The american band, the Grateful Dead influenced so many generations throughout their career. They influenced my father’s and his brother’s life and they considered themselves to be, “Deadheads.” Therefore my siblings and I all grew up listening to the famous band and their unique sound. The biography of the bands lead singer and guitarist, Jerry Garcia written by Jacqueline Edmondson proves that. As she wrote, “Guitar players strive to create a sound that is uniquely their own. Jerry Garcia was no exception. Garcia’s tone and style was so distinctive that some people claim they need to hear only one note to recognize that Jerry is playing.” The other band members agreed on this statement too. He also has a unique style that people also have…show more content… The drugs soon became an addiction for Garcia. People weren’t quite sure why it had become such a problem but they had their theories. “Many people have tried to determine why Jerry became so dependent on drugs. Some suggest that he had an addictive personality, while others believe his anarchist views meant he believed he could do whatever he wanted.”1 The addiction lead to many marriages and children within them. With the touring of the Grateful Dead going on at the time, Jerry had little time to spend with his children therefore he grew distant. His addiction to heroin and cocaine had taken over Jerry’s personal life and relationship with the band. Being involved with drugs came along with being a part of the band. “Drugs were integral to the music scene that Jerry Garcia lived, and they were part of his life on and off the stage.”1
Although Jerry Garcia is known today as the, “leader,” of the Grateful Dead he certainly didn’t see himself in that way at all. He says, “I’m not the leader of the Grateful Dead or anything like that...because I can bull$^*! you guys real easy, but I can’t bull$^*! Phil or Pigpen and them guys watchin’ me go through my changes all these years, and we’ve had so many weird times together...I know in front, the leader doesn’t work because you don’t need one.”1 Knowing this is the way Jerry feels about the topic, the fans of the band still consider…show more content… Jerry Garcia passed away on August ninth in 1995, at a rehab center in California. The “deadhead” community was devastated when they learned the news. Rolling Stone says, “, the news of the death set off immense waves of emotional reaction.” Fans gathered to grieve together as their beloved singer was now gone. After the death the Grateful Dead stopped touring and they haven’t released a new album since. The author Jason Kuffler stated, “When Jerry Garcia died in 1995, the band stopped touring, stopped creating new albums and their audiovisual archives became their primary source of income, and equally importantly, the means of perpetuating their