The best books about the Grateful Dead and their fans

List by Thomas A. Coogan

Why am I passionate about this?

I describe myself as equal parts Deadhead and student of the Bible. I have been active in a Presbyterian church for twenty years, which, being adjacent to a seminary, takes a very thorough approach to Bible study. We were deep into the Book of Acts during the Fare Thee Well events (2015), where I was re-acquainted with the intensity of the Deadheads’ devotion and their unfailingly positive spirit. My good wife, new to the scene, commented on how nice everyone was, that no one present was a stranger to any other. It occurred to me that these would all make good church members if only someone would reach out.

The books I picked & why

Skeleton Key

By David Shenk , Steve Silberman ,

Why I love this book

I find it a remarkable testament to the robustness of the Deadhead phenomenon that a 400-page book could be produced on the special vocabulary of this unique fanbase.

In the following book list, this one has the distinction of being the only one which was published while the Grateful Dead were still active. It is organized as a dictionary of phrases and terminology that have specific meanings in the Deadheads’ world and thus provides a great starting point for understanding Deadheads and their common perspective on the world.

I have gotten many a good laugh at finding entries for things I have experienced that I did not know there was a term for (like “Dead in your Head”, when the music keeps playing after the concert).

Skeleton Key

By David Shenk , Steve Silberman ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Skeleton Key as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For fifty years and more than two thousand shows, the Grateful Dead have been earning the "deadication" of more than a million fans. Along the way, Deadheads have built an original and authentic American subculture, with vivid jargon and rich love, and its own legends, myths, and spirituality.

Skeleton Key: A Dictionary for Deadheads is the first map of what Jerry Garcia calls "the Grateful Dead outback," as seen through the eyes of the faithful, friends, and family, including Bill Walton, Elvis Costello, Tipper Gore, Al Franken, Bob Bralove, Dick Latvala, Blair Jackson, David Gans, Bruce Hornsby, Rob Wasserman, and…

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Coming soon!

A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead

By Dennis McNally ,

Why I love this book

I think this is the most thorough history of the band, which is likely the result of it being written by a trained historian.

McNally had a very privileged access by travelling with the band for many years as their principal press contact. One chapter after another is chockfull of invaluable insights into the behind-the-scenes workings of the band, both in its artistic development and business decisions.

I listen to some of their songs differently now after learning more about the context that produced them.

A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead

By Dennis McNally ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Long Strange Trip as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The complete history of one of the most long-lived and legendary bands in rock history, written by its official historian and publicist—a must-have chronicle for all Dead Heads, and for students of rock and the 1960s’ counterculture.

From 1965 to 1995, the Grateful Dead flourished as one of the most beloved, unusual, and accomplished musical entities to ever grace American culture. The creative synchronicity among Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan exploded out of the artistic ferment of the early sixties’ roots and folk scene, providing the soundtrack for the Dionysian revels…

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This is All a Dream We Dreamed

By Blair Jackson , David Gans ,

Why I love this book

I love the thematic organization of this collection of interview excerpts.

This is a great concept for pulling together the varying recollections of each of the different participants in the same events and time periods. The editors did a masterful job of collecting material from a variety of sources and putting them side-by-side, allowing a fuller understanding to be gained than would be had by reading one interview at a time.

Among the gems is Garcia owning the identity of a Deadhead for himself when he said that yes, there was, in fact, a Deadhead who had been to every Grateful Dead concert: him.

This is All a Dream We Dreamed

By Blair Jackson , David Gans ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked This is All a Dream We Dreamed as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In This Is All a Dream We Dreamed, two of the most well-respected chroniclers of the Dead, Blair Jackson and David Gans, reveal the band's story through the words of its members and their creative collaborators, and a number of diverse fans, stitching together a multitude of voices into a seamless oral tapestry. Woven into this musical saga is an examination of the subculture that developed into its own economy, touching fans from all walks of life, from penniless hippies to celebrities, and at least one U.S. vice president. The book traces the band's evolution from its folk/bluegrass beginnings through…

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Searching for the Sound

By Phil Lesh ,

Why I love this book

I find this book particularly intriguing because Phil Lesh was the first of the Grateful Dead band members to produce a full memoir.

In it he recalls his unlikely path from young symphonic composition student to rock star, with all the attendant joys and sorrows. He writes of his heartfelt appreciation for his bandmates, as well as for those devoted fans that supported them.

The timing of the publication also presents an interesting perspective: his reflections were committed to a writing at a time when it was not at all clear how robust the Deadhead movement would be after Jerry Garcia had left this Earth.

Searching for the Sound

By Phil Lesh ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Searching for the Sound as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The legendary bass player tells the full, true story of his years with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead in this "insightful and entertaining" (Austin Chronicle) memoir of life in the greatest improvisational band in American history.

In a book "as graceful and sublime as a box of rain" (New York Times Book Review), the beloved bassist tells the stories behind the songs, tours, and jams in the Grateful Dead's long, strange trip from the 1960s to the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995 and beyond. From Ken Kesey's "acid tests" to the Summer of Love to bestselling albums and…

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Deal: My Three Decades of Drumming, Dreams, and Drugs with the Grateful Dead

By Bill Kreutzmann , Benjy Eisen ,

Why I love this book

I love the conversational style of Bill Kreutzmann’s memoir, completed just before the Fare Thee Well concerts were announced in 2015.

The mood is both of a time completed (the interim) and the tense unexpectedness just before a new age was to begin (the era of Dead and Company). His frank assessments provide a valuable viewpoint on the band’s many ups and downs, as well as an entirely unique perspective on the two-drummer dynamics. His own personal challenges, and those of his bandmates, get serious consideration.

He repeats his statement that he was the “first Deadhead”, recalling the occasion when he was mesmerized by a solo banjo performance by Jerry Garcia. That transformation took place long before Kreutzmann was asked to be the drummer in Garcia’s first electric band.

Deal: My Three Decades of Drumming, Dreams, and Drugs with the Grateful Dead

By Bill Kreutzmann , Benjy Eisen ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Deal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Grateful Dead are perhaps the most legendary American rock band of all time. For thirty years, beginning in the hippie scene of San Francisco in 1965, they were a musical institution, the original jam band that broke new ground in so many ways. Bill Kreutzmann, one of their founding members and drummer for every one of their over 2,300 concerts, has written an unflinching and wild account of playing in the greatest improvisational band of all time. Everything a rock music fan would expect is here, but what sets this apart is Bill's incredible life of adventure that was…

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