Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead were an American rock, country, folk, and blues band from Palo Alto, California. The group is famous for its live performances and dedicated fanbase known as "Deadheads". They are also known for their long improvisational jams derived from jazz of the 1950's and drug culture. Colloquially known as "The Dead", the group has a 30 year history that came out of a large folk and blues scene and later dove into the psychedelic counter-culture of the mid- to late-1960's. They are, however, largely known for their country-rock and folk-rock similar to acts like Bob Dylan and The Band from the 1970's.

In the 1980's and early 1990's, the band developed a more bluesy, rockier sound akin to their early material of the late 1960's, and had a Top 10 hit. The band broke up when, sadly, leader Jerry Garcia died in 1995. The group's legacy lives on today and have released many retrospective live albums and archival box sets, and the band members still have bands that continue the Dead's legacy. They briefly reunited for their 50th anniversary in 2015.