On August 1st 1942, Jerome John “Jerry” Garcia was born in San Francisco California. From a young age Jerry learned to play the piano since his mother, Ruth Garcia, frequently played and his father, Jose Garcia, was a professional musician. As jerry was a young boy he experienced many traumatic events. At the age of four, Jerry lost of his right middle finger in a wood chopping accident. At five years old Jerry’s father drowned in the trinity river while fly fishing. Due to his father’s death, Jerry and his brother Tiff were forced to live with his grandparents since his mother had to work full time. As Jerry grew up his love for music and creativity stuck with him but so did those traumatic experiences. In his teenage years, Jerry began to rebel. Jerry skipped classes, got into fights, and starting smoking both cigarettes and Marijuana. In 1960, After stealing his mother’s car, Jerry was forced to join the United States Army where his rebellious attitude only caused him to be discharged.
In 1961, Jerry was traveling in a car with Paul Speegle when the driver hit a guardrail causing Jerry to be ejected from the car. Although Jerry has no memory of being ejected, the thing he will never forget is that Speegle, a friend of Jerry’s, did not survive the accident. For Jerry, this tragedy changed his life. Jerry began to pursue his talent on guitar as well as write songs which eventually lead to the forming of The Grateful Dead in 1965. Jerry wrote songs, played lead guitar, and sang vocals for The Grateful Dead and although he was an extremely talented musician, Jerry is best known for his legacy. Jerry was the face for The Grateful Dead.
As the Grateful Dead grew in fame, so did the love for Jerry Garcia. The band toured shows constantly and were known for their “Endless tour”. Like most famous artists during this time, Jerry began to use drugs such as cocaine and heroin. The band members were busted several times for drug possession charges and eventually the band decided to hold an intervention for Jerry which was only semi-effective. Jerry still continued to use drugs along with bad eating habits, diabetes , and smoking which inevitably lead to his tragic death from a heart attack at the age of 53 in 1995.
Despite Jerry Garcia’s short life, he was still able to make a massive impact in the music world. Within Jerry’s archive, there are 18 items that highlight who he was and the accomplishments he has made, even though this only represents a small fraction of his work. The archive includes 3 interviews, 4 concerts, 2 videos, 5 pictures, 2 audio tracks, and 2 concert recordings of his many tribute bands.
Is Jerry’s interview section, there is an interview from 1981 which Jerry talks about the band itself and the different instruments and music styles the band has been trying. At one point the the interview, Jerry talks about how the music is for the people and how he doesn’t care that the fans tape record concerts. This is something that you will never hear a newer artist say. Also during the interview you can hear Jerry smoke a joint and as the interview progresses Jerry becomes more and more high . Even though this sounds absurd it is a true representation of the person Jerry was.
Since Jerry did not care about his fans recording the Grateful Dead’s concerts, there are plenty of recordings which capture Jerry and the Grateful Dead’s enthusiasm during their concerts. On the recording of the Grateful Dead at Fillmore East in 1971, there are 30 tracks recorded. The track that stands out the most is the recording of “Truckin’” which is typically a 5 minute song; however, the Dead jams out with the song for 11 minutes long. Jerry Garcia was always known for playing his songs differently every time he performed them and all of his tracks show his fascinating way of improvising and overall enjoying the music.
Jerry’s archive also demonstrates his large fan base. In the pictures section there is an interesting fan-made comic that recites the lyrics of the song “Casey Jones”. In the “cover bands” section there are recordings from the band “The Garcia Project” and “Escape Vehicle”. Both of these recordings were from Jerry Day, an entire day dedicated to playing Jerry’s music.
Although these archives serve as a way for Grateful Dead fans or “Deadheads” to listen to learn, and overall experience Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, It could also be used for people who are studying history. The Grateful Dead had a lot of influence in the hippie movement as their only stand was a love for music. At a time of war and protest the Grateful Dead had no side, Many artist during this time period used their music to cry out against the vietnam war, but the Grateful Dead were just there to play music for the sake of loving music.
Another potential use for the archive of Jerry Garcia is to study of the impact of drug use on musicians. In many of Jerry’s interviews he talks about drugs and ultimately Jerry had the laidback attitude of a stoner. Although drugs lead to his death, they had a heavy influence on his music and the music of many other artists. Jerry’s archive could be used in addition with the archives of artists like Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Bradley Nowell who all dealt with heroin addiction and had deaths related to heroin.
If someone wanted to write an article about the most influential and loved musicians, Jerry’s’ archive would prove that he was a prime candidate. Jerry’s archive shows that he has an entire day dedicated to him, he had tons of people that wanted to interview him, and there’s even a video someone posted who used Jerry’s recording of the Christmas song “Sleigh Ride” for their christmas light display. Jerry wasn’t just a talented musician, he was a friend and a spiritual guide to his fans. This archive also proves that The Grateful Dead’s “Endless Tour” really is endless because their legacy still lives on today.
Jerry Garcia Biography.” – Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
“Jerry Garcia Biography.” Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
“Jerry Garcia.” Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Vol. 21. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 150-152. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
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