Arranged in chronological order, these pieces add up to nothing less than a full-scale history of the greatest tour band in the history of rock. From Tom Wolfe's account of the Dead's first performance as the Grateful Dead (at an Acid Test in 1965), to Ralph Gleason's 1967 interview with the 24-year-old Jerry Garcia, to Mary Eisenhart's obituary of the beloved leader of the band, these selections include not only outstanding writing on the band itself, but also superb pieces on music and pop culture generally. Fans will be fascinated by the poetry, fiction, drawings, and rare and revealing photographs featured in the book, as well as the anthology's many interviews and profiles, interpretations of lyrics, and concert and record reviews. Still, The Grateful Dead was more than a band-it was a cultural phenomenon. For three decades it remained on one unending tour, followed everywhere by a small army of nomadic fans. This phenomenon is both analyzed and celebrated here, in such pieces as Ed McClanahan's groundbreaking article in Playboy in 1972, fan-magazine editor Blair Jackson's 1990 essay on the seriousness of the drug situation at Dead concerts, and Steve Silberman's insightful essays on the music and its fans.
Arranged in chronological order, these pieces add up to nothing less than a full-scale history of the greatest tour band in the history of rock. From Tom Wolfe's account of the Dead's first performance as the Grateful Dead (at an Acid Test in 1965), to Ralph Gleason's 1967 interview with the 24-year-old Jerry Garcia, to Mary Eisenhart's obituary of the beloved leader of the band, these selections include not only outstanding writing on the band itself, but also superb pieces on music and pop culture generally. Fans will be fascinated by the poetry, fiction, drawings, and rare and revealing photographs featured in the book, as well as the anthology's many interviews and profiles, interpretations of lyrics, and concert and record reviews. Still, The Grateful Dead was more than a band-it was a cultural phenomenon. For three decades it remained on one unending tour, followed everywhere by a small army of nomadic fans. This phenomenon is both analyzed and celebrated here, in such pieces as Ed McClanahan's groundbreaking article in Playboy in 1972, fan-magazine editor Blair Jackson's 1990 essay on the seriousness of the drug situation at Dead concerts, and Steve Silberman's insightful essays on the music and its fans.
David G. Dodd and Diana Spaulding are a husband-and-wife editorial
team. David is a branch manager with the Marin County Free Library
in San Rafael, California. He co-edited (with Robert Weiner) the
definitive Grateful Dead bibliography, The Grateful Dead and
Deadheads. He also maintains the Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics
site on the Internet. Diana is a reference librarian for Fireman's
Fund Insurance. They live in
Petaluma, California.
"What a Long, Strange Trip It Was: a comprehensive, thoughtful
anthology depicting the phenomena and foibles encompassing the
30-odd year `unending tour' of the Grateful Dead...A satisfying and
thought-provoking compendium of countercultural
commentary."--Kirkus Reviews
"This anthology of interviews, profiles, lyrical analyses, concert
reviews and essays, which examine the Grateful Dead as a cultural
phenomenon, were chosen, says editor Diana Spaulding, 'for their
ability to capture, to evoke and sometimes even to explain
something about the unexplainable phenomenon of the Grateful Dead.'
Pieces range from Richard Meltzer's free-for-all rave review of
Terrapin Station to Robert Hunter's touching elegy/poem for
Garcia
written shortly after the latter's death."--Relix
"This compilation of interviews, reviews, book excerpts, and
letters presents a remarkably full-bodied profile of The Dead,
including a 1967 interview with twenty-four-year-old Jerry Garcia,
a 1975 letter from Dead lyricist Robert Hunter on the meaning of
the band, and a 1995 eulogy for Garcia published in The New Yorker
a week after the frontman's death."--American Way
"This is a fine and loving collection of the best that has been
written about one of the best bands the Bay Area produced."--San
Jose Mercury News
"What a Long, Strange Trip It Was: a comprehensive, thoughtful
anthology depicting the phenomena and foibles encompassing the
30-odd year `unending tour' of the Grateful Dead...A satisfying and
thought-provoking compendium of countercultural
commentary."--Kirkus Reviews
"An engaging, thoughtfully selected collection of the best writing
about the Grateful Dead's remarkable journey, by some of its
savviest critics--Ralph Gleason, Richard Melzer, Robert Christgau,
Blair Jackson, Steve Silberman--as well as 'insiders' like Robert
Hunter, Dennis McNally, David Gans, and Alan Trist. A must-read for
anyone interested in the Grateful Dead, '60s counter-culture, or
the achievements of American popular music."-- Fredric
Lieberman,
Professor of Music, U.C. Santa Cruz
"At last a literary road map for the long strange tripster in us
all."--Wavy Gravy
"Grateful Dead literature is approaching Beatles-lit in volume, and
this gathering about the band and its fans attests to how vast and
dedicated the nation of the Deadheads is.... A must for Dead-heavy
collections, the book is also a nice addition to any popular
culture collection."--Booklist
"What a Long, Strange Trip It Was: a comprehensive, thoughtful anthology depicting the phenomena and foibles encompassing the 30-odd year `unending tour' of the Grateful Dead...A satisfying and thought-provoking compendium of countercultural commentary."--Kirkus Reviews "This anthology of interviews, profiles, lyrical analyses, concert reviews and essays, which examine the Grateful Dead as a cultural phenomenon, were chosen, says editor Diana Spaulding, 'for their ability to capture, to evoke and sometimes even to explain something about the unexplainable phenomenon of the Grateful Dead.' Pieces range from Richard Meltzer's free-for-all rave review of Terrapin Station to Robert Hunter's touching elegy/poem for Garcia written shortly after the latter's death."--Relix "This compilation of interviews, reviews, book excerpts, and letters presents a remarkably full-bodied profile of The Dead, including a 1967 interview with twenty-four-year-old Jerry Garcia, a 1975 letter from Dead lyricist Robert Hunter on the meaning of the band, and a 1995 eulogy for Garcia published in The New Yorker a week after the frontman's death."--American Way "This is a fine and loving collection of the best that has been written about one of the best bands the Bay Area produced."--San Jose Mercury News "What a Long, Strange Trip It Was: a comprehensive, thoughtful anthology depicting the phenomena and foibles encompassing the 30-odd year `unending tour' of the Grateful Dead...A satisfying and thought-provoking compendium of countercultural commentary."--Kirkus Reviews "An engaging, thoughtfully selected collection of the best writing about the Grateful Dead's remarkable journey, by some of its savviest critics--Ralph Gleason, Richard Melzer, Robert Christgau, Blair Jackson, Steve Silberman--as well as 'insiders' like Robert Hunter, Dennis McNally, David Gans, and Alan Trist. A must-read for anyone interested in the Grateful Dead, '60s counter-culture, or the achievements of American popular music."-- Fredric Lieberman, Professor of Music, U.C. Santa Cruz "At last a literary road map for the long strange tripster in us all."--Wavy Gravy "Grateful Dead literature is approaching Beatles-lit in volume, and this gathering about the band and its fans attests to how vast and dedicated the nation of the Deadheads is.... A must for Dead-heavy collections, the book is also a nice addition to any popular culture collection."--Booklist
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