Jerry Garcia was born 80 years ago today.
Garcia was best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the Grateful Dead. Though he disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader or "spokesman" of the group.
One of its founders, Garcia performed with the Grateful Dead for their entire 30 years of musical performances from 1965 to 1995. He also founded and participated in a variety of side projects, including the Saunders-Garcia Band (with longtime friend, Merl Saunders), Jerry Garcia Band, Old and in the Way, the Garcia/Grisman acoustic duo, Legion of Mary and the New Riders of the Purple Sage (which Garcia co-founded with John Dawson and David Nelson).
Garcia released several solo albums, and contributed to a number of albums by other artists over the years as a session musician. He was well known by many for his distinctive guitar playing.
Later in life, Garcia was sometimes ill because of his unstable weight, and in 1986 went into a diabetic coma that nearly cost him his life. Although his overall health improved somewhat after that, he also struggled with heroin and cocaine addictions, and was staying in a California drug rehabilitation facility when he died of a heart attack in August, 1995.
In 1987, ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry's came out with Cherry Garcia, which is named after the guitarist and consists of "cherry ice cream with cherries and fudge flakes.”
Guitarist Warren Haynes wrote the song "Patchwork Quilt" in memory of Garcia. Reggae artist Burning Spear paid homage by releasing the song, "Play Jerry," in 1997.
According to fellow Bay Area guitar player Henry Kaiser, Garcia is "the most recorded guitarist in history.” With more than 2,200 Grateful Dead concerts, and 1,000 Jerry Garcia Band concerts captured on tape – as well as numerous studio sessions – there are about 15,000 hours of his guitar work preserved for the ages.
On July 30, 2004, Melvin Seals was the first Jerry Garcia Band member to headline an outdoor music and camping festival called the Grateful Garcia Gathering.
On July 21, 2005, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission passed a resolution to name the amphitheater in McLaren Park, "The Jerry Garcia Amphitheater." The amphitheater is located in the Excelsior District, where Garcia grew up.
Here, Garcia performs Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue”