The Silver Snarling Trumpet: The Birth of the Grateful Dead—The Lost Manuscript of Robert Hunter

by Robert Hunter, John Mayer (foreword), Dennis McNally (introduction)

Discovered at last, the legendary lost manuscript of Grateful Dead co-founder and primary lyricist Robert Hunter, written in the early 1960s—a wry, richly observed, and enlightening remembrance of “the scene” in Palo Alto that gave rise to an incredible partnership of Hunter and Jerry Garcia, and then to the Grateful Dead itself—with a Foreword by John Mayer, an Introduction by Dennis McNally, and an Afterword by Brigid Meier.
 
“Strange to think back on those days when it was perfectly natural that we all slept on the floor in one small room.... These were the days before practical considerations, matters of ‘importance,’ began to eat our minds. We were all poets and philosophers then, until we began to wonder why we had so few concrete worries and went out to look for some.”

So wrote Robert Hunter in The Silver Snarling Trumpet, both a novelistic singular work of art and the missing piece of the Grateful Dead origin story. In these pages, readers are privy to the early days of Hunter, Garcia, and their cohorts, who sit at coffee shops passing around a single cup of bottomless coffee because they lacked the funds for more than one. Follow these truth-seeking souls into the stacks at Kepler’s Books, renting instruments at Swain’s House of Music, and through the countryside on mind-expanding road trips. Witness impromptu jams, inspired intellectual pranks, and a dialogue that is, by turns, amusing and brilliant and outrageous. Hunter shares his impressions of his first gig with Garcia for a college audience, along with descriptions of his most intense dreams and psychedelic explorations. All of it, enlivened by Hunter’s visionary spirit and profound ideas about creativity and collaboration.

The lost manuscript is augmented with a Foreword by John Mayer, an Introduction by Dennis McNally, and an Afterword by Brigid Meier, who was part of their scene in the San Francisco Bay Area that served as a bridge from the beatniks to the hippies. Also included is Hunter’s own 1982 assessment of his work—about how he shared it with close confidants but then decided to leave it unpublished. Five years after Hunter’s death, the text has been found, so readers and fans of Hunter’s indelible poetry and song will see the origin of his genius and his craft.

236 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 8, 2024

About the author

Librarian note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.
This is the “catch-all” profile.

Current authors

Robert^^Hunter American musician, novelist
Robert^^^Hunter ceramics
Robert^^^^Hunter self help/business

Robert Frank Hunter illustrator
Robert^E. Hunter American diplomat
Robert^^E. Hunter American surgeon
Robert N. Hunter road engineer
Robert P. Hunter veterinary drug specialist

Dead authors

Robert C. Hunter lyricist, The Grateful Dead (1941-2019)
Robert Brockie Hunter British physician (1915-1994)
Robert Hancock Hunter, known for memoir (1813-1902)
Robert M.T. Hunter American politician (1809-1887)

Robert^^^^^Hunter Canadian environmentalist; co-founder of Greenpeace (1941-2005)
Robert^^^^^^Hunter American politician and golf course architect (1874-1942)
Robert^^^^^^^Hunter British civil servant and solicitor (1844-1913)
Robert^^^^^^^^Hunter doctor, (1826-?)
Robert^^^^^^^^^Hunter Scottish missionary; Encyclopædist (1823-1897)
Robert^^^^^^^^^^Hunter British military officer (1666-1734)

Reviews

[Alemitrani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressionistic mixture of journal and novel written 64 years ago, about a group of friends including a musician, a poet, a writer, and others. They spend their time in coffee shops, bookshops, parties, a rented room and the streets connecting these places. Some of it tells of dreams and some of it was written in altered states of mind. It's not a perfect book but I rate it highly because it seems to be a sincere and authentic documentation of a short-lived scene that ended up being very influential. The narration includes many unglamorous details of bohemian lifestyles including not only friendship, love, joy, but also poverty, hunger, boredom, depression and frustration. Lots of waiting around, going back and forth, and wondering when things will happen. Needless to say, eventually things did happen for these people. Recommended.

[Daniel Notov · Rating 3 out of 5]

A snapshot of a unique time and place, giving the reader both a chronicle of the time between the Beats and Hippies, and a glimpse of a poet/writer starting his journey. Yes, it's very disjointed, moving from the origin story of the Grateful Dead's incubation, to flights of literary fancy. Robert Hunter is still finding is voice, and this book gives you a glimpse of that growth.

My take is this is a timepiece, not a great piece of literature.

[BRENDAN FINN · Rating 5 out of 5]

It should not have been a surprise that this book was an eloquent painting of a scene from an America that is long gone…but the feelings still linger. Hunter brought the reader to a time in his life that may explain everything about what happened next. And maybe not. But I loved it. Post-Beat and Pre-hippy, this is more than a glimpse into the artistic relationship that would create a musical genre and an amazing scene. But a humble beginning. A short but great journey.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique look at a unique time by a member of a not yet formed iconic band. This is a prequel to the prequel as it were.

I liked it quite a bit but this will not be for everyone.

[Mr. Shoemaker · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hunter never intended this manuscript to be published. He made the right decision.

[Pat.moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

cool insight

A glimpse into the scene prior to warlocks then the dead. Grants the reader a better sense of the world Jerry and Robert came from and their future travels.