The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California….with a group that ranged from quintet to septet….whereby the band is known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, bluegrass, blues, gospel, modal jazz, reggae, experimental music, psychedelia, and space rock….and if that sounded like quite a lot….it was. The Dead were known for live performances of lengthy instrumental jams,….and let’s not forget their devoted fan base, known as “Deadheads”…..and as Bone Daddy, the original Sportsphile puts it…..we had a lot of Deadheads who also loved sports that come to the Garden.
“Their music”, writes Lenny Kaye, “touches on ground that most other groups don’t even know exists”. These various influences were distilled into a diverse and psychedelic whole that made the Grateful Dead “the pioneering Godfathers of the jam band world”. The band was ranked 57th by Rolling Stone magazine in its The Greatest Artists of All Time issue. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994….while a recording of their May 8, 1977, performance at Cornell University’s Barton Hall was added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in 2012. The Grateful Dead have sold more than 35 million albums worldwide.
