Grateful Dead

Throughout history there have been many musical "influences". One extremely
important influence to modern music is The Grateful Dead. The group was
formed in 1965 by bluegrass - enthusiast Jerry Garcia on guitar and vocals, Ron
"Pigpen" McKernan on vocals and organ, Bob Weir on guitar and vocals,
classical music student Phil Lesh on bass and vocals, and Bill Kreutzmann on
drums. From the beginning, they brought together a variety of influences, from
Garcia's country background to Pigpen's feeling for blues (his father was an
R&B radio DJ) and Lesh's education in contemporary serious" music. Add to
that, the experimentation encouraged at some of the group's first performances at
novelist Ken Kesey's "acid test" parties-multimedia events intended to replicate
(or accompany) the experience of taking the then-legal drug LSD-and you had a
musical mixture of styles often played with extended improvisational sections
that could go off in nearly any direction. The band signed to Warner Brothers in
1967, experiencing some difficulties early on with the restrictions of standard
recording practices and the company's interest in producing a conventionally
commercial product. As a result, the group's first few albums were somewhat
tentative but showed promise for the future, especially with the key additions of
Mickey Hart as a second drummer in 1967 and Garcia's old friend Robert
Hunter as the band's lyricist. The Dead finally hit their stride with the release of
Live Dead, a double album, in 1969. (They were always more comfortable on
stage than in the studio.) Two studio albums in 1970, Workingman's Dead and
American Beauty, found them exploring folk-rock and more tightly constructed
song forms and, along with extensive touring, won them a much larger audience.
In the second half of the '70s, the Dead recorded a series of commercially -
oriented albums for Arista, then concentrated on roadwork for the better part of
the '80s. In the Dark, released in 1987, was their first studio album in seven
years. It sold a million copies and produced the band's first Top Ten hit in
"Touch of Grey." One of the aspects of the Grateful Dead that made them stand
out was their mixing of several different kinds of music. As mentioned earlier,
the Dead's music is a hearty mixture of bluegrass, classical, and good old-
fashioned rock and roll. Jerome "Jerry" Garcia's early or "pre-dead" work was
with friend and partner David Grisman. Grisman is a still a renowned
mandolinist, but while with Garcia, they both explored the bluegrass scene. This
was Jerry's "foundation" for his musical contributions to the Grateful Dead.
Without Jerry's influence, the Grateful Dead would not have it's distinct earthy
timbre or feel that has been extremely significant in attracting their particular
following.
Another contribution to the Dead's style was bassist Phil Lesh. With only formal
jazz training on the trumpet, Lesh picked up a bass and learned as he went while
playing with the Grateful Dead's then nucleus, The Warlocks. Lesh is famous for
his jazz improvisational style. This particular style usually finds his fingers
running up and down the neck of a five or six string bass (seen right), dropping
what are affectionately known to fans as "Phil Bombs", furiously low frequency
notes that tend to rumble in auditoriums and can only be created with a five or
six string bass. As one can well imagine, these two aforementioned styles
together could create somewhat of an interesting style. Well, it only gets better.
Bill Kreutzmann, the "heartbeat" of the Grateful Dead, had been behind a kit
since the age of eleven when Jerry Garcia met him in 1962. His early love of
drums allowed him to be heavily involved in the "rock and roll" scene. As a
teen, Kreutzmann even created rock in roll bands in which to play, as the interest
was barely there. After meeting Jerry, Kreutzmann formed The Zodiacs, Ron
"PigPen" McKernan on harmonica; Jerry on bass and another friend, Troy
Weidenheimer on guitar, and began working on his deeply intricate
improvisational rhythms that he is so noted for. Upon Phil Lesh's arrival, the
Zodiacs became the Warlocks, and the musical style evolved from a more rock
and roll/bluegrass to an intermingling of jazz and the two. The son of the first
Bay Area rhythm and blues disc jockey, Ron McKernan grew up in a
predominantly black area and found a bond with the black music and culture. As
a youth, McKernan began figuring out blues piano. In his early teens, McKernan
was expelled from Palo Alto High and also developed a strong affinity for
alcohol.
