Remembering Jerry Garcia

Jerry Garcia, lead guitarist and co-founder of the Grateful Dead, passed away from a heart attack on this day in 1995. Known for his impeccable songwriting skills, alongside collaborating lyricist Robert Hunter, Mr. Garcia and the rest of the Dead were at the forefront of a massive revolution of sound. The Grateful Dead was the first real "jamband," and any band that fits under the genre today cites them as an influence.

While Garcia consistently denied it, insisting that the band was one unit with no leader, he truly was the spokesman of the group, both on the stage and off. He certainly could not have had the same impact on the world without the rest of the Grateful Dead behind him, but he was definitely the fan favorite, and there would not have been a Grateful Dead without Jerry Garcia.

After the mind expanding, LSD driven days of peace and love in the 1960s, many musicians struggled with drug addiction, specifically with cocaine and heroine. Garcia was no exception, and in his last few years of life, he was checked in and out of rehab multiple times to help kick his habit. However, I, like so many others, prefer to remember him for his incredible musical abilities. He was a multi-instrumentalist with the uncanny ability to play any instrument with strings. His ability to write lyrics improved significantly after working so closely with Hunter, and all of his side projects were extremely successful.

Aside from an unrivaled discography with the Grateful Dead, Garcia's personal discography includes 4 solo studio albums, 1 studio and 18 live albums as the Jerry Garcia Band, 2 live albums as the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, 2 studio and 1 live album as New Riders of the Purple Sage, 4 live albums as Old and in the Way, 2 live albums as Legion of Mary, 2 studio and 9 live albums with Merl Saunders, 7 studio albums with David Grisman and 1 live album with John Kahn. More archival releases of Garcia's live performances and rare studio works are being released every year. Garcia was also featured on several well known albums, such as Surrealistic Pillow and Volunteers by Jefferson Airplane, Deja Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Ace by fellow Grateful Dead member Bob Weir, Transverse City by Warren Zevon, A Night on the Town by Bruce Hornsby and many others. Rest in peace Jerry!