The five members that made up the orignal lineup of The Grateful Dead first came together in San Francisco in 1965 as The Warlocks, though they soon changed their name after finding out another Warlocks from the east coast had a record deal. The band consisted of Jerry Garcia (lead guitar/vocals), Bob Weir (rhythm guitar/vocals), Ron 'Pigpen' McKernan (keyboards/harmonica/vocals), Phil Lesh (bass) and Bill Kretuzmann (drums). Most of them had started out as part of the San Francisco folk scene - Garcia in particular was a talented banjo player before he picked up the electric guitar.By the time of their eponymous debut album, San Francisco was becoming renown as the counter-culture hub of America, and its rock groups were known for their experimentation and daring. The Grateful Dead consisted of some solid psychedelic blues-rock, consisting of both band originals and covers (which include Bonnie Dobson's "Morning Dew" and Sonny Boy Williamson's "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl"). Though he disavowed the role, Garcia was seen as the leader from the very beginning, his distinctive vocals and fantastic lead guitar work a defining part of their sound (though Weir and McKernan were both singing lead on certain songs too). The album is notable for the closing ten-minute number “Viola Lee Blues”, the one song which represented their live jam experience best.
More from The Grateful Dead
Download
Posts
2 comments:
“You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best. You want to be considered the only ones who do what you do.” Garcia was a genius and there really isn’t anybody else like the dead. Great post keep up the hard work. Check these out IStillGotMyGuitar.
How do we purchase these CDs?
Joe V.
Post a Comment