Description

The Grateful Dead were right there at the birth of the 1960s West Coast psychedelic scene, but they handily incorporated simple folk, blues, and country sounds into their swirling, jam-oriented style. With an endless touring schedule and a huge following of devoted fans, the group fueled hippie visions well into the '90s and sparked the jam-band movement that would eventually fill the void left by the dearly departed Grateful Dead after the passing of guitarist Jerry Garcia. Since Garcia's passing, surviving members of the band have participated in various musical projects, including a reunion tour in 2003 under the shortened name of "the Dead."

Biography

The enigmatic, erratic and mercurial (cliché, but absolutely true) Grateful Dead evolved from Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions to become the Warlocks in 1965. A number of conflicting reasons for the choice of name have arisen over the years. The most popular one is that the name was chosen from a randomly opened copy of the Oxford Companion To Classical Music (others say a Funk & Wagnells dictionary) the juxtaposition of words evidently immediately appealing to Garcia and his chums, who at the time were somewhat chemically stimulated on DMT. The theory that it came from the Egyptian Book Of The Dead has been denied by each member of the band. The original line-up comprised Jerry Garcia (b. Jerome John Garcia, 1 August 1942, San Francisco, California, USA, d. 9 August 1995, Forest Knolls, California, USA; lead guitar), Bob Weir (b. Robert Hall, 16 October 1947, San Francisco, California, USA; rhythm guitar), Phil Lesh (b. Philip Chapman, 15 March 1940, Berkeley, California, USA; bass), Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (b. 8 September 1945, San Bruno, California, USA. d. 8 March 1973; keyboards) and Bill Kreutzmann (b. 7 April 1946, Palo Alto, California, USA; drums). The Grateful Dead have been synonymous with the San Francisco/Acid Rock scene since its inception in 1965 when they took part in Ken Kesey's Acid Tests. Stanley Owsley manufactured the then legal LSD and plied the band and their friends with copious amounts. This hallucinogenic opus was duly recorded onto tape over a six-month period, and documented in Tom Wolfe's book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Wolfe stated that "They were not to be psychedelic dabblers, painting pretty pictures, but true explorers."
Their music, which started out as straightforward rock, blues and R&B, germinated into a hybrid of styles, but has the distinction of being long, wandering and improvisational. By the time their first album was released in 1967 they were already a huge local cult band. Grateful Dead sounds raw in the light of 90s record production, but it was a brave, early attempt to capture a live concert sound on a studio album. "Cold Rain And Snow" and "The Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion" are short compositions that could have been successful pop singles, had Warner Brothers known how to market the band. The follow-up Anthem Of The Sun was much more satisfying. On this alleged "live" record, 17 different concerts and four different live studios were used. The non-stop suite of ambitious segments with tantalizing titles such as "The Faster We Go, The Rounder We Get" and "Quadlibet For Tenderfeet" was an artistic success. Their innovative and colourful album covers were among the finest examples of San Franciscan art, utilizing the talents of Kelley Mouse Studios (Alton Kelley and Stanley Mouse). The third album contained structured songs and was not as inaccessible as the palindrome title Aoxomoxoa suggested. Hints of a mellowing Grateful Dead surfaced on "China Cat Sunflower" and the sublime "Mountains Of The Moon", complete with medieval-sounding harpsichord. It was with this album that their lyrics came under close scrutiny as being something special. In particular those by auxillary member Robert Hunter (b. 23 June 1941, Arroyo Grande, California, USA), who wrote mysterious tales of intrigue.
In concert, the band was playing longer and longer sets, sometimes lasting six hours with only as many songs. Their legion of fans, now known as "Deadheads" relished the possibility of a marathon concert. It was never ascertained who imbibed more psychedelic chemicals, the audience or the band. Nevertheless, the sounds produced sometimes took them to breathtaking heights of musical achievement. The interplay between Garcia's shrill, flowing solos and Lesh's meandering bass lines complemented the adventurous jazzy chords of Weir's rhythm guitar. The band had now added a second drummer, Mickey Hart (b. 11 September 1943, New York, USA), and a second keyboard player, Tom Constanten, to accompany the unstable McKernan, who had, by now, a severe drinking problem. It was this line-up that produced the seminal double album Live/Dead in 1970. Their peak of improvisation is best demonstrated on the track "Dark Star". During its 23 minutes of recorded life, the music simmers, builds and explodes four times, each with a crescendo of superb playing from Garcia and his colleagues. For many, this one song was the epitome of what the band were all about.
