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@bdp24

After The Band’s 1969 second s/t album---routinely cited as the first "Americana" album---sent shock waves through the Rock music world, suddenly The Dead---and a lot of other bands---followed suit, but none with the depth The Band possessed and exhibited.

I’m not a deadhead but I enjoy and admire the Band and the Dead’s Americana phase equally. Personally, I don’t perceive the Band’s tunes, overall, displaying a greater "depth" but each to his/her own. I do regard Hunter and Garcia as a significantly underrated songwriting team.

As far as the Dead being first and foremost psychedelic, here is a pertinent quote from the New Directions In Music site:

... Robert Hunter was not just a poet... and lyricist; he was genuinely steeped in traditional American folk music and he and Jerry Garcia were playing the cafe scene together before there even was a Grateful Dead. From Garcia, he learned a lot of traditional songs from the bluegrass and jug band genres and he knew how to structure his lyrics to fit these musical forms.

Robert Hunter has made a couple good albums with Jim Lauderdale, a real fine Bluegrass/Hard Country singer/songwriter.

@steve59 no you are not alone.  Blinded By the Light is one of my favorites.

@bdp24 

So, Lauderdale wrote music to Hunter's lyrics... o r????

@stuartk: When you watch the video on Lauderdale I posted you will get the answer to your question, and much more. 😉

You may get an inkling as to why Elvis Costello, Buddy Miller, Lucinda Williams, Rodney Crowell, and many other artists (and I, of course) think as highly of Jim as they do.

When Gurf Morlix resigned as Lucinda’s guitarist, harmony singer, and bandleader, she hired Lauderdale to take his place. I already had all his albums when he joined her for the Car Wheels tour, but hadn’t yet seen him live. Joining them on lead guitar was Kenny Vaughan, now a member of Marty Stuart’s band The Fabulous Superlatives. That they are! IMO, the best band in the land.