Home / Music / 'Operator' was Pigpen's only songwriting contribution to a Grateful Dead studio albumMusic linernotes album music grateful-dead'Operator' was Pigpen's only songwriting contribution to a Grateful Dead studio albumRon “Pigpen” McKernan wrote and sang “Operator” — his sole singing-songwriting effort on a Grateful Dead studio album. Search Amazon As an Amazon Associate, Work Notes may earn.Related NotesAmerican Beauty and Workingman's Dead make a perfect 1970 folk-rock double featureEurope '72 is a triple live albumGarcia and Hunter's songwriting partnership powered American BeautyThe Grateful Dead's Europe '72 tour spanned 22 shows across the continentEurope '72 captured the Grateful Dead live on tourExploreThe Byrds' Renaissance sessions featured five members including a departing Gene ClarkScript of the Bridge featured The Chameleons as a four-pieceLeonard Cohen wanted sparse; John Simon added strings anywayConfield marked Autechre's shift into algorithmic abstractionPhantom Power found Super Furry Animals rocking more straightforwardlyPrevious A friend from Cambridge arranged the strings on Five Leaves LeftNext Voodoo won Best R&B Album at the Grammys.