boxes and I have a few of these killer posters celebrating Jaimoe's 80th birthday in July 2024 available. Some other cool Jaimoe posters and other merch also available, along with signed books and more.

Visit www.friendsofthebrothersband.com

Frank Hannon demonstrates how his father in law Dickey Betts played behind the beat.
Full interview: alanpaul.substack.com/p/reflection...