Great Artists Series: Jerry Garcia

He was in one of the bands I was sort of, kind of into when in High School in the 1970’s. They were far from being my favourite but I did fall in love with some of their songs and with their free-flowing, jazzy style of playing. Lamentably, I never saw them in concert and everyone says that to really experience The Grateful Dead one had to see them perform live.

Jerry Garcia was the leader of the band…although he would have denied it…and the principal composer, as well as lead guitar and lead vocalist. He was born in San Francisco, CA (USA) in 1942 and he performed with the Dead for thirty years until his death in 1995.

As a guitar player myself, I really liked Garcia’s guitar styling. He was so cool in his approach to the chord structures and had perfect timing. His solos were always improvised and interesting and his fill-ins sounded smashing as he weaved his guitar, a clean sounding guitar, in and out of the songs. And, of course, there was his iconic voice which was unmistakably the voice of the Grateful Dead. Also as a songwriter, his songs, to me, are songs that once I heard them I would be humming or singing them for days.

So, I am featuring Jerry Garcia in my series because I value and admire his trajectory in rock music, his songwriting skills, his virtuosity as a guitar player and his steadfastness, because although he did venture out solo into many projects, he never abandoned The Grateful Dead.

Now it is time to enjoy some of the best that the Dead ever recorded. It is too late to actually see them, so we, and some of you, missed our opportunity, so this is the next best thing.

Cheers…