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| Grateful Dead lead singer Jerry Garcia in 1987. Photo from www.teakpepper.com. |
Recently the core four of the Grateful Dead announced the concerts
they played in Santa Clara on June 27 and 28 and Chicago on July 3, 4 and 5
would be their last – ever. They were called “Fare Thee Well: celebrating 50
Years of the Grateful Dead”.
I never had a long association with the band but, for a few months in
1987, they enjoyed their greatest commercial success.
It is that time I recall fondly.
It’s history
It was 28 years ago this month the Grateful Dead released the album,
“In the Dark”. The single “Touch of Grey” hit the airwaves about the same time.
At first, I was not sure I heard correctly. My only exposure to the
Grateful Dead to that point was a feature on the CBC newsmagazine “The
Journal”. It chronicled the band who had started in California in the 1960s, fuelled by the counter culture movement. Wikipedia says “the band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of country, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, rock, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, (and) space rock.”
What set the Grateful Dead apart, was their fans. Called “Deadheads”
they perpetually supported the band, turning out in droves for their live
concerts, often following them from concert to concert. They may have had
little to no commercial success via radio hits or studio record sales, but they
still were extremely successful, selling in excess of 35 million albums
worldwide.
Heading the band was their illustrious leader Jerry Garcia who, for
the uninformed like myself, was the face of the Grateful Dead. He was a
presence on stage too, a big man with a big white beard.
It is his voice that powers “Touch of Grey”.
Touch of Grey
The single was released during the summer of 1987, right after I
finished high school and was heading to university in Edmonton. When I moved up
to Edmonton to the Kelsey Hall student residence, “Touch of Grey” was strong on
the charts. Each floor in res had a floor coordinator, a senior student to look
after things. Our coordinator had a copy of “In the Dark”, and that was the
first time I heard the album beginning to end. It was the only time actually.
The music video accompanying the single was also quite memorable.
Initially, it appears to be a live concert. We soon discover, it is a band of
skeletons (skillfully crafted marionettes) who are performing “live”.
Eventually they become the actual band playing on stage.
“Touch of Grey” was a catchy tune that peaked at number nine on the
Billboard Hot 100 charts.
The Grateful Dead had never experienced that kind of chart success
before, and would never repeat it. Interesting for a band, continually voted
one of the 100 best of all time.
Parting thoughts
The band would go on to more success in the late 1980s and early
1990s. What I found interesting was one of my favourite artists, Bruce Hornsby,
joined the Grateful Dead to tour with them from 1990 to 1992. He also joined
them for their “Fare Thee Well: celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead”
concerts in Santa Clara and Chicago. Jerry Garcia would die in 1995, signaling
the official end of the band.
So much of my music was derived from radio. It was my exposure to the
Grateful Dead, ironically through their biggest chart success, that made me
realize how much more there is to music. Beyond listening to the radio, finding
out what I liked, and buying the tape or record, there was so much more.
It would be another year before I went to my first concert, where I
discovered how different a live show was. There was improvising, experimenting,
trying out new material, and just jamming. The sound was more raw and real,
free of the processing studio recording provides, and filled with creativity.
It is something I’m sure kept Deadheads coming back.
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