Jerry Garcia

Jerry Garcia
Born	August 1, 1942 San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
Died	August 9, 1995 Forest Knolls, California, U.S.A.
Alias(es)	Captain Trips
Genre(s)	Psychedelic rock Rock music Folk rock Bluegrass
Affiliation(s)	Grateful Dead Jefferson Starship Legion of Mary Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions The Warlocks Mickey Hart and the Hartbeats Jerry Garcia Band Old and in the Way Garcia & Grisman Reconstruction_(band)
Label(s)	Rhino Records Warner Bros. Arista Records Grateful Dead Records Acoustic Disc
Notable guitars	Guild Starfire 1957 Gibsons Les Pauls Gold-top Les Paul with P-90 Gibson SGs Fender Stratocaster "Alligator" Doug Irwin Custom "Wolf" Doug Irwin Custom "Tiger" Doug Irwin Custom "Rosebud"
Years active	1960 - 1995
Official site	www.jerrysite.com

Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was the lead guitarist and vocalist of the psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead. Named after composer Jerome Kern, Garcia started on the banjo and piano, moved on to the guitar, and eventually became a master on many stringed instruments, despite the accidental amputation—by his brother Clifford Garcia ("Tiff")—of his right middle finger just below the first knuckle at age nine during a family camping trip, while Tiff was chopping wood. He witnessed the drowning death of his father at the age of 5.

Early years

Of Spanish-Irish-Swedish extraction,[1] Garcia was born in San Francisco, California, United States. After a childhood spent in San Francisco's Excelsior district, he dropped out of Balboa High School and enlisted in the United States Army on April 12, 1960. After completing Basic Training and Service School Training as an auto maintenance helper, at Fort Ord California, Garcia was stationed at Fort Winfield in San Francisco's Presidio. Garcia was still spending his hours at his leisure, picking up the acoustic guitar. He was discharged on December 14, 1960, after accruing two courts martial and eight AWOLs. After his discharge Garcia, David Nelson, and a poet named Robert Hunter teamed up to make music—later on, Hunter would become the main lyricist for the Grateful Dead. Around this time Garcia was playing and teaching acoustic guitar and banjo, and up to 1964 he sang and performed mainly bluegrass, old-time and folk music. Garcia joined a local bluegrass and folk band called Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions, whose membership also included Bob Weir and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan. In 1965, this group evolved into the Warlocks—which, with the addition of Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann, would in turn become the Grateful Dead later that year—and Garcia picked up the electric guitar.

Career with the Grateful Dead

Garcia's mature guitar-playing melded elements from the various kinds of music that had enthralled him. Echoes of "hillbilly" and bluegrass playing (such as Arthur Smith and Doc Watson) could be heard. But the "roots music" behind hillbilly and bluegrass had its influence, too, and melodic riffs from Celtic fiddle jigs can be distinguished. There was also early rock (like Lonnie Mack, James Burton and Chuck Berry), contemporary blues (such as Freddie King and Lowell Fulson), country & western (such as Roy Nichols and Don Rich), and jazz (like Charlie Christian) to be heard in Jerry's style. Don Rich was the sparkling country guitar player in Buck Owens's "Buckaroos" band of the 1960s, but besides Rich's style, both Garcia's pedal steel guitar playing (on Grateful Dead records and others) and his standard electric guitar work, were influenced by another of Owens's Buckaroos of that time, pedal-steel player Tom Blumley.

Garcia's style varied somewhat according to the song or instrumental he was contributing to. His playing had a number of so-called "signatures" and, in his work through the years with the Grateful Dead, one of these was lead lines making much use of rhythmic triplets (examples include the songs "Good Morning Little School Girl," "New Speedway Boogie," "Brokedown Palace," "Deal," "Loser," "Truckin'," "That's It For The Other One," "U.S. Blues," "Sugaree," and "Don't Ease Me In").

In 1967, Jerry Garcia lived at 710 Ashbury Street, San Francisco, in the heart of the Haight Ashbury district and played at the Human Be-In which inaugurated the Summer of Love.

From 1965 to 1995, the Grateful Dead toured almost constantly, developing a fan base known as deadheads, renowned for their intensity of devotion. Some fans dedicated their lives to the band, following the Grateful Dead from concert to concert, making a living by selling handmade goods, arts, and crafts.

