Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, folk, country, bluegrass, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, and world music with psychedelia, the band is famous for improvisation during their live performances, and for their devoted fan base, known as "Deadheads". According to the musician and writer Lenny Kaye, the music of the Grateful Dead "touches on ground that most other groups don't even know exists". For the range of their influences and the structure of their live performances, the Grateful Dead are considered "the pioneering godfathers of the jam band world".

The Grateful Dead was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area during the rise of the counterculture of the 1960s. The band's founding members were Jerry Garcia (lead guitar and vocals), Bob Weir (rhythm guitar and vocals), Phil Lesh (bass guitar and vocals), Bill Kreutzmann (drums), and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (keyboards, harmonica, and vocals). With the exception of Pigpen, who died in 1973, the remaining founding members stayed with the band until their 1995 split, with subsequent members being Mickey Hart (drums, 1967 to 1971 and 1974 to 1995), Robert Hunter (non-performing lyricist, 1967 to 1995), Tom Constanten (keyboards, 1968 to 1970), John Perry Barlow (non-performing lyricist, 1971 to 1995), Keith Godchaux (keyboards and vocals, 1971 to 1979), Donna Godchaux (vocals, 1972 to 1979), Brent Mydland (keyboards and vocals, 1979 to his death in 1990), and Vince Welnick (keyboards and vocals, 1990 to 1995).