Remembering Jerry Garcia: Seven Facts about the Legendary Grateful Dead Frontman

Jerry Garcia. Year Taken Unknown. Taken
by Carl Lender. Found on Wikimedia Commons.

Twenty-Two years ago today, Jerry Garcia, frontman for the Grateful Dead, passed away. The singer/instrumentalist, who had celebrated his 53^rd birthday just a week prior, had suffered a heart attack in the middle of the night during a stay in rehab.

Best known for his work with the Grateful Dead, Garcia became the unofficial leader of the underground psychedelic rock scene starting to take hold of the music world in the late 1960s/early 1970s. His band would develop a cult-like following with thousands of fans that would religiously follow the band on tour around the country to see them perform in every city.

Garcia continues to be a one of the most respected artists in music. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, he was named by Rolling Stone as the 13^th best guitarist of all time. Countless bands have paid tribute to the late singer in song while famous fans have done everything from naming an ice cream flavor after him to naming newly discovered species and asteroids after him.

In memory of Jerry Garcia, Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, has compiled a list of facts about the late Grateful Dead frontman. Here are seven that you may or may not have known.

1.       He was into country music before he got into rock: As a young child living with his maternal grandparents, Jerry Garcia grew up watching the Grand Ole Opry and bought records from the likes of Hank Williams. He didn’t only listen to country though, he also played it. The first instrument that he owned was a five-string banjo and one of his first groups was the jug band Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions. It wasn’t until the mid 1960s that he saw ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and got into rock music.

2.       He played almost all the instruments on his solo debut: In 1972, Jerry Garcia released his debut solo album, ‘Garcia.’ The album was, in the literal sense, almost an entirely solo record, as Garcia did all the vocals, guitar work, piano playing and sampling himself. The only instrument he didn’t play was the drums, which were helmed by Grateful Dead bandmate Bill Kreutzmann.

3.       He was a sci-fi fan: Garcia was a big fan of sci-fi books and even recorded some music for a couple sci-fi films. He was responsible for some of the music and sound effects for 1978’s ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ and held small walk-on roles in both that film and ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind.’

4.       He was a SCUBA diver: After being released from rehab in the late 1980s, Garcia took up SCUBA diving. According to an interview with the New Yorker, he said that it took up a lot of space that drugs did. In 1988, he got his certification.

5.       He had to relearn how to play the guitar: In 1986, Jerry Garcia went into a diabetic coma due to poor diet and a drug relapse. The coma lasted for five days and did so much damage that he had to relearn some basic motor skills. That included having to relearn how to play the guitar.

6.       His first shows as the Grateful Dead were during Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests: Author Ken Kesey was kind of like the Andy Warhol of the west coast, leading a number of parties centered around LSD use. It was at one of these parties that Garcia and company played their first show after changing their name to the Grateful Dead. The band became the Velvet Underground of the scene, playing many more of Kesey’s Acid Test shows.

7.       He only had one hit song: For the amount of popularity and cult status that the Grateful Dead had, they weren’t very popular on the charts. The band only had one hit in the top 10: “Touch Of Grey” from 1987’s ‘In The Dark.’ Neither the band, nor Garcia, would have another hit after that.

Jerry Garcia remains one of the most respected musicians in the field. More than two decades after his death, people are still being inspired by his work with the Grateful Dead, his side projects and solo work. As new generations discover his music, Garcia’s legacy will continue to live on.

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