About the Artist:  Formed in 1965.  Original members were Bob Weir (guitar), Bill Kreutzmann (drums), Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (keyboards), Jerry Garcia (guitar, banjo), and Phil Lesh (bass).  Before forming Grateful Dead, Weir, Kreutzmann, and McKernan were all in various San Francisco-based rock groups.  Jerry Garcia did a lot of work in jug bands.  Phil Lesh was a composer of electronic music.  Their first album was recorded and released in 1967.  Although a big part of the psychedelic music era, the band didn't really make mainstream contact until 1970 with the release of the Workingman's Dead album.  The song "Uncle John's Band" from that album became their first radio hit.  This album was a sharp, stylistic change for the group, and it became the style that they followed for the rest of their career.  Workingman's Dead was a blend of country, blues, and folk, whereas all their previous work was definitely psychedelic/acid rock.

Polar Blair's Thoughts on the Artist:  I'm keen on certain songs of the Grateful Dead, but I wouldn't say they're one of my favorite bands.  Phil Lesh once said in a TV interview that he felt Grateful Dead started recording too soon.  I think he was right.  At the time the band first accepted a recording contract, just about anyone was being signed by record companies to cash in on the hot psychedelic craze of the late 1960s.  The bad thing about this, in the Dead's case, was that they were just a new band and hadn't really established themselves like a lot of other artists.  The material on most of their early albums was mixed styles, and not all of it was good.  Their best stuff from the early days was live, cover versions of classic blues and early rock songs.  I don't feel the band really hit their stride until 1970 with the Workingman's Dead album.

Blair's Recommended Songs-

Casey Jones (from "Workingman's Dead," 1970)
Cumberland Blues (from "Workingman's Dead," 1970)
Dire Wolf (from "Workingman's Dead," 1970)
Easy Wind (from "Workingman's Dead," 1970)
Friend of the Devil (from "American Beauty," 197 )
The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion) (from "The Grateful Dead," 1967)
New Speedway Boogie (from "Workingman's Dead," 1970)
Truckin' (from "American Beauty," 197 )

Personnel:

Jerry Garcia- guitar, banjo. (ORIGINAL MEMBER)
Bill Kreutzmann- drums. (ORIGINAL MEMBER)
Phil Lesh- bass. (ORIGINAL MEMBER)
Ron "Pigpen" McKernan- keyboards. (ORIGINAL MEMBER)
Bob Weir- guitar. (ORIGINAL MEMBER)

Discography: Album:

The Grateful Dead (1967)

Anthem of the Sun (1968) [LIVE]

Aoxomoxoa (1969) [LIVE]

Live Dead (1970) [LIVE]

Workingman's Dead (1970)


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