obligation, as the band were trying to finish the terms of their recording contract and end their association with Warner Bros., it was compiled as the first volume of either a two-volume set or a series. However, further volumes never came to be as the band were creating their own record label, after which difficulties prevented the release of live archival recordings. Lead guitarist Jerry Garcia explained, "We [had to] give it to them in order to make Europe '72 a triple LP... We ended up giving them four discs instead of just two just to be able to go to Europe. It all goes back to that damn vacation of ours... [It represents] us in early 1970, at a time in our existence when we never made a record. The stuff we were doing at the time never got onto any of our records before now." Drummer Bill Kreutzmann commented, "To fulfill our contract with Warner Brothers, we let Bear put together a live anthology—hence the nickname Bear’s Choice. The official title, History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One, reflects its unofficial intent as a tribute and send-off to Pigpen." Release Side one consists of acoustic performances by McKernan, Jerry Garcia, and Bob Weir on country blues and folk covers, with one original from Workingman's Dead. The second side features the entire electric band on blues covers "Smokestack Lightning" by Howlin' Wolf, and "Hard to Handle" by Otis Redding. The parenthetical "Bear's Choice" of the title prevented confusion with a homonymous, non-contractual album, in retail bins at the time. For this reason and due to title length, fans usually refer to the album simply as "Bear's Choice". A large complement of iconography is associated with the Grateful Dead. Along with the "Skull & Roses" and dancing terrapins, perhaps the most ubiquitous are the "Lightning Skull/Steal", and the "Dancing Bears", which notably made their first appearance on the front and rear covers, respectively, of this album. Designed by Bob Thomas, the latter have been incorporated into an endless array of both fan-produced and official merchandise and ephemera. Though usually referred to as the "Dancing Bears" they are, in fact, marching and not dancing. The front cover also has the first appearance of the "Good Old Grateful Dead" epithet, circling the "Lightning Skull" graphic. The album was remastered for compact disc, in 2001, as part of The Golden Road (1965–1973) box