Jerry Garcia Profile, Detailed Biography, Facts

Jerome John Garcia was born in San Francisco, California, was famous as guitarist and primary singer of the psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead, though his extensive career involved many other projects. He has become one of the most studied 20th Century rock musicians. Garcia started on the piano, moved on to the guitar, and eventually became a master on many stringed instruments, despite the loss of his right middle finger just below the first knuckle while chopping wood in his youth. In 1959, when he was 17 years old, he spent a brief time in the army. When he left the military after a matter of months, he moved to Palo Alto, CA, where he met and became friends with Robert Hunter, who would later become his lyricist. Garcia bought a banjo in 1962 and began playing in local bluegrass bands. Within a few years, he was a member of Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions, a popular local bluegrass and folk band whose membership also included Bob Weir and Pigpen. In 1965, this group evolved into the Warlocks, which would in turn become the Grateful Dead in 1966.

From 1965 to 1995, the Grateful Dead toured almost constantly, developing a fan base known as deadheads, renowned for their intensity and devotion. Some fans dedicated their lives to the band, following the Grateful Dead from concert to concert, making a living by selling handmade goods, arts, crafts and other items in the parking lots of venues before the shows. It was no secret that drugs, especially psychedelics, were condoned in this scene. Jerry’s tendency to use hard, addictive drugs was evident to those who knew him by the mid 1970s.

Over the course of the next five years, the Grateful Dead began building a reputation as a mesmerizing live act. During this time, Garcia guested with a number of bands, both in concert and in the studio; among the artists he appeared with are the New Riders of the Purple Sage (a band which he helped form), Jefferson Starship, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. In 1970, the Grateful Dead began to shift their music back toward their folk, country, and bluegrass roots with the albums Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. The following year, Garcia began a solo career with Hooteroll?, which was released on Douglas Records. For the next few years, Garcia recorded solo albums frequently, often with keyboardist Merl Saunders. In 1973, he was one of the founding members of the bluegrass supergroup Old & in the Way, which also featured David Grisman, Vassar Clements, and John Kahn.

Garcia's solo efforts slowed in the early '80s, as he battled heroin addiction and diabetes. After the Grateful Dead scored their first hit album in 1987 with In the Dark, Garcia pursued a number of solo projects, including several acoustic duet records with David Grisman and a handful of live tours and albums with the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band. For the first half of the '90s, Garcia concentrated on Grateful Dead tours and albums, as the band confirmed their status as one of the most popular concert acts in America. However, the guitarist slowly sank back into heroin addiction. Late in the summer of 1995, he entered Serenity Knolls, a drug rehabilitation facility in Forest Knolls, CA. While he was attempting to recover, Garcia died in his sleep of a heart attack on August 9, 1995. Several months after his death, the Grateful Dead announced their disbandment.

Jerry Garcia was the lead guitarist, vocalist, and spokesman for the seminal '60s rock & roll band the Grateful Dead. Throughout his career, he led the Dead through numerous changes, becoming one of the most famous figures in the history of rock & roll. Simultaneously, Garcia pursued an eclectic array of side projects, ranging from the bluegrass group Old & in the Way to his folky solo recordings. Garcia stayed active as a member of the Grateful Dead and as a solo performer until his death in 1995. He died on August 9, 1995 of heart trouble. Garcia, who struggled with drug addiction for much of his adult life, was staying at a drug rehabilitation center at the time. On his passing, he was honored by President Clinton as being "an American icon". Memorial services were held in Golden Gate Park on August 13, 1995.

Garcia was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.