9. Between the Dark and Light: The Grateful Dead Photography of Jay Blakesberg
Legendary photographer Jay Blakesberg provides over 900 mind-blowing photos of the band in action that are complemented nicely by essays from Dead historians Blair Jackson and J. C. Juanis as well as Blakesberg’s own reflections on following and shooting the band from 1979 onwards.
One of the most recent books on the band comes from longtime Deadhead writer Blair Jackson. This whole list could’ve been filled with Jackson’s comprehensive studies of the band including the engaging Jerry biography Garcia – An American Life, the quick and easy reading Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad – A Grateful Dead Traveling Companion and 1983’s The Music Never Stopped biography, but as a music gear geek I’ve gotta tip my hat towards his book on the band’s gear and recording “adventures.” I find cool new gems of information each time I pick it up.
I always felt a little dirty reading former Dead manager Rock Scully’s tell-all book about the Dead, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t interesting to read about all the glorious moments and nasty shit that went down during his tenure with the band.
6. The Complete Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics – David Dodd
Back in 1994 – before everyone knew what the internet was – David Dodd started building a website with the goal of annotating the entire Grateful Dead catalog. After 13 years – and many submissions by Deadheads including GD lyricist Robert Hunter – Dodd compiled an encyclopedic book with annotations on nearly every Dead original and many covers.
5. Dark Star: An Oral Biography of Jerry Garcia – Robert Greenfield
Jerry Garcia’s life story isn’t filled with sunshine and lollipops; Captain Trips had some major demons that kept him down for decades. Dark Star was a painful but intriguing read filled with interviews from nearly 70 Grateful Dead associates. Sometimes oral biographies have a tendency to be choppy and lack focus, but Greenfield weaves the words of Jerry’s friends well and engages the reader throughout.
4. Home Before Daylight: My Life on the Road with the Grateful Dead – Steve Parish
No one spent more time with Jerry Garcia than roadie Steve Parish. Parish waited till Jerry was long gone to finally put his thoughts together in a respectful way, but with plenty of inside stories to keep us entertained. Look for a movie based on Parish’s book soon.
3. Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead – Phil Lesh
Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh penned an autobiography in 2005, just in time to celebrate the band’s 40th Anniversary. Lesh tells the story of the band’s early days from his own perspective. He doesn’t ignore the bad times and injects his personality throughout.
2. Playing in the Band: An Oral and Visual Portrait of the Grateful Dead – David Gans and Peter Simon
I would hide under my covers after lights out at summer camp to read one of the first – and still one of the best – histories of the band. There have been plenty of exhaustive examinations of the band, but for a newcomer to the scene this book’s light touch gives the perfect intro to the history of the Dead.
1. A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead – Dennis McNally
Whereas Playing In The Band is perfect for the casual Deadhead, Dennis McNally’s book offers new information for even the most seasoned of veteran fans. McNally was originally hired by the Dead to write a biography but his duties as the band’s publicist kept him away from that task as they toured the country throughout the ’80s and into the mid ’90s. At over 600 pages, A Long Strange Trip tackles every era of the band’s existence in depth. This masterfully written volume stands out as the definitive book on the Dead.
28 Responses
Nice piece Scott….I haven’t read all of these so I can’t quite say I would replace any….but my 10 would have to include Garcia: An Amrican Life by Blair Jackson. Besides being a great read….God Street Wie gets a brief mention…and I know how much heat that can draw on this site. 🙂
Jay’s photos are just plain madness…he is such a talented dude!
I really want to get the gear book…I’ve heard great things about it.
Thanks for the work you do!
Max Ludington’s Tiger in a Trance is a wonderful novel set in mid 1980’s GD tour. I’m biased since I know Max and yes was on Dead tour with him. He really nails it with insight, humor and heart.
One excellent book you forgot was Garcia : An American Life
This was the best read for me regarding Garcia, his life, and the Grateful Dead. Like you, i found out about Brent while in camp and was one of the worst days as i was a huge fan of his. My first Dead show in 1987, he stuck out as much as Jerry did. Loved his energy! Sadly, that was never replaced.
