American rock group The Grateful Dead was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1965.
The group is renowned for its fusion of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, and psychedelia; for its live performances of protracted instrumental jams that frequently included modal and tonal improvisation; and for its ardent fan base, known as “Deadheads.” Lenny Kaye called the Grateful Dead “the pioneering Godfathers of the jam band world” because their music “touches on ground that most other groups don’t even know exists.” These different inspirations were condensed into a varied and trippy whole.
In an article titled “The Greatest Artists of All Time,” Rolling Stone magazine placed the band at number 57. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, and in 2012, the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry received a copy of a recording of their May 8, 1977, concert at Cornell University’s Barton Hall. The Grateful Dead only had one top-40 single in their 30-year career, “Touch of Grey,” but they consistently ranked among the highest-grossing American touring acts for many years and developed a devoted following through word-of-mouth and the sharing of live recordings due to their relaxed attitude toward recording. In 1994, the Grateful Dead had twelve members (the eleven playing members plus Robert Hunter) who were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Bruce Hornsby delivered the induction speech.