On the two following records Workingman's Dead and American Beauty, a strong Crosby, Stills And Nash harmony influence prevailed. The short, country-feel songs brought Garcia's pedal steel guitar to the fore (he had recently guested on Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young's Déjà Vu). Uplifting songs such as "Uncle John's Band", "Ripple" and "Till The Morning Come" were shared with powerful yet sentimental ballads such as "Attics Of My Life", "Brokendown Palace" and "High Time". These two outstanding albums were like sister and brother, and broke the band to a much wider audience. Paradoxically, the "Dead' reverted to releasing live sets by issuing a second, self-titled double album (originally to be named Skullfuck), closely followed by the triple, Europe "72. After years of ill health through alcohol abuse, McKernan died in 1973. He was replaced by Keith Godchaux from Dave Mason's band, who, together with his wife Donna on vocals, compensated for the tragic loss of Pigpen. Wake Of The Flood in 1973 showed a delicate jazz influence and proved to be their most commercially successful album to date. With this and subsequent studio albums the band produced a more mellow sound. It was not until Terrapin Station in 1977 that their gradual move towards beautiful lethargy was averted. Producer Keith Olsen expertly introduced a fuller, more orchestrated sound, and forced them to be more musically disciplined in the studio.
As a touring band the Grateful Dead continued to prosper, but their studio albums began to lose direction. For their funky but disappointing Shakedown Street they enlisted Little Feat's Lowell George as producer. Although they had been with the band for some years, Keith and Donna Godchaux had never truly fitted in. Donna often had trouble with her vocal pitch, resulting in some excruciating performances, while Keith began to use hard drugs. They were asked to leave at the end of 1979 and on 21 July 1980, Keith was killed in a car crash. Go To Heaven (1980) with new keyboard player Brent Mydland betrayed a hint of disco-pop. The album sleeve showed the band posing in white suits which prompted "Deadheads" to demand: "Have they gone soft?" Ironically, it was this disappointing record that spawned their first, albeit minor, success in the US singles chart with "Alabama Getaway". All of the band had seriously experimented with drugs for many years and, unlike many of their contemporaries, had survived. Garcia, however, succumbed to heroin addiction in 1982. This retrospectively explained his somnolent playing and gradual decline as a guitarist over recent years, together with his often weak and shaky vocals. By the mid-80s, the band had become amorphous but still commanded a massive following. Garcia eventually collapsed and came close to death when he went into a diabetic coma in 1986.
The joy and relief of his survival showed in their first studio album in seven years, In The Dark. It was a stunning return to form, resulting in a worldwide hit single "Touch Of Grey", with Garcia singing his long-time co-songwriter Robert Hunter's simplistic yet honest lyric: "Oh well a touch of grey, kinda suits you anyway, that's all I've got to say, it's alright". The band joined in for a joyous repeated chorus of "I will survive" followed by "We will survive". They were even persuaded to make a video and the resulting exposure on MTV introduced them to a whole new generation of younger fans. The laconic Garcia humorously stated that he was "appalled" to find they had a smash hit on their hands. Garcia attempted to get fit and to shake off years of drug abuse. While Built To Last (1989) was a dull affair, they continued to play to vast audiences. They have since received the accolade of being the largest grossing band in musical history. In August 1990 Mydland died from a lethal combination of cocaine and morphine. Remarkably, this was the third keyboard player to die in the band. Mydland's temporary replacement was Bruce Hornsby until Vince Welnick was recruited full-time. In 1990, the band's live album catalogue was increased with the release of the erratic Without A Net and the poor Dylan And The Dead.
