[fabfan]

Hi,
I'm a first-generation Beatlesfan, but have found myself listening to radioio dead quite a bit.

Can someone recommend a general - basic - overview book on the Dead?

Some things I'd like to know are:
how did Jerry meet Pigpen
why two drummers
who really played the slide guitar
what is the real story behind Mountain Girl
how did they get started in the Acid Tests
explain the Terrapin trilogy
What kind of father would steal everything from their son- did he ever go to jail
Jerrys attempts to get sober/clean

Thanks all,
Laura

[NashvilleMike]

So many questions grasshopper...remember -it is about the music first and foremost.

[heavynylon]

Me too. Got my first Beatles album when I was 8.

Anyway, try "A Long Strange Trip" by Dennis McNally. As to the rest of the questions:

I don't know, but it's probably in the book.
Bill was first, met Mickey and they enjoyed jamming together.
Jerry.
She was Jerry's long term girlfriend, but they never married.
Ken Kesey got them into it.
What's to explain, just enjoy.
A dirtbag. Did not go to jail, but had to payback the money.

Well, that's my best shot at them.

[tigerstrat]

Jerry played the occasional slide guitar going back to the late 60's, then in the late 70's, Bob took up slide, pretty much learning it onstage, according to band quotes. On 80's and 90's Minglewoods, Red Roosters, C.C. Riders and Walkin' Blueses, Bob's slide solos were followed by a Jerry slide solo. Aside from the skinned cat blues solos, Bob wound up doing some pretty damn cool slide comping imho, on stuff like Esau, Black Peter, Althea...

[amyjared]

Books that will help answer your questions:
A Long Strange Trip
Garcia: An American Life
The Dead: The Definitive GD Encyclopedia
Skeleton Key
Livin with the Dead

Anything by Blair Jackson or Denis McNally is going to be well-researched and informative. Avoid anything by Hank Harrison.

[tigerstrat]

Books that will help answer your questions:
A Long Strange Trip
Garcia: An American Life
The Dead: The Definitive GD Encyclopedia
Skeleton Key
Livin with the Dead

Anything by Blair Jackson or Denis McNally is going to be well-researched and informative. Avoid anything by Hank Harrison.

If I was going to recommend one overview book examining their basic biography, musical approach, songwriting, the crew the Deadheads & everything, it would probably be Playing In The Band (Gans & Simon) Even though it was published in '85, before the full story had unfolded. I like that it has a heavy focus on direct interview quotes from band members & associates, and that it has chapters focusing on the various topics above, particularly the chapters "Crazy Fingers" and ""Dark Star", the former examining their thoughts on psychedelic improvisation in general, and the latter focusing on the epic shape-shifters Dark Star and Other One. Lots of AWESOME pics too.

If I was going to recommend one in-depth personal story/bio it would be Phil Lesh's Searching For The Sound

[fabfan]

I appreciate the responses. I do like to avoid the incorrect and faulty information, Goodness knows there's enough out there!

That should help me get started.

Thank you all so much.

-Laura

[NashvilleMike]

I do like to avoid the incorrect and faulty information, Goodness knows there's enough out there!

Then I will spare you the story of how Mountain girl was actually Pigpen in drag...

[deadguise]

The "Grateful Dead-Illustrated Trip" makes a nice visual documentary.

[brutusbuck45]

OK... this is not a biography about the Dead. This is a autobiographical description of a young man's introduction to the Grateful Dead and how he became a tour head during the late 80's. Many of the themes really "hit home" with me as I grew up in Central NY and went to college in Western NY and he was from a suburb of Rochester. As I am sure his descriptions are similar experiences to all of ours and how we came to know "the Boyz." Anyway, the name of the book is "Growing Up Dead: The Hallucinated Confessions of a Teenage Deadhead" by Peter Connors. I actually stumbled across it on Amazon and think I paid about $10 - 12. Its a quick read but really brings back lots of memories of THE days.

I also came across a web interview with the author by David Gans on The Well.

http://www.well.com/conf/inkwell.vue/to ... age01.html

Check it out. It won't disappoint.

~Brutus

[mttourpro]

I'd second reccomending Phil's book, "Searchin for the Sound". Very good read, more biographical in nature and written by a band member.

I'd also reccomend Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test which is more an account of the Merry Pranksters, the Acid Tests, their cross-country trip to visit Leary---you'd also (possibly) enjoy the descriptions/accounts of how the Beatles were perceived by them, influenced them and of course, there's plenty of info about how the Dead emerged as the house band for the AcidTests and what was going on there.... More of a sociological read than a direct account of the band itself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Electr ... _Acid_Test

And as if that's not enough, I liked Rock Scully's book, "Living with the Dead" but it has been highly criticized for a lot of reasons--some people feel there's a lot of mis-information there and that his motivation for writing it was based on revenge to some degree. I like the writing style and there are some interesting stories, altho who knows how true they all are.