Grateful Dead, American band that was the incarnation of the improvisational that flowered in and around . Grateful Dead was one of the most successful touring bands in rock history despite having had virtually no hits.Original membersJerry Garcia (born August 1, 1942, , , —died August 9, 1995, Forest Knolls, California) (born October 16, 1947, San Francisco)Ron (“Pigpen”) McKernan (born September 8, 1945, San Bruno, California—died March 8, 1973, San Francisco)Phil Lesh (born March 15, 1940, , California—died October 25, 2024, Marin, California)Bill Kreutzmann (also called Bill Sommers; born May 7, 1946, , California)Later membersMickey Hart (born September 11, 1943, , , U.S.)Tom Constanten (born March 19, 1944, Longbranch, , U.S.)Keith Godchaux (born July 19, 1948, San Francisco—died July 21, 1980, Marin county, California)Donna Godchaux (born August 22, 1947, San Francisco)Brent Mydland (born October 21, 1952, , [now in ]—died July 26, 1990, Lafayette, California)The group’s original members were lead guitarist and vocalist Jerry Garcia, guitarist and vocalist Bob Weir, keyboard player Ron (“Pigpen”) McKernan, bassist Phil Lesh, and drummer Bill Kreutzmann. Settling on their name in late 1965, Grateful Dead coalesced from jug bands and musicians in the area in the early 1960s. In their previous incarnation as the Warlocks, they had performed at novelist ’s Acid Tests—sound-and-light celebrations of the psychedelic experience produced by the hallucinogen (lysergic acid diethylamide, or “acid”). Remarkably eclectic—their backgrounds ranging from electronic experiments and to , , and —the Dead provided a key part of the free live music filling San Francisco during 1967’s , when the city became a magnet for .Grateful Dead posterA psychedelic Grateful Dead poster, designed by Alton Kelley and Stanley Mouse, advertising the band's shows at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district in 1966.(more)Even before they recorded their first album, the Dead were building an underground network of diehard fans. By the late 1960s the fans were legion and followed the band on the road. The Deadheads, as they came to be known, were the epitome of the . Draped in flowing scarves and granny dresses, they danced arrhythmically while the band onstage jammed for hours and hours. Thanks to them, the Dead eventually triumphed over standard music business wisdom, which assumed that an act had to have hit records to be a popular concert attraction. The unparalleled loyalty of the Deadheads made the band millionaires and endured until the Dead split up following the 1995 death of Garcia., Be the first to know about the Grateful Dead’s exclusive limited-edition releases, breaking news on the band, community events, and so much more. It’s all happenin’!, The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965..