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Grateful Dead

No band embodied the psychedelic rock era's mind-expanding, counterculture vibe better than the Grateful Dead.

During marathon concerts marked by the communal, peaceful atmospheres, the San Francisco troupe combined traditional genres such as folk, bluegrass and roots with experimental, freewheeling musical excursions. Even today, the Grateful Dead boasts a rabid fanbase of loyalists known as Deadheads - all of whom keep the band's legacy and music alive, well and vibrant. More on rockhall.com...

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Grateful Dead Materials in the Catalog

Grateful Dead: the Illustrated Trip by Maurice Waite
Call Number: ML421.G738 J33 2015
The Grateful Dead by Kenneth McIntosh
Call Number: ML421.G738 M35 2008
Grateful Dead 365 by Holly George-Warren
Call Number: ML421.G738 G46 2008
The Grateful Dead Reader by David Dodd (Editor); Diana Spaulding (Editor)
Call Number: ML421.G738 D63 2000
Grateful Dead Family Album by Jerilyn L. Brandelius
Call Number: ML421.G738 B736 1989
Explores the personal side of the group's experiences over the last three decades as well as their live performances.

Grateful Dead via Rock's Backpages

You can access the full subscription to Rock's Backpages by visiting us at the Library and Archives. Some content is offered for free, like the following articles.

Grateful Dead: Dead Grateful
Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 27 May 1972
Grateful Dead: Fillmore East, New York NY
Mike Jahn, New York Times, The, 29 April 1971
Grateful Dead - Blues for Allah
Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 27 September 1975
Grateful Dead
Tom Hibbert, Q, January 1991

Spotify Playlists

Audio

The Golden Road, 1965-1973 by Grateful Dead
Call Number: CDB GRAT GOLD 2001
Beyond description, 1973-1989 by Grateful Dead
Call Number: BOX GRAT BEYO 2004

Grateful Dead Interviews

Archival Collections

Listed below are notable collections and items from the Rock Hall's Archives. You can find more by searching our catalog here.

In addition to the collections listed in more detail below, there are individual items of interest on the Grateful Dead in the following:

ARC-0036 Bomp! Records Collection
Contains over 40 bootleg audiocassette recordings from 1967-1987 of live Grateful Dead performances, jams with other groups, rehearsals, album outtakes, and demos.
ARC-0267 Collection on Janis Joplin
Includes handbills for Grateful Dead performances at the Avalon, Winterland, and the Great Highway, 1966, 1969, and undated.
ARC-0037 Jeff Gold Collection
Contains artist files, books, handbills, postcards, posters related to the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia from 1966-1991.
ARC-0051 John Platt Collection
Contains over 100 bootleg audiocassette recordings from 1967-1985 of live Grateful Dead performances, as well as album outtakes, demos, rare tracks, studio rehearsals, and radio shows; nine bootleg VHS recordings from 1969-1996 contain performance footage, homemade montages, television specials, documentaries, award shows, and film outtakes.
ARC-0156 Manny and Skippy Gerard Collection
Contains undated handbills, postcards, and venue calendars related to the promotion of Grateful Dead performances at San Francisco Bay Area venues.
ARC-0093 Sue Cassidy Clark Collection
Contains an audiocassette interview with the group and ephemera from concerts promoted by Bill Graham in San Francisco, circa 1967-1972.