The Grateful Dead[]
The Grateful Dead was an iconic American rock band formed in San Fransisco, California during the height of the hippie movement in 1965. They played on, evolving through the 1960’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s until Jerry Garcia, a leading member of the band, died in 1995. They reunited in 2003, 2004 and 2008, dropping the Grateful in respect for Garcia. In 2015, some of the remaining members joined with some new blood, calling themselves Dead & Company. The Grateful Dead was the leading rock and roll band during the LSD and psychedelic craze of the 1960’s.
Beginning of the Dead[]
Based in San Fransisco with a house on Ashbury Street, the Grateful Dead were primarily involved with Owsley Stanly, Ken Kesey, and the Merry Pranksters. They were originally the house band at the Acid Tests held by the Merry Pranksters and became a key part of the free live music filling San Fransisco in the 1967 Summer of Love. From there, their fan base was born. By the late 1960s, their fans, who had been dubbed Deadheads, followed the band on the road and were the embodiment of the counterculture. The Grateful Dead were where they were meant to be when they played live at Woodstock in 1969. They played across the country and eventually went to Europe where their fanbase continued.
Grateful Dead 1-14-67 Golden Gate Park S.F. CA.
The Music[]
The Grateful Dead have songs that are two minutes long to a full forty-six minutes. Their best songs came later as they evolved through the 1970’s.
- 'Casey Jones' From: 'Workingman's Dead' (1970)
- 'Truckin' From: 'American Beauty' (1970)
- 'Touch of Grey' From: 'In the Dark' (1987)
- 'Friend of the Devil' From: 'American Beauty' (1970)
- 'Uncle John's Band' From: 'Workingman's Dead' (1970)
- 'Ripple' From: 'American Beauty' (1970)
- 'Fire on the Mountain' From: 'Shakedown Street' (1978)
- 'Sugar Magnolia' From: 'American Beauty' (1970)
- 'Bertha' From: 'Grateful Dead' (1971)
- 'Scarlet Begonias' From: 'Grateful Dead From the Mars Hotel' (1974)