The Grateful Dead facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead, around 1970
Background information
Also known as	The Warlocks, The Dead
Origin	San Francisco, California, USA
Genres	Rock
Years active	1965–1995
Labels	Warner Bros. (1966–1972) Grateful Dead (1973–1976) Arista (1977–1989) Rhino (Remasters) (2001–present)
Associated acts	Jerry Garcia Band Phil Lesh and Friends Ratdog The Other Ones The Dead Rhythm Devils New Riders of the Purple Sage Bobby and the Midnites Bruce Hornsby Legion of Mary
Past members	Jerry Garcia Bob Weir Phil Lesh Bill Kreutzmann Ron "Pigpen" McKernan Mickey Hart Tom Constanten Keith Godchaux Donna Godchaux Brent Mydland Vince Welnick

The Grateful Dead was a famous rock band that started in Palo Alto, California, United States in 1965. They were well-known for their exciting concerts and their very loyal fans, who were called "Deadheads".

The band's music was a mix of different styles. It included psychedelic rock, which is a type of rock music that often sounds dreamy or trippy. They also blended in sounds from blues, country, folk, and bluegrass. The Grateful Dead were also famous for their cool artwork and logos, which often featured skeletons and dancing bears.

They were recognized as one of the greatest music groups of all time. Rolling Stone magazine put them at number 57 on their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In 1994, they were added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band sold over 35 million albums around the world. They also played for more than 25 million people, which is more than almost any other band!

The Band's Journey

The Grateful Dead played music together for a long time, from 1965 until 1995. The band stopped performing after Jerry Garcia, their lead guitarist and singer, passed away. Many people saw Jerry Garcia as the main leader of the group.

Original Members

The original members of the band were:

• Jerry Garcia (guitar and singing)
• Bob Weir (guitar and singing)
• Phil Lesh (bass guitar)
• Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (keyboards, harmonica, and singing)
• Bill Kreutzmann (drums)

All of these members stayed with the band for its entire run, except for Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, who passed away in 1973.

Other Important Members

Over the years, other talented musicians joined the Grateful Dead:

• Mickey Hart played drums from 1967 to 1971, and then again from 1974 to 1995.
• Keith Godchaux played keyboards from 1971 to 1979.
• His wife, Donna Godchaux, sang with the band from 1972 to 1979.
• Brent Mydland took over on keyboards from 1979 to 1990.
• Vince Welnick was the keyboard player from 1990 until 1995.

Live Performances and Jamming

The Grateful Dead were especially famous for their live shows. They loved to "jam," which means they would improvise and make up parts of their songs as they played. This made every concert unique and exciting. Many Deadheads would record these shows on tape and collect them. This helped create a huge collection of live Grateful Dead music.

Images for kids

• 

  The Grateful Dead in 1980. Left to right: Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh. Not pictured: Brent Mydland.

• 

  A promotional poster for the Mantra-Rock Dance featuring the Grateful Dead.

• 

  Bob Weir onstage in 2007.

• 

  The Fare Thee Well concert at Soldier Field, Chicago.

• 

  An acoustic performance at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco in 1980. Left to right: Garcia, Lesh, Kreutzmann, Weir, Hart, Mydland.

• 

  Phil Lesh (left) performing with TelStar in 2008.

• 

  Grateful Dead members in the early 1980s: Brent Mydland, Bob Weir, and Jerry Garcia watch Bill Kreutzmann play the drums. Not pictured are Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart.

• 

  Mickey Hart and Bob Weir.

See also

In Spanish: Grateful Dead para niños