The transcendental Grateful Dead have endured, throughout the many difficult stages in their long career. Their progress was again halted when Garcia became seriously ill with a lung infection. After a long spell in hospital Garcia returned, this time promising to listen to doctors' advice. They continued to tour throughout 1993 and 1994, after which they began to record a new studio album. However, on 9 August 1995, Garcia suffered a fatal heart attack, ironically while staying in Serenity Knolls, a drug treatment centre in Marin County. It was alleged he was found curled on his bed clutching an apple with a smile on his face. The reaction from the world press was surprisingly significant: Garcia would have had a wry grin at having finally achieved this kind of respectability all over the planet. The press were largely in agreement, concurring that a major talent in the world of music had passed on (either that or all the news editors on daily newspapers were all 40-something ex-hippies). In the USA the reaction was comparable to the death of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Elvis Presley and John Lennon. Within hours over 10,000 postings were made on the Internet, an all night vigil took place in San Francisco and the president of the USA Bill Clinton gave him high praise and called him a genius. The mayor of San Francisco called for flags to be flown at half-mast and, appropriately, flew a tie dyed flag from city hall. Bob Dylan said that there was no way to measure his greatness or magnitude.
Garcia's high standing in the USA is undisputed, but it is hoped that he will be remembered elsewhere in the world not just as the man who played the familiar opening pedal steel guitar solo on Crosby, Stills And Nash's "Teach Your Children". Garcia was a giant who remained hip, humorous, philosophical, humble and credible right up to his untimely death. At a press conference in December 1995 the remaining band members announced that they would bury the band name along with Garcia. With no financial worries, the remaining members embarked on a number of solo projects to see them into the 21st century, which is precisely where many of their fans believed that they always belonged. In 1998, Lesh was hospitalized with hepatitis which briefly curtailed his activity with Bob Weir in their new project, the Other Ones. In February 2003, Weir, Lesh, Hart and Kreutzmann announced they would be touring once again, this time as the Dead, in respect of Garcia. Guest musicians joining them have included Joan Osborne (vocals), Rob Barraco (keyboards/vocals), and Warren Haynes (guitar/vocals).
The Grateful Dead felt all the emotions of rock, folk, soul, R&B, blues and country music, and they played it always from the heart. The resulting sound was a hybrid that was unique to them. Sometimes they were ragged and occasionally they were lacklustre, but mostly they were outstanding in their ability to interact and improvise. Love or hate, black or white, it is impossible to be indifferent about the Grateful Dead's music. Quite simply, you either get it or you don't.
DISCOGRAPHY: The Grateful Dead (Warners 1967)***, Anthem Of The Sun (Warners 1968)****, Aoxomoxoa (Warners 1969)****, Live/Dead (Warners 1970)****, Workingman's Dead (Warners 1970)*****, Vintage Dead (Sunflower 1970)*, American Beauty (Warners 1970)*****, Historic Dead (Sunflower 1971)*, Grateful Dead (Warners 1971)****, Europe '72 (Warners 1972)***, History Of The Grateful Dead, Vol. 1 (Bear's Choice) (Warners 1973)***, Wake Of The Flood (Grateful Dead 1973)****, From The Mars Hotel (Grateful Dead 1974)****, Blues For Allah (Grateful Dead 1975)**, Steal Your Face (Grateful Dead 1976)**, Terrapin Station (Arista 1977)****, Shakedown Street (Arista 1978)**, Go To Heaven (Arista 1980)*, Reckoning (Arista 1981)***, Dead Set (Arista 1981)**, In The Dark (Arista 1987)****, Built To Last (Arista 1989)**, with Bob Dylan Dylan And The Dead (Columbia 1990)*, Without A Net (Arista 1990)**, One From The Vault (Grateful Dead 1991)***, Infrared Roses (Grateful Dead 1991)**, Two From The Vault (Grateful Dead 1992)***, Dick's Picks, Volume One: Tampa, Florida, December 19 1973 (Grateful Dead 1993)***, Dick's Picks, Volume Two: Columbus, Ohio October 31, 1971 (Grateful Dead 1995)***, Hundred Year Hall (Arista 1995)****, Dick's Picks, Volume Three: Pembroke Pines, Florida, May 22 1977 (Grateful Dead 1995)***, Dick's Picks, Volume Four: