On a whim, I bought my first Grateful Dead CD, Live/Dead, in 1995. I was a sophomore in high school and that album changed my life forever. When I first listened to the 75-minute record in its entirety, it unexpectedly took me on a journey draped in a tapestry of musical bliss. The experience was profound.
It was my first time hearing the 23-minute "Dark Star," opening with each instrument gently introducing itself—a few melodic notes from Jerry Garcia on guitar; a couple distant bellows from Phis Lesh's bass; Bob Weir noodles briefly before adding rhythm guitar riffs; Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart construct a rhythmic backbone from resonating taps on hi-hats and cymbals; Tom Constanten's organ anchors the instrumental interplay as it slowly builds until erupting into a solid groove.
The lingering reverberation of Garcia's opening vocal line, cut deeply with feverish intensity: "Dark star crashes, pouring its light into ashes." From "Dark Star," Live/Dead seamlessly moves into a ripping "St. Stephen" followed by an electric "The Eleven." The album then rides down deep into blues territory with a fiery Pigpen-led "Turn On Your Love Light" followed by Garcia's climatic take on Reverend Gary Davis' "Death Don't Have No Mercy."
Only a few months after Live/Dead transformed me into a lifetime lover of everything Grateful Dead, the band's fearless leader passed away Aug. 9, 1995.
Jerry Garcia has been gone for 25 years, but his music, his influence and his spirit remain stronger than ever, and the Dead's surviving members have kept it alive. Yes, there have been hiatuses, disagreements and health issues along the way, but through a various iterations and combinations, Bobby, Billy, Mickey and Phil have kept on truckin' over the last 25 years.
Grateful Dead fans keep showing up and new Deadheads are born every day.
“[The audience] feeds us,” Bob Weir told me days before Furthur's two shows at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in 2011. “They let us know what they like and we work with that. When you’re out in the audience you can feel it and we sure as hell feel it too. We’re always a part of the experience as much as the audience.”
For 50 plus years, Deadheads like me, who never had the opportunity to see the band with Jerry, are just as devoted to the music as the original Deadheads. The remaining members of the band are also devoted. Aside from a few more grey hairs and many new faces, the scene is mostly the same as it's always been: Folks from all walks of life coming together to experience that sweet, sweet music again and again. It's all about the songs, like those on Live/Dead, perpetually evolving. There are no rules. There are no limits.
“It’s pretty much like it’s always been," Weir said. "On a nightly basis I get surprised by certain songs standing out. The tunes never quit surprising me."
Before Garcia passed away, the Grateful Dead delivered well over 2,400 live performances. Between Weir, Lesh, Hart and Kreutzmann and their various Dead-related side projects, at least 1,000 shows throughout the post-Garcia era have taken place.
Like the title of the song states: "The Music Never Stopped."
“It’s part of the nature of the music and the way we approach it, which is totally open,” Phil Lesh told me before performing the 50th Anniversary of Monterey Pop. “That was the idea with the Grateful Dead from the beginning: We never wanted to play a song the same way twice. We didn’t want to go out live and play the record. The music is driving all of us at the same time, in the same way. That’s the highest you can get playing music, so it’s impossible to pick out a favorite show. Those high points are what stick with you. That’s what you want to re-create in the next show; there are ideals that you can aspire to.”
Need proof that the Dead are still a dominate force in the music world and popular culture? Nike recently collaborated with the band, releasing Nike SB Dunk Low Grateful Dead. The collection features fuzzy footwear in green, orange and yellow, and they are all tagged with the group's bear logo on the sneaker tongue. The sneakers sold out instantly after they went on sale in July.
There's also no shortage of high-quality live Grateful Dead performances, waiting to be uncovered, all over the web. Additionally, since Covid, the “Shakedown Stream” offers killer content on a weekly basis through the Grateful Dead YouTube channel.
Lyricist/poet extraordinaire Robert Hunter penned most of the Dead's song lyrics, though Garcia did write lyrics to a few songs, including his love letter to the Merry Pranksters and the early Acid Tests, "Cryptical Envelopment" (check out the amazing, high-def footage of the Dead playing the tune live in 1968):
"And when the day had ended, with rainbow colors blended/ His mind remained unbended," Garcia sings. "He had to die, you know he had to die."
There will never be another Jerry Garcia, but the long strange trip is far from over.
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