Take for example these lines from “Ship of Fools”: The genius of the Grateful Dead was that they could be deeply subversive – upending tropes about the ‘American Dream’ – without being overtly political. That, along with Jerry’s long, improvised guitar solos and his knack of never playing a song the same way twice, burnished their reputation as the undisputed kings of psychedelic rock. Like a crazy quilt star gown through a dream night wind Look for a while at the china cat sunflower
The words were later set to music and became known as “China Cat Sunflower.” The man had the uncanny ability to articulate the synaesthetic visions induced by LSD: The first lyrics that he wrote for the Dead were composed while on LSD. Later, the multi-talented Brent Mydland replaced Keith, penning the lyrics to classics such as “Hell In a Bucket” until an accidental drug overdose took his life in 1990 at 37.Īlso See Hear Bob Dylan Honor the Grateful Dead With Surprise Cover of ‘Friend of the Devil’ With the exception of Ron McKiernan who died of liver cirrhosis at 27, the rest of the band remained together till the end, joined by Keith and Donna Godchaux on keyboards and vocals respectively. The core team was already in place by then – Bob Weir on rhythm guitar and vocals, Phil Lesh on bass, Ron ‘Pigpen’ McKiernan on vocals and harmonica, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann on drums, and of course Jerry Garcia as the lead singer and guitarist. The album cover featured an image of Yoga-Narasimha, the man-lion avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Proceeds from the concert were donated to the temple and soon after the band released their first LP, The Grateful Dead, on Warner Brothers. Accompanying the band on stage was the Hare Krishna founder Bhaktivedanta Swami, beat poet Allen Ginsberg and singer Janis Joplin. One of the group’s earliest major performances – the ‘Mantra-Rock dance’ – was organized by the San Francisco Hare Krishna temple and took place on Jan 29th, 1967, at the Avalon ballroom. He put up the band in a rented house and paid for their sound equipment. Their original backer was the sound engineer Owsley Stanley aka the ‘Acid king’ who manufactured and supplied most of the LSD in the Bay Area. Like many iconic groups, the Dead started their career playing at dive bars, parlors and house events. It was a convenient way for the faithful to fund their travels and allowed them to live on the road for months and years on end. We quickly found a spot on ‘shakedown street’ (named after their 1978 album), the section of the parking area where deadheads traditionally gathered to scalp tickets, as well as to sell food, clothing, handmade jewellery, alcoholic beverages, pot edibles, LSD and mushrooms. We loaded our instruments in the capacious trunk of Takashi’s vintage Cadillac sedan and hit the road at dawn, reaching the venue before sunset. Photo: Richard Creamer/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Garcia (right) and Carlos Santana (left) with promoter Bill Graham pose for a portrait in 1976 in Mill Valley, California. Takashi, originally from Tokyo, played keyboards, I played bass guitar, Jamal, our lead vocalist from Istanbul, doubled up on rhythm guitars while Bill, a Boston native, played drums. Our signature sound, which could be loosely described as ‘East coast hippie jazz,’ was influenced by the likes of Miles Davis, Weather Report, Phish, Bela Fleck, and of course, the Grateful Dead. We were part of a four-person band and shared a house near campus. Takashi, Jamal, Bill and I were freshmen at a mid-sized liberal arts school in New England. So we did what was expected of bona fide Deadheads, we gatecrashed the show. At the ripe old age of nineteen, such things are seldom a deterrent. It was perhaps our last opportunity to see them live, but unfortunately, tickets were all sold out. The band was slated to perform in a couple of weeks at the Giants stadium in New Jersey. In his final years, he lost sensation in his fingers due to clogged arteries was increasingly disoriented during performances, often missing notes and chords. His heroin and cocaine habit saw him in and out of rehab for decades, and severe diabetes had led to a coma in 1986 that nearly cost him his life.
And like many humans who are elevated to near mythical status, Garcia’s demons were always in close proximity, reminding him that time was running out. The singer-songwriter and guitarist was a demi-god to legions of devoted Deadheads.
There had been whispers on the grapevine for years, but it was now confirmed.
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