The Grateful Dead FAQ

The Grateful Dead was a far more multifaceted entity than many people allow. Saying the band only played “space jams” is akin to saying The Beatles only played pop-rock. Following the band’s influential time in San Francisco’s burgeoning music scene during the 1960s, the Dead took their carnival on the road, embracing rock, jazz, bluegrass, improvisation and country-blues on their own and via myriad collaborations until the passing of Jerry Garcia in 1995. In the new The Grateful Dead FAQ, longtime music journalist Tony Sclafani engagingly breaks it all down in 39 easy-to-digest chapters, each packed with bite-sized nuggets. Sclafani entertainingly expounds on the band’s folklore; provides fascinating tidbits about certain famous and not-so-famous live shows; presents bios on much of the band’s extended family, important places and milestones; and perhaps most unique to published works about the Grateful Dead, offers interesting insights on the band’s ambitious—but often unheralded—music catalog. Assorted trivia abounds. Ever wonder why a young Courtney Love appears in the back-cover photo of the 1969 album, Aoxomoxoa, or whether or not conservative pundits Anne Coulter and Tucker Carlson really are Grateful Dead fans? Pick up this 357-page book of answers.