I’d give a shout to the taping compendiums. I think I actually have vol. 1 sitting on my couch at this very moment in fact.
This looks great, but I do have a question: does McNally’s book offer an un-biased view of the GD? Since he was employed by the band I’d be interested to know if he comes off as a good company man or like Rock Scully or Richard Cole by digging the dirt. I’m guessing this is rather objective and not a gossip book or this wouldn’t have been #1 on the list. Anyway, just curious.
@Rocky Top – When Garcia hired Dennis he told him he didn’t want him pulling any punches, and imho he didn’t.
@Ryan D – GREAT GREAT call. I overlooked that series and they deserved to be on this list.
@Fluffdead – I did mention Garcia – An American Life, but as a gear geek I just loved Blair Jackson’s book on their gear.
A Box of Rain: Lyrics: 1965-1993 – Robert Hunter. Not really Dead I suppose, but I’ve owned the book for 14 years and still reference it. Though I love the history of the annotated one.
And Grateful Dead: The Illustrated Trip is an EXCELLENT coffee table book.
Nice list Scotty 🙂
Great work Scotty. I think I’ve read about 1/2 the books on this list might have also included – Garcia: A Signpost To New Space – which is a pretty cool Q&A that I think originally ran in Rolling Stone.
For a awhile I had, pretty much, all of Skeleton Key memorized.
thanks
Grateful Dead Boooks website.
http://www.gratefuldeadbooks.com
Fine work, Scotty, and I’d agree with you 100 percent that McNally’s book is the definitive work: complete , thorough, insidery, quirky without being irritating, and above all, comprehensive, with as much grist for lifer Deadheads as for dilettantes. Have re-read it a few times and even Phil’s book and Jay’s photos don’t feel so rewarding.
great books, I would like to add Dead Base.
Scotty, thanks for putting Skeleton Key on this list! Writing it was a great experience for me and David.
Steve Silberman
Great list, have them all except for Lesh’s book ironically. Need to pick it up now to round out the list. Was glad to see Annotated Lyrics make the list, love that book. DeadBase seems like a logical choice as well: lots of great reading. And one that may not technically be about the Dead, but that EVERY fan MUST read: Electric Kool Aid Acid Test.
Blair Jackson’s collection of 80’s interviews Going Down the Road is one of my favorites.
Dead To The Core by Eric Wybenga. I have all of these books and this is still one of my faves. Out of print and very much worth the hunt. Think of it like trying to find a rare, previously unknown Betty Board…
Here I sit in Atlantic City… I still maintain that Tiger In A Trance is sublime. Max Ludington is a pal and was a tour-mate in the mid 1980’s (Wow, I date myself!) – He nails the feel of that time period with brutal honesty and heart. I laughed, I cried. I put on 10/12/84 and smiled.
It’s really hard to believe that you could leave Garcia by Blair Jackson out of that list. That’s right up at the top of my list. (Which also contains most of what you have listed!)
AS far as I am concerned, you left out four glaring omissions:
1. “Garcia: An American Life” – Blair Jackson. Blair tells the story of Jerry in a tasteful vein that is most respectful to the Garcia legacy.
2. “Goin’ Down The Road: A Grateful Dead Traveling Companion” – Blair Jackson. A great compilation of articles, interviews and such from The Golden Road, which was THE GD fanzine back in the day (sorry Relix and Dupree’s, but they were always one to two levels above you!).
3. “Dead Base” – John Scott, Stu Nixon & Mike Dolgushkin. If you want to know what seeing and experiencing the GD was like from 1988 – 1995, look up any of the annual DeadBase editions, let alone the big book. I admit bias, as I was a proud contributor to DeadBase from 1988-95.
4. “The Deadhead’s Taping Compendium” – Michael Getz & John Dwork – In some ways, it’s DeadBase Revisited (and I contrubited a few reviews in the first edition), but there are plenty of fine reads in every edition, and yet shows others’ insights on the GD from the recordings side.
Phil’s book should DEFINITELY be number 1, but otherwise nice list.