Jerry Garcia

Jerry Garcia
Garcia performing in 1977, Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia
Born
Jerome John Garcia

(1942-08-01)August 1, 1942
San Francisco, California, U.S.
DiedAugust 9, 1995(1995-08-09) (aged 53)
Forest Knolls, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Guitarist
  • singer
  • songwriter
Years active1960–1995
Spouses
  • Sara Ruppenthal
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1963; div. 1967)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1981; div. 1994)​
  • Deborah Koons
    ​
    (m. 1994)​
Children4
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • banjo
  • pedal steel guitar
  • vocals
DiscographyJerry Garcia discography
Labels
Formerly of
Websitejerrygarcia.com

Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995)[1][2][3][4] was an American musician who was the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 1960s.[5][6] Although he disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader of the band.[7][8][9] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the Grateful Dead.

As one of its founders, Garcia performed with the Grateful Dead for the band's 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 and Garcia/Kahn acoustic duos, Legion of Mary, and New Riders of the Purple Sage (which he co-founded with John Dawson and David Nelson).[8] 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.[10] In the 2015 version of the list he was ranked at #46.[11] In 2023, Garcia was ranked 34th by Rolling Stone.[12]

Garcia was renowned for his musical and technical ability, particularly his ability to play a variety of instruments and sustain long improvisations. 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 a 1993 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". Originating from the days of the "Acid Tests", these improvisations were a form of exploration rather than playing a song already written.[13]

Later in life, Garcia struggled with diabetes. In 1986, he went into a diabetic coma that nearly cost him his life. Although his overall health improved somewhat after the incident, he continued to struggle with obesity, smoking, and long-standing heroin and cocaine addictions.[9][14] He was staying in a California drug rehabilitation facility when he died of a heart attack in August 1995, just eight days after his 53rd birthday.[7][15]

  1. ^ Keefer, Bob (August 10, 1995). "Death of an icon". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1A.
  2. ^ "Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia dies at 53". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). wire reports. August 10, 1995. p. A1.
  3. ^ Locke, Michelle (August 10, 1995). "His long strange trip comes to a close". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. p. 1A.
  4. ^ Pareles, Jon (August 10, 1995). "Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead, Icon of 60's Spirit, Dies at 53". The New York Times. p. A1.
  5. ^ The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica 2019: "Jerome John Garcia, ("JERRY"), U.S. musician (born Aug. 1, 1942, San Francisco, Calif.—died Aug. 9, 1995, Forest Knolls, Calif.), personified the hippie counterculture for three decades as the mellow leader of the rock band the Grateful Dead. Garcia was the singer, songwriter, and lead guitarist of the San Francisco-based group that emerged from the Haight-Ashbury psychedelic-drug-and-music scene in the mid-1960s."
  6. ^ Ruhlmann n.d.: "Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Jerry Garcia was known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead, the rock band for which he served as de facto leader for 30 years, from 1965 until his death in 1995. [...] In addition to his musical efforts, Garcia was viewed as an icon and spokesman for the hippie movement of the 1960s, the counterculture fueled by psychedelic drugs and rock & roll that the Grateful Dead embodied for their fervent fans, the Deadheads, as well as to the public at large."
  7. ^ a b The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica 2019
  8. ^ a b Ruhlmann n.d.
  9. ^ a b "The Grateful Dead". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. 1994. Retrieved April 25, 2007.
  10. ^ "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2003. Archived from the original on July 5, 2007. Retrieved July 14, 2007.
  11. ^ "100 Greatest Guitarists". Rolling Stone. December 18, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  12. ^ "The 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Rolling Stone. October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  13. ^ DeCurtis, Anthony (September 2, 1993). "Jerry Garcia: The Rolling Stone Interview". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  14. ^ Stratton 2010
  15. ^ Stratton 2010: "JERRY Garcia, white-bearded leader of the 1960s cult rock band the Grateful Dead, died yesterday in a drug rehabilitation centre. The 53-year-old erstwhile hippie who founded the band 30 years ago was discovered dead by a counsellor at Serenity Knowles, a residential drug treatment centre near his home in Marin County, California."