Fillmore East, New York, 13/14 February 1970 (Grateful Dead 1996)****, Dick's Picks, Volume Five: Oakland Auditorium Arena, California, December 26 1979 (Grateful Dead 1996)***, Dozin' At The Knick (Grateful Dead/Arista 1996)****, Dick's Picks, Volume Six: Hartford Civic Center, October 14 1983 (Grateful Dead 1996)****, Dick's Picks, Volume Seven: Alexandra Palace, London, England, September 1974 (Grateful Dead 1997)**, Dick's Picks, Volume Eight: Harpur College, Binghamton, NY, May 2 1970 (Grateful Dead 1997)***, Fallout From The Phil Zone (Grateful Dead/Arista 1997)*****, Dick's Picks, Volume Nine: Madison Square Garden, September 16 1990 3-CD set (Grateful Dead 1997)***, Fillmore East 2-11-69 (Grateful Dead 1997)****, Dick's Picks, Volume Ten: Winterland Arena, December 29 1977 (Grateful Dead 1998)****, Dick's Picks, Volume Eleven: Stanley Theater, Jersey City, September 27 1972 (Grateful Dead 1998)***, Dick's Picks, Volume Twelve: Providence Civic, June 26 1974, Boston Garden, June 28 1974 (Grateful Dead 1998)***, Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind: The Dead Live In Concert 1971 (Pinnacle 1999)**, Dick's Picks, Volume Thirteen: Nassau Coliseum, New York, May 6 1981 (Grateful Dead 1999)****, Dick's Picks, Volume Fourteen: Boston Music Hall, 30 November & 2 December 1973 (Grateful Dead 1999)****, Dick's Picks, Volume Fifteen: Englishtown, New Jersey, September 3 1977 (Grateful Dead 1999)***, Dick's Picks, Volume Sixteen: Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, November 8 1969 (Grateful Dead 2000)***, Dick's Picks, Volume Seventeen: Boston Garden, September 25 1991 (Grateful Dead 2000)****, View From The Vault Soundtrack 1990 live recording (Grateful Dead 2000)***, Dick's Picks, Volume Eighteen: Dane County Coliseum, February 3 1978, Uni-Dome, University Of North Iowa, February 5 1978 (Grateful Dead 2000)***, Ladies And Gentlemen ... Fillmore East: New York City, April 1971 4-CD set (Arista 2000)****, Dick's Picks, Volume Nineteen: Fairgrounds Arene, Oklahoma City, OK, October 19 1973 (Grateful Dead 2000)***, Dick's Picks, Volume Twenty 1976 Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland, 25 September 1976/Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse, New York, 28 September 1976 (Grateful Dead 2001)***, Dick's Picks, Volume Twenty-One: Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Vancouver, 1 November 1985 (Grateful Dead 2001)***, Dick's Picks, Volume Twenty-Two: Kings Beach Bowl, Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe, 23/24 February 1968 (Grateful Dead 2001)****, View From The Vault II Soundtrack 1990/1991 live recordings (Grateful Dead 2001)***, Nightfall Of Diamonds (Arista 2001)****, Dick's Picks, Volume Twenty-Three: Baltimore Civic Center, September 17 1972 (Grateful Dead 2001)***, Steppin' Out With The Grateful Dead: England '72 4-CD set (Grateful Dead 2002)***, Dick's Picks, Volume Twenty-Four. Cow Palace Daly City CA, 23 March 1974 (Grateful Dead 2002)***, Dick's Picks, Volume Twenty-Five. New Haven CT 10 May 1978, Springfield, MA, 11 May 1978 (Grateful Dead 2002)***, Dick's Picks 26: Electric Theatre, Chicago, Il, April 26 1969/Labor Temple, Minneapolis, MN, April 27 1969 (Grateful Dead 2002)***, Go To Nassau 1980 recording (Grateful Dead 2002)***, Dick's Picks 27: Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA, December 16 1992 3-CD set (Grateful Dead 2003)**, Dick's Picks 28: Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, UT, February 28 1973/Pershing Municipal Auditorium, Lincoln, NE, February 26 1973 4-CD set (Grateful Dead 2003)***, Dick's Picks 29: Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA, May 19 1977/Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Fl, May 21 1977 6-CD set (Grateful Dead 2003)***, New Year's Eve: The Closing Of Winterland - December 31, 1978 4-CD set (Grateful Dead/Rhino 2003)***, Dick's Picks 30: Academy Of Music, New York City March 25 & 28 1972 4-CD set (Grateful Dead 2004)***, Dick's Picks 31: 8/4-5/74 Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, PA, 8/6/74 Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, NJ 4-CD set (Grateful Dead 2004)***, Rockin' The Rhein 3-CD set (Grateful Dead/Rhino 2004)****, Dick's Picks 32: 8/7/82 Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI 2-CD set (Grateful Dead 2004)***, Dick's Picks 33: 10/9 & 10/76 Oakland Coliseum Stadium, Oakland, CA 4-CD set (Grateful Dead 2004)***.
