Grateful Dead Musical Influences

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The Grateful Dead are one of the rock bands that helped shape music into what it is now. The band is known for their signature live performances, which includes improvisational sections that can last for up to half an hour. The Grateful Dead has had many different members who all influenced their unique sound in a different way. The history of the Grateful Dead begins in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. There, Jerry Garcia befriended a man named Robert Hunter. Later, Garcia, who had been playing guitar since he was 15, went on to be the band’s lead guitarist while Hunter helped write their lyrics. Jerry Garcia had played in many other bluegrass and folk bands, such as Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions. The band officially formed under the name of the Warlocks and consisted of Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Bill Kreutzmann, and Bob Weir. After their debut in July of ’65, they played at Ken Kesey's Acid Tests. This was a public party that took place regularly where all the
Their work encompassed many genres into one. The band’s musical influences are comprised of jazz, rock, blues, bluegrass, folk, and country. Also, the band began to gain popularity during the movement of psychedelia. Psychedelic elements can be heard in almost all their albums. The band consisted of many different members with different musical backgrounds. Ron McKernan was an organist who loved the blues where Phil Lesh had very formal training in classical music. Bill Kreutzmann, the drummer for the Dead, had a history of playing R&B and jazz. Though the band continues to influence artists to this day, other bands helped shape and inspire their sound. The Grateful Dead first decided to go electric and create a rawer sound after seeing the Lovin’ Spoonful live in New York. They were making music at the same time as other extremely successful musicians like the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and Pink

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