JERRY GARCIA

Jerry Garcia was the lead guitarist, vocalist, and spokesman for the seminal ’60s rock & roll band, the “Grateful Dead.” Throughout his career, he led the Dead through numerous changes, becoming one of the most famous figures in the history of rock & roll. Simultaneously, Garcia pursued an eclectic array of side projects, ranging from the bluegrass group “Old & In the Way” to his folky solo recordings. Garcia stayed active as a member of the Grateful Dead and as a solo performer until his death in 1995.

Garcia learned to play guitar when he was 15 years old, originally playing folk and rock & roll. In 1959, when he was 17 years old, he spent a brief time in the army. When he left the military after a matter of months, he moved to Palo Alto, CA, where he met and became friends with Robert Hunter, who would later become his lyricist. Garcia bought a banjo in 1962 and began playing in local bluegrass bands.

Within a few years, he was a member of “Mother McCrees Uptown Jug Champions,” a popular local bluegrass and folk band whose membership also included Bob Weir and Pigpen. In 1965, this group evolved into the “Warlocks,” which would in turn become the Grateful Dead in 1966. Over the course of the next five years, the Grateful Dead began building a reputation as a mesmerizing live act. During this time, Garcia guested with a number of bands, both in concert and in the studio; among the artists he appeared with are the “New Riders of the Purple Sage” (a band which he helped form), “Jefferson Starship,” and “Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.”

In 1970, they began to shift their music back toward their folk, country and bluegrass roots with the albums “Workingman’s Dead” and “American Beauty.” The following year, Garcia began a solo career with “Hooteroll?,” which was released on Douglas Records. For the next few years, Garcia recorded solo albums frequently, often with the keyboardist Merl Saunders, in which also featured David Grisman, Vassar Clements, and John Kahn.

After the Grateful Dead scored their first hit album in 1987 with “In the Dark,” Garcia pursued a number of solo projects, including several acoustic duet records with David Grisman and a handful of live tours and albums with the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band. For the first half of the ’90s, Garcia concentrated on Grateful Dead tours and albums, as the band confirmed their status as one of the most popular concert acts in America.

Garcia died in his sleep of a heart attack on August 9, 1995. Several months after his death, the Grateful Dead announced their disbandment.