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Jerry Garcia was the lead guitarist, vocalist,
and spokesman for the seminal '60s rock & roll band the Grateful
Dead. Throughout his career, he led the Dead through numerous
changes, becoming one of the most famous figures in the history
of rock & roll. Simultaneously, Garcia pursued an eclectic array
of side projects, ranging from the bluegrass group Old & in the
Way to his folky solo recordings. Garcia stayed active as a member
of the Grateful Dead and as a solo performer until his death in
1995.
Garcia learned to play guitar when he was 15 years old, originally
playing folk and rock & roll. In 1959, when he was 17 years old,
he spent a brief time in the army. When he left the military after
a matter of months, he moved to Palo Alto, CA, where he met and
became friends with Robert Hunter, who would later become his
lyricist. Garcia bought a banjo in 1962 and began playing in local
bluegrass bands. Within a few years, he was a member of Mother
McCree's Uptown Jug Champions, a popular local bluegrass and folk
band whose membership also included Bob Weir and Pigpen. In 1965,
this group evolved into the Warlocks, which would in turn become
the Grateful Dead in 1966.
Over the course of the next five years, the Grateful Dead began
building a reputation as a mesmerizing live act. During this time,
Garcia guested with a number of bands, both in concert and in
the studio; among the artists he appeared with are the New Riders
of the Purple Sage (a band which he helped form), Jefferson Starship,
and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. In 1970, the Grateful Dead began
to shift their music back toward their folk, country, and bluegrass
roots with the albums Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. The
following year, Garcia began a solo career with Hooteroll?, which
was released on Douglas Records. For the next few years, Garcia
recorded solo albums frequently, often with keyboardist Merl Saunders.
In 1973, he was one of the founding members of the bluegrass supergroup
Old & in the Way, which also featured David Grisman, Vassar Clements,
and John Kahn.
Garcia's solo efforts slowed in the early '80s, as he battled
heroin addiction and diabetes. After the Grateful Dead scored
their first hit album in 1987 with In the Dark, Garcia pursued
a number of solo projects, including several acoustic duet records
with David Grisman and a handful of live tours and albums with
the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band. For the first half of the '90s,
Garcia concentrated on Grateful Dead tours and albums, as the
band confirmed their status as one of the most popular concert
acts in America. However, the guitarist slowly sank back into
heroin addiction. Late in the summer of 1995, he entered Serenity
Knolls, a drug rehabilitation facility in Forest Knolls, CA. While
he was attempting to recover, Garcia died in his sleep of a heart
attack on August 9, 1995. Several months after his death, the
Grateful Dead announced their disbandment.
This bio courtesy www.allmusic.com
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