Yep that's right!!! Happy Birthday to that happy guy in the sky!! 8 days from today will be his R.I.P day.
Ok forgive me. I know who Jerry Garcia is/was. I have never listened to any Grateful Dead however. If you recommend me 3 songs from them, I would Love to check them out.
Ripple, Brokendown Palace, Mississippi Half Step, Dire Wolf, Dark Star, We bid you good night, Shakedown Street and the list could keep going.
Imo, the Dead were too mistakenly aligned with the whole "hippie" thing. And while there was certainly that element to it, esp. in the early days, there was a lot more depth to the Dead than that. There has never been anything like them. And really, that whole Deadhead thing just ended up becoming a sad parody of itself in the end. The band is more than the scene that became associated with it. Dig deeper into the musicianship and there is really nothing else like the collaboration that ensued, especially on a good night. And that's the thing about the Dead - you can recommend a particular song, but really, it comes down to how a particular song was played on a particular night, just as with any good jazz band. The Dead weren't interested in playing the same song the same way twice. There are versions of "Bertha" or "Cassidy" that are fairly run-of-the-mill, and versions when everything came together at a particular time that will melt your face off and stand up to some of the best improvisational music ever created. Don't bother starting with their studio albums, go straight to the classic live shows. The '72 era is a good place to start.
If you want to watch an awesome documentary about their rhythm guitarist Bob Weir then watch "the other one the long strange trip of bob weir". It is available on Netflix. The man is a phenomenal guitarist. I was never a big fan of the Dead until I went to a show. It wasn't the music but them as musicians that made me fall in love. Bassist Phil Lesh has been and still is the biggest inspiration for me playing the bass.
72 77 81 88 One thing about the Dead is that they went thru players on the keys like Spinal Tap went thru drummers.
I've always thought this way too. I love the cowboy songs the best! Nothing more American than the Grateful Dead. Dead and Company have been awesome the last 3 years with John Mayer.
I always liked the Dead. I got to see their keyboardist Vince Welnick (90-95) play a show in Traverse City MI before he died.