Side projects

In addition to the Grateful Dead (who frequently toured for long periods), Garcia had numerous side projects, the most notable being the Jerry Garcia Band. He was also involved with various acoustic projects such as Old and in the Way and other bluegrass bands, including collaborations with noted bluegrass mandolinist David Grisman (the documentary film "Grateful Dawg" chronicles the deep, long-term friendship between Garcia and Grisman). Other groups of which Garcia was a member at one time or another include the Black Mountain Boys [2], Legion of Mary [3], Reconstruction, and the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band. Jerry Garcia was also an appreciative fan of jazz artists and improvisation: he played with jazz keyboardists Merl Saunders and Howard Wales for many years in various groups and jam sessions, and he appeared on saxophonist Ornette Coleman's 1988 album, Virgin Beauty.

Throughout the early 1970s, Garcia, Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, drummer Mickey Hart, and David Crosby collaborated intermittently with MIT-educated composer and biologist Ned Lagin on several projects in the realm of early electronica; these include the album Seastones (released by the Dead on their Round Records subsidiary) and L, an unfinished dance work.

Garcia also lent pedal-steel guitar playing to fellow-San Francisco musicians New Riders of the Purple Sage from their initial dates in 1969 to October 1971, when increased commitments with the Dead forced him to opt out of the group. He appears as a band member on their self-titled debut album, released in 1971 and made several guest appearances on subsequent albums in addition to producing Home, Home On The Road, a 1974 live album by the band. He also contributed pedal steel guitar to the enduring hit "Teach Your Children" by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, likely the most recognizable piece of music to feature the guitarist. Despite considering himself a novice on the pedal steel and having all but given up the instrument by 1973, he routinely ranked high in player polls. After a long lapse, he played it once more with Bob Dylan in 1987.

An avid reader and cinefile, Garcia was particularly fond of Kurt Vonnegut's The Sirens Of Titan and owned the novel's film rights for many years, struggling to adapt it with the likes of Al Franken.

Having studied art at the San Francisco Art Institute, Garcia made a second career out of painting. A series of neckties based on those paintings has been quite lucrative. The popularity of the ties might be attributed to their wild patterns and bright colors. Even in 2005, ten years after Garcia's death, new styles and designs continue to be sold at high-end men's stores.

Garcia was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Life and Death

Jerry Garcia had one brother Clifford 'Tiff' Garcia; during his life, he married three times, and had four daughters: his first wife, Sara Ruppenthal Garcia, with whom he had a daughter, Heather; Carolyn 'Mountain Girl' Adams Garcia, with whom he had daughters Anabelle and Theresa; and Deborah Koons Garcia. Also, Jerry Garcia had a relationship with Manasha Matheson and had a fourth daughter with her, Keelin Garcia.

During the Haight-Ashbury heyday, in the mid 1960s, Jerry was a prominent member of the community. Garcia was charismatic and was frequently featured on local radio and was the focus of many newspaper and magazine articles. Of course, he turned up as an icon on posters, too. Young people were impressed with Jerry not only because of his talent and his tendency to good cheer and general goodwill, but because of his obvious intelligence, his libertarian sort of attitude, and his willingness to speak his mind. Though he was widely regarded as a kind of guru figure in the San Francisco psychedelic scene, Jerry couldn’t take the role seriously himself. It was no secret that drugs, especially psychedelics, were condoned in his social circle and among the "Deadheads" who devotedly attended Grateful Dead concerts everywhere. Garcia’s propensity to use addictive drugs was evident to those who knew him by the mid 1970s.

Jerry Garcia died on August 9, 1995, of a heart attack exacerbated by sleep apnea. Garcia, who struggled with tobacco and drug addiction (most notably china white Heroin and Cocaine) and sleep apnea for much of his adult life, was staying at the Serenity Knolls drug rehabilitation center in Forest Knolls, California at the time. On his passing, he was honored by President Clinton as being "an American icon." Memorial services were held in Golden Gate Park on August 13, 1995. Along with the band members, his family and friends, thousands of fans were present, many singing and playing in drum circles. Deborah Koons Garcia and Bob Weir, just after dawn on April 4, 1996, spread Garcia's ashes on the Ganges River 155 miles north of New Delhi, the idea of which came to Weir in a dream.

