Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for being a principal songwriter, the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band the Grateful Dead, of which he was a founding member and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 1960s. Although he disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader or “spokesman” of the group.
As one of its founders, Garcia performed with the Grateful Dead for their entire 30-year career (1965–1995). Garcia also founded and participated in a variety of side projects, including the Saunders–Garcia Band (with longtime friend Merl Saunders), the Jerry Garcia Band, Old & In the Way, the Garcia/Grisman acoustic duo, Legion of Mary, and New Riders of the Purple Sage (which Garcia co-founded with John Dawson and David Nelson). He also 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 for his distinctive guitar playing, and was ranked 13th in Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” cover story in 2003. In the 2015 version of the list he was ranked at #46.
Garcia was also renowned for his musical and technical ability, particularly his ability to play a variety of instruments, and his ability to sustain long improvisations with the Grateful Dead. Garcia believed that improvisation took stress away from his playing and allowed him to make spur of the moment decisions that he would not have made intentionally. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Garcia noted that “my own preferences are for improvisation, for making it up as I go along. The idea of picking, of eliminating possibilities by deciding, that’s difficult for me”.
Later in life, Garcia struggled with diabetes, and in 1986 went into a diabetic coma that nearly cost him his life. Although his overall health improved somewhat after that, he continued to struggle with obesity, smoking, and longstanding heroin and cocaine addictions. He was staying in a California drug rehabilitation facility when he died of a heart attack on August 9, 1995 at the age of 53.
Legacy
Garcia was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead in 1994. He declined to attend the ceremony; the band jokingly brought a cardboard cutout of Garcia out on stage in his absence.
In 1987, Vermont ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s introduced their Cherry Garcia flavor dedicated to him. It was the first ice cream flavor dedicated to a musician.
In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Jerry Garcia 13th in their list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.
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 (JGB) member to headline an outdoor music and camping festival called “The Grateful Garcia Gathering”. Jerry Garcia Band drummer David Kemper joined Melvin Seals and JGB in 2007. Other musicians and friends of Garcia include Donna Jean Godchaux, Mookie Siegel, Pete Sears, G.E. Smith, Chuck Hammer, Barry Sless, Jackie Greene, Brian Lesh, Sanjay Mishra, and Mark Karan.
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. The first show to happen at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater was Jerry Day 2005 on August 7, 2005. Jerry’s brother, Tiff Garcia, was the first person to welcome everybody to the “Jerry Garcia Amphitheater.” Jerry Day is an annual celebration of Garcia in his childhood neighborhood. The dedication ceremony (Jerry Day 2) on October 29, 2005 was officiated by mayor Gavin Newsom.
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. 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, Melvin Seals, Merl Saunders, Marty Holland, Stu Allen, Gloria Jones, and Jackie LaBranch.
Georgia-based composer Lee Johnson released an orchestral tribute to the music of the Grateful Dead, recorded with the Russian National Orchestra, entitled “Dead Symphony: Lee Johnson Symphony No. 6.” Johnson was interviewed on NPR on the July 26, 2008 broadcast of Weekend Edition, and gave much credit to the genius and craft of Garcia’s songwriting. A live performance with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Johnson himself, was held Friday, August 1.
In 2010 the Santa Barbara Bowl in California opened Jerry Garcia Glen along the walk up to the venue. There is a statue of Garcia’s right hand along the way.
Seattle rock band Soundgarden wrote and recorded the instrumental song “Jerry Garcia’s Finger”, dedicated to the singer, which was released as a b-side with their single “Pretty Noose”.
Numerous music festivals across the United States and Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK hold annual events in memory of Jerry Garcia.
On May 14, 2015 an all-star lineup held a tribute concert for Garcia at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. The event was called “Dear Jerry”.
In 2015, Hunter and Garcia were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Hunter accepted the award along with Garcia’s daughter, Trixie Garcia, accepting on behalf of her father.
In 2015, Jerry Garcia’s wife, Manasha Garcia and their daughter, Keelin Garcia launched The Jerry Garcia Foundation, a nonprofit charity that supports projects for artistic, environmental, and humanitarian causes. The Foundation’s Board members are Bob Weir, Peter Shapiro, Glenn Fischer, Irwin Sternberg, Daniel Shiner, TRI Studios CEO, Christopher McCutcheon and Fender Music Foundation Executive Director, Lynn Robison. Keelin Garcia said, “It is a tremendous honor to participate in nonprofit work that is in accordance with my father’s values.”
In 2018, Jerry Garcia family members, Keelin Garcia and Manasha Garcia launched the Jerry Garcia Music Arts independent music label.
