The Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead formed in San Francisco in 1966 when love and acid hit that city in a big way. From their 1967 album onwards, the Dead were hailed as lords of acid rock and the leaders of a tribal lifestyle mythology.

Renowned for long improvised numbers and performances lasting up to five or six hours, the band became more country influenced after their 1967 album Workingman's Dead and later on American Beauty.

In 1972, the band took a sabbatical over the summer while Jerry Garcia released his first solo album, Garcia. Bob Weir and Mickey Hart also released albums (Ace and Rolling Thunder respectively). Keyboard player Ron 'Pigpen' McKernan was less productive though, as he was forced to rest and give up drinking after a serious liver complaint was diagnosed.

Unsteady from the start, the band lost what little grounding they had when Pigpen drank himself to death and the Godchaux's hopped on board. The pair turned out to be so bad that even the other members of the band realized they had to go.

In September 1977, the Dead played three dates in front of the Great Pyramid of Cheops in Cairo in an event scheduled to coincide with a total eclipse of the Moon.