The Dead Tickets

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About The Dead

The Grateful Dead as a band has been around for over 40 years; Grateful Dead history is long, and the Dead have touched many lives along the way. In the 1960s, the remnants of a jug band called Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions felt the pulse of music in America and what they discovered was a rock and roll rhythm. These remnants of Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions decided to form a rock and roll band; originally known as The Warlocks, the band was founded by Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann. Soon after forming the Warlocks, the band's name was changed to the Grateful Dead. The name "Grateful Dead" was suggested by Jerry Garcia, who found it in a folk tale featured in an encyclopedic dictionary. Thus the Grateful Dead was formed and American music culture would never be the same.

When the Grateful Dead entered the San Francisco music scene, the music of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones had already begun to permeate music culture in America. Bob Weir (one of the Grateful Dead's founding members) has been quoted as saying the Beatles were a major influence on the band's decision to go from a jug band to a band with an electronic sound in the first place. Because each member of the band had such a different musical background, the Grateful Dead adopted a unique sound that blended a wide array of musical styles. When it came to live concerts, Grateful Dead set lists were legendary, mainly because they were never the same. The Dead embraced an improvisational way of playing, ensuring that Grateful Dead fans never saw the same Grateful Dead concert twice; each concert was unique.

The Grateful Dead enjoyed over 30 years of musical success, recording music, touring, and refining their music. Grateful Dead tickets were always in demand when the band was on tour, due to Deadheads (Dead Heads) and the rest of their loyal fan base. Four Grateful Dead albums show up on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time," including Live Dead, American Beauty, Workingman's Dead, and Anthem of the Sun. The Dead have had countless hit songs, and Grateful Dead lyrics have been memorized by more than one generation of Americans. Songs like "Truckin'," "Dark Star," "Uncle John's Band," "Sugar Magnolia," and "Dancin' in the Streets" are considered classic representations of the music of The Dead, but their music is hard to represent in only a handful of songs. One has to truly consider The Dead's music as a whole, taking special consideration for their live music and their concerts, which are the truest representations of the Grateful Dead experience.

A very loyal fan base helped make the Grateful Dead the phenomenon it was, and they continue to support the remnants of the band to this day. These loyal fans are called Deadheads (or Dead Heads) and they were known for going on tour with the band, following them from tour stop to tour stop. Dead Heads received official recognition from the band inside the Skull and Roses album, in a notice written by the Grateful Dead's manager. The band allowed and encouraged their loyal fans to record the live concerts, which was (and is) a unique and generous gesture that signifies the band's philosophy. The release of a book called Grateful Dead Family Album was published by Jerilyn Brandelius in 1990, and it contained candid photos, writings, and history of the Grateful Dead. Additionally, since 1995 the "Grateful Dead Hour" radio program hosted by David Gans is still very popular. The Grateful Dead Hour is syndicated on a nationwide level and streamed online at several locations.

After the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995, the Grateful Dead disbanded to pursue solo projects. Some of the most noted projects include Bob Weir's band RatDog and Phil Lesh's Phil Lesh and Friends. In 1996 the remnants of the Grateful Dead came together again to form a new band called The Other Ones. The Other Ones toured together and underwent several lineup changes up until 2002, when they underwent yet another official name change. The Other Ones became simply "The Dead," to pay homage to the memory of what was (but they left out "Grateful" to honor the late Jerry Garcia). Deadheads (Dead Heads) new and old shouldn't miss their opportunity to get The Dead tickets at TicketNetwork.