Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead was an American rock band that was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long musical improvisation. They were ranked 57th in the issue The Greatest Artists of all Time by Rolling Stone magazine. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. The fans of the Grateful Dead, some of whom followed the band from concert to concert for years, are known as "Deadheads". From 2003 to 2009 former members of the Grateful Dead, along with other musicians, toured as The Dead and The Other Ones.

The founding members of the Grateful Dead were Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Phil Lesh, and Bill Kreutzmann.

The Grateful Dead began their career as the Warlocks. The band changed its name after finding out that another band of the same name had signed a recording contract. The first show under the new name Grateful Dead was in San Jose, California on December 4, 1965, at one of Ken Kesey's Acid Tests.

One of the group's earliest major performances in 1967 was the Mantra-Rock Dance. The band's first LP, The Grateful Dead, was released on Warner Brothers in 1967. The band toured over the next several years.

In 1970, they released their next studio album, the jazz influenced Wake of the Flood and became their biggest commercial success thus far. The next year, Grateful Dead from the Mars Hotel, was released. The Grateful Dead decided to take a hiatus from live touring so that its members could focus on their solo careers. This hiatus was short lived, though, as they resumed touring in 1976 and Terrapin Station was released in 1977.

After kicking his drug habit in 1985, Garcia slipped into a diabetic coma for several days in July 1986. After he recovered, the band released In the Dark in 1987, which resulted as their best selling studio album release, and also produced their only top-10 chart single, "Touch of Grey". Inspired by Garcia's improved health and a successful album, the band's energy and chemistry peaked in the late 1980s and 1990. Performances were vigorous and as a result, every show exceeded its maximum audience capacity.

Following Garcia's death in August 1995, the remaining members formally decided to disband. Since 1995, the former members of the Grateful Dead have pursued solo musical careers. Also, there have been a number of reunions by the surviving members involving various combinations of musicians.

In 1998, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Mickey Hart, along with several other musicians, formed a band called The Other Ones. The Other Ones performed a number of concerts that year, and released a live album, The Strange Remain, the following year. In 2000, The Other Ones toured again, this time with Bill Kreutzmann but without Lesh. After taking another year off, the band was active again in 2002. With Lesh's return for this go-round, The Other Ones then included all four former Grateful Dead members who had been in the band for most or all of its history.

In 2003, The Other Ones changed their name to The Dead. The Dead toured the country in 2003 and 2004.