COMPILATIONS: The Best Of: Skeletons From The Closet (Warners 1974)****, What A Long Strange Trip It's Been: The Best Of The Grateful Dead (Warners 1977)****, The Arista Years (Arista 1996)***, So Many Roads (1965-1995) 5-CD box set (Grateful Dead/Arista 1999)****, The Golden Road (1965-1973) 12-CD box set (Rhino 2001)*****, Postcards Of The Hanging: Grateful Dead Perform The Songs Of Bob Dylan (Grateful Dead/Arista 2002)***, Birth Of The Dead (Rhino 2003)***, The Very Best Of The Grateful Dead (Warners 2003)****, Beyond Description (1973-1989) 12-CD box set (Rhino 2004)***.
VIDEOGRAPHY: Grateful Dead In Concert (RCA Video 1984), So Far (Virgin Vision 1988), The Grateful Dead Movie (Palace Premiere 1990), Infrared Sightings (Trigon 1995), Dead Ahead (Monterey 1995), Backstage Pass: Access All Areas (Pearson 1995), Ticket To New Year's (Monterey Home Video 1996), Tie Died: Rock 'n' Roll's Most Dedicated Fans (BMG Video 1996), Downhill From Here (Monterey 1997), Anthem To Beauty (Rhino Home Video 1998), View From The Vault II (Monterey Home Video 2001), The Closing Of Winterland (Rhino 2003), The Grateful Dead Movie (Grateful Dead 2004).
BIBLIOGRAPHY: The Dead Book: A Social History Of The Grateful Dead, Hank Harrison. The Grateful Dead, Hank Harrison. Grateful Dead: The Official Book Of The Deadheads, Paul Grushkin, Jonas Grushkin and Cynthia Bassett. History Of The Grateful Dead, William Ruhlmann. Built To Last: Twenty-Five Years Of The Grateful Dead, Jamie Jensen. Drumming At The Edge Of Magic, Mickey Hart. Grateful Dead Family Album, Jerilyn Lee Brandelius. Sunshine Daydreams: Grateful Dead Journal, Herb Greene. Aesthetics Of The Grateful Dead, David Womack. One More Saturday Night: Reflections With The Grateful Dead, Sandy Troy. Drumming At the Edge Of Magic, Mickey Hart and Jay Stevens. Planet Drum, Mickey Hart and Fredric Lieberman. Book Of The Dead: Celebrating 25 Years With The Grateful Dead, Herb Greene. Conversations With The Grateful Dead, David Gans. Story Of The Grateful Dead, Adrian Hall. Dead Base IX: Complete Guide To Grateful Dead Song Lists, Nixon and Scot Dolgushkin. Living With The Dead, Rock Scully with David Dalton. A Box Of Rain: Collected Lyrics Of Robert Hunter 1965-1993, Robert Hunter. Dead To The Core: A Grateful Dead Almanack, Eric F. Wybenga. The Music Never Stopped, Blair Jackson. Captain Trips: A Biography Of Jerry Garcia, Sandy Troy. Sweet Chaos: The Grateful Dead's American Adventure, Carol Brightman. Dark Star: An Oral Biography Of Jerry Garcia, Robert Greenfield. What A Long Strange Trip: The Stories Behind Every Grateful Dead Song 1965-1995, Stephen Peters. Garcia: An American Life, Blair Jackson. A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History Of The Grateful Dead, Dennis McNally. The Illustrated Trip, Grateful Dead Productions.

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