The object of adoration for popular music's most fervent and celebrated fan following - - the Deadheads, their numbers and devotion legendary in their own right - - they were the ultimate cult band, creating a self- styled universe all their own; for the better part of their career orbiting well outside of the mainstream, the Dead became superstars solely on their own terms, tie- dyed pied pipers whose epic, free- form live shows were rites of passage for an extended family of listeners who knew no cultural boundaries. The roots of the Grateful Dead lie with singer/songwriter Jerry Garcia, a longtime bluegrass enthusiast who began playing the guitar at age 1. Upon relocating to Palo Alto, CA, in 1. Robert Hunter, whose lyrics later graced many of Garcia's most famous melodies; in time, he also came into contact with aspiring electronic music composer Phil Lesh. By 1. 96. 2, Garcia was playing banjo in a variety of local folk and bluegrass outfits, two years later forming Mother Mc.
Cree's Uptown Jug Champions with guitarist Bob Weir and keyboardist Ron . The Warlocks made their electric debut that July; Ken Kesey soon tapped them to become the house band at his notorious Acid Tests, a series of now- legendary public LSD parties and multimedia . As 1. 96. 5 drew to its close, the Warlocks rechristened themselves the Grateful Dead, the name taken from a folk tale discovered in a dictionary by Garcia; bankrolled by chemist/LSD manufacturer Owsley Stanley, the band members soon moved into a communal house situated at 7. Listen free online Grateful Dead The Arista Years album. Songs can be added to any of your playlists or you can just mark them as favorite. Download CASSIDY by GRATEFUL DEAD free. The Arista Years (disc 1) Grateful Dead. Close the gap of the dark years in between You and me, Cassidy. Several band members came and went during the Arista years, but these albums ALL have these players in common. 3.0 out of 5 stars Frustrating Last 'Arista Years' for Grateful Dead On 2CD Set. By Anthony G Pizza VINE. Ashbury Street in San Francisco, becoming a fixture on the local music scene and building a large fan base on the strength of their many free concerts. Signing to MGM, in 1. Dead also recorded their first demos; the sessions proved disastrous, and the label dropped the group a short time later. As 1. 96. 7 mutated into the Summer of Love, the Dead emerged as one of the top draws on the Bay Area music scene, honing an eclectic repertoire influenced by folk, country, and the blues while regularly appearing at top local venues including the Fillmore Auditorium, the Avalon Ballroom, and the Carousel. In March of 1. 96. Dead issued their self- titled Warner Bros. Their follow- up, 1. Anthem of the Sun, fared better in documenting the free- form jam aesthetic of their concerts, but after completing 1. Aoxomoxoa, their penchant for time- consuming studio experimentation left them over 1. The Dead's response to the situation was to bow to the demands of fans and record their first live album, 1. Live/Dead; highlighted by a rendition of Garcia's . It was followed by a pair of classic 1. Workingman's Dead and American Beauty; recorded in homage to the group's country and folk roots, the two albums remained the cornerstone of the Dead's live repertoire for years to follow, with its most popular songs - - . Despite increasing radio airplay and respectable album sales, the Dead remained first and foremost a live act, and as their popularity grew across the world they expanded their touring schedule, taking to the road for much of each year. As more and more of their psychedelic- era contemporaries ceased to exist, the group continued attracting greater numbers of fans to their shows, many of them following the Dead across the country; dubbed . Shows were also extensively bootlegged, and not surprisingly the Dead closed out their Warners contract with back- to- back concert LPs - - a 1. Europe '7. 2. The latter release was the final Dead album to feature Pigpen Mc. Kernan, a heavy drinker who died of liver failure on March 8, 1. Keith Godchaux, who brought with him wife Donna Jean to sing backing vocals. Wake of the Flood was the first release on the new Grateful Dead Records imprint; around the time of its follow- up, 1. Grateful Dead From the Mars Hotel, the group took a hiatus from the road to allow its members the opportunity to pursue solo projects. After returning to the live arena with a 1. Dead signed to Arista to release Terrapin Station, the first in a series of misguided studio efforts that culminated in 1. Go to Heaven, widely considered the weakest record in the group's catalog - - so weak, in fact, that they did not re- enter the studio for another seven years. The early '8. 0s was a time of considerable upheaval for the Dead - - the Godchauxs had been dismissed from the lineup in 1. Keith dying in a car crash on July 2. As much a cottage industry as a band, they traveled not only with an enormous road crew but also dozens of friends and family members, many of them Dead staffers complete with health insurance and other benefits. Still, the Dead were widely regarded as little more than an enduring cult phenomenon prior to the release of 1. In the Dark; their first studio LP since Go to Heaven, it became the year's most unlikely hit when the single . Suddenly their videos were in regular rotation on MTV, and virtually overnight the ranks of the Deadheads grew exponentially, with countless new fans flocking to the group's shows. Not only did concert tickets become increasingly tough to come by for longtime followers, but there were also more serious repercussions - - the influx of new fans shifted the crowd dynamic considerably, and once- mellow audiences became infamous not only for their excessive drug habits but also for their violent encounters with police. Other troubles plagued the Dead as well: in July 1. Garcia - - a year removed from a drug treatment program - - lapsed into near- fatal diabetic coma brought on by his continued substance abuse problems, regaining consciousness five days later. His health remained an issue in the years which followed, but the Dead spent more time on tour than ever, with a series of dates with Bob Dylan yielding the live album Dylan & the Dead. Their final studio effort, Built to Last, followed in 1. Tragedy struck in October of that year when a fan died after breaking his neck outside of a show at the New Jersey Meadowlands; two months later, a 1. LSD also died while in police custody at the Los Angeles Forum. As ever, the Dead themselves were also not immune to tragedy - - on July 2. Mydland suffered a fatal drug overdose, the third keyboardist in group history to perish; he was replaced not only by ex- Tubes keyboardist Vince Welnick but also by satellite member Bruce Hornsby, a longtime fan who frequently toured with the group. In the autumn of 1. Garcia was again hospitalized with diabetes and an enlarged heart, forcing the Dead to postpone their upcoming tour until the year's end; he eventually returned to action looking more fit than he had in years. Still, few were surprised when it was announced on August 9, 1. Garcia had been found dead in his room at a substance abuse treatment facility in Forest Knolls, CA; the 5. While Garcia's death spelled the end of the Dead as a continuing creative entity, the story was far from over. As the surviving members disbanded to plot their next move, the band's merchandising arm went into overdrive - - in addition to Dick's Picks, a series of archival releases of classic live material, licensed products ranging from Dead T- shirts to sporting goods to toys flooded the market. Plans were also announced to build Terrapin Station, an interactive museum site. In 1. 99. 6, Weir and Hart mounted the first Furthur Festival, a summer tour headlined by their respective bands Rat. Dog and Mystery Box; in 1. Lesh and Hornsby to tour as the Other Ones. In spirit if not in name, the Grateful Dead's trip continued on.
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