Legacy

Rolling Stone named Garcia the 13th greatest guitarist of all time. [4]

In 1987, ice cream manufacturers 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." It quickly became the most popular Ben & Jerry's flavor. For a month after Garcia's death, the ice cream was made with black cherries as a way of mourning.

On July 21, 2005, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission [5] 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. The first show to happen at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater was Jerry Day 2005 on August 7, 2005. Tiff Garcia was the first person to welcome everybody to the "Jerry Garcia Amphitheater." Jerry Day is an annual celebration of Jerry in his childhood neighborhood. The dedication ceremony (Jerry Day 2) on October 29, 2005 was officiated by mayor Gavin Newsom.

On August 9, 2005, the late D12 member Proof released his first solo-album, called "Searching for Jerry Garcia" in honor of the late Grateful Dead member. Upon the release, Proof said: "He played every kind of music — he had jazz albums, classical albums, he went against the grain," Proof said. "He didn't care about the record sales ... I mean, his shows outsold his record sales. That almost don't make sense to me."

One of Garcia's legacies is the Jam band scene the Dead spawned. Phish, Umphrey's McGee and dozens of other groups not only play in the Dionysian spirit of the Dead, but keep the Deadhead spirit alive through shows that are, at their best, as much about community as they are about music.

On September 24, 2005, the Comes a Time: A Celebration of the Music & Spirit of Jerry Garcia tribute concert was held at the Hearst Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California. [6] The concert featured Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Bruce Hornsby, Trey Anastasio, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, Michael Kang, Jay Lane, Jeff Chimenti, Mark Karan, Robin Sylvester, Kenny Brooks, Gloria Jones, and Jackie LaBranch. Two of Garcia's longtime bandmates and friends, Phil Lesh and Robert Hunter did not attend. Phil Lesh stated that "my son went away to college and we had all kinds of family things going that week."⁽³⁾

About a thousand people have gathered annually since 2002 to celebrate Jerry Garcia's life on the first Sunday of August with an event known as Jerry Day.

Soundgarden has released an instrumental piece called "Jerry Garcia's Finger".

Jerry Garcia's name has been used on countless products including a line of Birkenstock sandals and upscale men's ties.

Discography

• Old and in the Way
  • Old and in the Way - 1975
  • That High Lonesome Sound – 1996
  • Breakdown – 1997
• Garcia & Grisman
  • Garcia Grisman
  • Not for Kids Only
  • Shady Grove
  • So What
  • The Pizza Tapes (featuring Tony Rice) – 2000
  • Been All Around this World
  • Grateful Dawg
• Solo
  • Garcia - 1972
  • Compliments - 1974
  • Reflections - 1976
• Jerry Garcia Band
  • Cats Under the Stars - 1978
  • Run for the Roses - 1982
  • Jerry Garcia Band - 1991
  • How Sweet it is - 1997
  • Don't Let Go - 2001
  • Shining Star - 2001
  • After Midnight: Kean College, 2/28/80 - 2004
• Legion of Mary
  • The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol 1: Legion of Mary - 2005
• Compilations
  • Garcia Plays Dylan - 2005
  • The Very Best of Jerry Garcia - 2006
• Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band
  • Almost Acoustic - 1988
• Pure Jerry Series - 2004-2005
  • Theatre 1839, July 29 & 30, 1977
  • Lunt-Fontanne, NYC, October 31, 1987
    • This album is one of 10 "live jam releases of this century" according to the August issue of Guitar One magazine.
  • Lunt-Fontanne, NYC, "Best of the Rest"
  • Keystone Berkeley, September 1, 1974
  • Merriweather Post Pavilion, September 1 & 2, 1989
  • Warner Theatre, March 18, 1978

See also

• Grateful Dead
• Legion of Mary
• New Riders of the Purple Sage
• Old and in the Way

External links

• The Jerry Site
• Big Brother & The Holding Company Site
• Dead Lists home page
• http://jerrygarcia.com/
• http://jerryday.org
• http://jerrygarciaamphitheater.org
• http://www.jgamp.org
• http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000999900
• http://www.dead.net/
• GDRADIO.NET - Streaming Grateful Dead and more.
• http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/
• IMDB on "Grateful Dawg"
• Over 2800 Grateful Dead recordings available in streaming format
• Gratefuldeadbooks.com
• Rhino Entertainment - Rhino Records

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