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Grateful Dead
American rock band (1965–1995)
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. They were known for their eclectic style which was influenced by elements of rock, blues, jazz, folk, country, bluegrass, rock and roll, gospel, reggae and world music.
In their early years the band also introduced Space music psychedelia to their performances. The band became well known for their ability to improvise during their live performances.
They are also known for their devoted fanbase known as "Deadheads". According to the musician and writer Lenny Kaye, the music of the Grateful Dead "touches on ground that most other groups don't even know exists".
members: Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Jerry Garcia, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Tom Constanten, Keith Godchaux
formed in: Palo Alto
labels: Arista Records, Warner Bros. Records, Warner Records, Grateful Dead Records
genres: rock music, psychedelic rock
awards: Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Internet Archive Hero award, Grammy Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Kennedy Center Honors
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
rockpsychedelic rockfolk rockjam bandcountry rockroots rock
The Elsewhere GazetteExtra
Formation (1965–1966)
The Grateful Dead began their career as the Warlocks, a group formed in early 1965 from the remnants of a Palo Alto, California, jug band called Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions and members of the Wildwood Boys (Jerry Garcia, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, David Nelson, Robert Hunter, and Norm Van Maastricht). As the Wildwood Boys they played regularly at The Tangent, a folk music coffeehouse operated by Stanford Medical Center doctors Stuart "Stu" Goldstein and David "Dave" Shoenstadt on University Avenue in Palo Alto (1963). As the Warlocks, the band's first show was at Magoo's Pizza Parlor, at 639 Santa Cruz Avenue in suburban Menlo Park, on May 5, 1965, now a cocktail bar. The band continued playing bar shows, like Frenchy's Bikini-A-Go-Go...
The Grateful Dead formed during the era when bands such as the Beatles, the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones were dominating the airwaves. "The Beatles were why we turned from a jug band into a rock 'n' roll band", said Bob Weir. "What we saw them doing was impossibly attractive. I couldn't think of anything else more worth doing." Former folk-scene star Bob Dylan had recently put out a couple of records featuring electric instrumentation. Grateful Dead members have said that it was after attending a concert by the touring New York City band the Lovin' Spoonful that they decided to "go electric" and look for a "dirtier" sound. Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir (both of whom had been immersed in the American folk music revival of the late 1950s...
Grateful Dead have been called a "symbol of the counterculture movement of the sixties". Beginning in the early 1990s, a new generation of bands became inspired by the Grateful Dead's improvisational ethos and marketing strategy, and began to incorporate elements of the Grateful Dead's live performances into their own shows. These include the nightly alteration of setlists, frequent improvisation, the blending of genres, and the allowance of taping, which would often contribute to the development of a dedicated fanbase. Bands associated with the expansion of the "jam scene" include Phish, the String Cheese Incident, Widespread Panic, Blues Traveler, Moe, and the Disco Biscuits. Many of these groups began to look past the American roots...
American rock band (1965–1995) formed in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Initially formed in 1964 as .
Also known as: (The Grateful Dead), Dead, Grareful Dead, Grateful Dead, Grateful Dead Band Members And Fans
From Discogs (free to use). Their entry
Liner notes
Grateful Dead, the records, oldest first
The Grateful Dead
1967 album
Anthem of the Sun
1968 album
Aoxomoxoa
1969 album
Workingman’s Dead
1970 album
on the air
American Beauty
1970 album
Wake of the Flood
1973 album
From the Mars Hotel
1974 album
wanted
Blues for Allah
1975 album
Terrapin Station
1977 album
Shakedown Street
1978 album
Go to Heaven
1980 album
In the Dark
1987 album
Built to Last
1989 album
Records from MusicBrainz; covers from the Cover Art Archive.
"Uncle John's Band" is a song by the Grateful Dead that first appeared in their concert setlists in late 1969. The band recorded it for their 1970 album Workingman's Dead.
Written by guitarist Jerry Garcia and lyricist Robert Hunter, "Uncle John's Band" presents the Dead in an acoustic and musically concise mode, with close harmony singing.
Music and lyrics
"Uncle John's Band" has one of the Dead's most immediately accessible and memorable melodies, set against a bluegrass-inspired folk arrangement with acoustic guitars. Specific lyrics ("It's a Buckdancer's Choice my friend; better take my advice", "the fire from the ice", "don't tread on me", "It's the same story the crow told me") allude to various folk, mountain, or bluegrass tunes known to be in band members' repertoire.
"Scarlet Begonias" is a song by the Grateful Dead. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music by Jerry Garcia.
Background
The song begins in Grosvenor Square in London and also references "Tea for Two" from No, No, Nanette by Irving Caesar and Vincent Youmans.
Covers
A version of the song appears on the Sublime album 40oz. to Freedom (1992), which samples James Brown's "Funky Drummer" prominently and features a rapped interlude written by Bradley Nowell which takes the story in a darker direction with the woman being a police informant.