Tracklist
A1 Deep Elum Blues
A2 Friend Of The Devil
A3 Jericho
B1 She Belongs To Me
B2 Jack A Row
B3 Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie
C1 Paint My Masterpiece
C2 I’ve Been All Around This World
C3 Run For The Roses
D1 Bird Song
D2 Gammorah
D3 Ripple
Jerry Garcia discography
New Riders of the Purple Sage – New Riders of the Purple Sage – 1971
Hooteroll? – Howard Wales and Jerry Garcia – 1971
Garcia – Jerry Garcia – 1972
Live at Keystone – Merl Saunders, Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, Bill Vitt – 1973
Compliments – Jerry Garcia – 1974
Old & In the Way – Old & In the Way – 1975
Reflections – Jerry Garcia – 1976
Cats Under the Stars – Jerry Garcia Band – 1978
Run for the Roses – Jerry Garcia – 1982
Vintage NRPS – New Riders of the Purple Sage – 1986
Keystone Encores – Merl Saunders, Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, Bill Vitt – 1988
Almost Acoustic – Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band – 1988
Jerry Garcia / David Grisman – Jerry Garcia and David Grisman – 1991
Jerry Garcia Band – Jerry Garcia Band – 1991
Not for Kids Only – Jerry Garcia and David Grisman – 1993
Associated acts:
Grateful Dead
Legion of Mary
Reconstruction
Jerry Garcia Band
Old & In the Way
Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band
New Riders of the Purple Sage
Hart Valley Drifters
Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions
Merl Saunders
Garcia & Grisman
Rainforest Band
Muruga Booker
John Kahn (June 13, 1947 – May 30, 1996) was an American electric and acoustic bassist. From 1970 to 1995, Kahn was one of Jerry Garcia’s principal musical collaborators outside of the Grateful Dead.
Biography
John Kahn was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Adopted at birth by Hollywood talent agents, he grew up in Beverly Hills, California and was babysat by Marilyn Monroe, who was represented by his father in the early stages of her career. According to spouse Linda Kahn in a 2017 Reddit Ask Me Anything prompt, he began to take piano and music theory classes at 4 and 5, respectively. Following the death of his father at a young age, he was mentored by noted violinist Mischa Elman, a cousin of his father.
At Beverly Hills High School, he earned a reputation as a precocious jazz guitarist. He also composed a symphonic piece, “Western Impressions,” the first orchestral work by a student to be publicly performed by the school’s orchestra under the direction of Robert Holmes. In his junior year, Kahn switched to double bass and formed a jazz duo with a pianist, Peter Isackson, who encouraged him to study with Monty Budwig, a member of the house rhythm section at notable Hollywood jazz club Shelly’s Manne-hole.
After briefly attending the University of Southern California, he transferred to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1965. During this period, he lived in nearby Sausalito, California and began to gravitate toward the incipient rock culture of the Haight-Ashbury district. In 1967, he began working as a session musician, specializing in electric bass, with a litany of notable blues, folk, and rock performers, including Mike Bloomfield, Nick Gravenites, Mississippi Fred McDowell, John Lee Hooker, Brewer & Shipley (a longstanding collaboration that encompassed their 1971 Top Ten hit “One Toke Over the Line”), Tom Fogerty, Maria Muldaur (who was in a relationship with Kahn for several years in the 1970s), Al Kooper, Jackie DeShannon, and Otis Rush.
Kahn first played with Garcia in May 1970 as the bassist of a jazz rock group that coalesced around Garcia and organist Howard Wales (who facilitated their introduction) during Monday night jam sessions at The Matrix, a San Francisco nightclub of the era; this ensemble would go on to record Hooteroll? (1971; credited to Garcia and Wales). He also played acoustic bass in Old & In the Way, a bluegrass supergroup that toured in 1973 and 1974. Along with Kahn, the band featured Garcia on banjo and vocals, future progressive bluegrass luminary David Grisman on mandolin and vocals, songwriter Peter Rowan on guitar and vocals, and Vassar Clements on fiddle.
From 1970 to 1975, Kahn played in the Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia Band and was an integral part of later iterations of the Garcia/Saunders collaboration, including Legion of Mary (1974–1975) and Reconstruction (1978–1979); the latter group was initially intended to serve as a musical outlet for Kahn during Garcia’s tours with the Grateful Dead. Kahn was the only founding member of the Jerry Garcia Band (1975–1995) besides Jerry Garcia to remain with the group until its dissolution following Garcia’s death in 1995. He was the band’s nominal manager and was in charge of repertoire (according to Garcia). He also played alongside Garcia in the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band (1987–1988) and served as the guitarist’s only accompanist in the Garcia & Kahn acoustic duo that toured intermittently from 1982 to 1986. He and Garcia remained close friends to the end.
Kahn did occasional work for the Grateful Dead, serving as a recording engineer alongside Betty Cantor-Jackson and Bob Matthews for the band’s aborted Egypt ’78 live album documenting performances at the Giza Plateau in September 1978; selections from these concerts were eventually released as Rocking the Cradle: Egypt 1978 (2008). He also contributed horn arrangements and uncredited organ and additional production to Shakedown Street (1978) following the departure of nominal producer Lowell George.
Associated acts w/John Kahn
Jerry Garcia
Old & In the Way
Legion of Mary
Mike Bloomfield
Paul Butterfield