McKernan began hanging around coffeehouses and music stores where he
eventually met Jerry Garcia. One night Garcia had McKernan hop onstage and
play his harmonica and sing the blues. Garcia was sold. He knew he wanted the
man he now called PigPen to be the blues singer in all the local jam sessions.
PigPen was the high-energy bluesman. He played blues organ as well as
harmonica and vocals. Pig had an incredible ability to rant improvised lyrics
incessantly. While his buddies were experimenting with LSD, Pig stuck to his
old favorites, Thunderbird wine and Southern Comfort. PigPen added more and
more signature tunes to the Dead's repertoire, including some that lasted
throughout their whole career such as Turn on Your Lovelight and In the
Midnight Hour.
When the Warlocks went electric, and became the Grateful Dead, Mickey Hart
became a full-time member of the band and the two drummers began working
diligently to create perfectly locked rhythms. The two became adept at playing
odd time signatures such as the 11/4 time in The Eleven.
Shortly after Mickey was made a member, Tom Constanten was added as a
keyboardist in lieu of PigPen. The newest additions to the band, Hart and
Constanten, caused the band to take a drastic turn from blues to psychedelia.
Over the course of three decades, the Dead saw other musicians come and go
that included Keith and Donna Godchaux, Brent Mydland, Bruce Hornsby and
Vince Welnick. All of these contributed in someway to the Dead's unique style,
however the main blueprints had already been set. The Dead's variational style
led to produce many interesting and at the time, quite unique albums with a wide
variety of different songs. For example, on the album, Skeletons from the Closet
(Warner Bros. 1974), Sugar Magnolia has a definite bluegrass or even country
feel. However, if one were to hear the track Playin' in the Band off the 1987
Warner Brothers record Grateful Dead, you would classify them as a mainly
rock and roll band. There are also other songs such as Big Railroad Blues off of
1995's release of a 1972 concert Hundred Year Hall, which are more of a blend
of the two styles. It is this musical versatility that has attracted and kept fans
hooked on the Grateful Dead for thirty years and counting. They present the
unexpected in a quirky, psychedelic, yet pleasant way. The Dead's style has
carried over and can be noticeably heard as an influence over many bands today.
The Dave Matthews Band is just one extremely good example. At present, the
DMB is in the process of feeling their popularity amongst college students out.
They have decided to follow in the Dead's shoes and adopt a blue-grassy feel
about their music. With Dave Matthews himself as the front man playing lead
guitars and singing vocals he is accompanied by a slew of musicians that is
almost eerily comparable to the Grateful Dead. A classically trained violinist,
jazz sax and drum players, a child prodigy bass player, and a keyboardist are
Dave's onstage buddies. The similarities are uncanny. Unsurprisingly, so is the
sound that is produced. Dave's unconventional voice and the jazzy-rockish
musical styling are sure to remind the old deadheads of yesteryear as they pulse
from behind the walls of their college bound offspring. Another band that is
comparable to "The Boys", is Blues Traveler. On the scene since 1984, John
Popper (lead vocals and unbelievable harmonica) has lead this band up from the
depths of the local party circuit to having a multi-platinum album (1994's Four).
Also with the same blues-rock feeling, deadheads are sure to flashback to
yesteryear with one of Popper's unreal harmonica riffs. Traveler has also touched
millions of college kids and drawn them in with their unique musical style, just
as the Dead were reeling them in in the 60's and 70's. The Grateful Dead's
immense musical influence has by far been an underlying factor in many bands
that we would consider influential today. Bob Dylan considered Jerry to be like
an older brother. The Rolling Stones, The Allman Brothers, and countless other
legends have played under the Dead's tutelage. This only shows that they have
so greatly influenced the world of music as we know it today. Just as they were
influenced to create their own unique style, they are still influencing bands
today, thirty-four years after it all began. The Grateful Dead were certainly an
implausible influence over the music world today. There is only one thing left to
say.
We are truly Grateful.