Jerry may refer to:

• Jerry (given name), a unisex given name
• Jerry (racehorse), winner of the 1840 Grand National
• Jerry Seinfeld (character), eponymous character in the American sitcom, Seinfeld
• Jerry Maguire, a film starring Tom Cruise
• Jerry Mouse, a fictional mouse in the Tom and Jerry cartoons
• Jerry Sitoe, a footballer from Mozambique, currently playing for Academica
• Jerry the Tyke, a fictional dog who had his own cartoon series between 1925 and 1927
• Jerrycan, a robust fuel container made from pressed steel

See also[link]

• Geri (disambiguation)
• Jeri

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Jerry Rivera
Background information
Birth name	Geraldo Rivera Rodríguez
Born	(1973-07-31) July 31, 1973 (age 38) Humacao, Puerto Rico
Genres	Salsa, Latin pop
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Sony Discos (1989-2005), EMI Latin (2007), Venemusic (2011-present)
Website	http://www.jerryrivera.com/

Jerry Rivera (born July 31, 1973), is a Grammy Award and Latin Grammy Award-nominated Puerto Rican salsa singer.

Early years[link]

Rivera, born Geraldo Rivera Rodríguez in Humacao, Puerto Rico on the eastern coast of Puerto Rico, moved with his family as a baby to Levittown, near the town of Toa Baja, where he received his primary and secondary education. His entire family consists of musicians, including tropical recording artists Edwin Rivera and younger sister Saned. Two other brothers, Ito and Jose, are professional instrumental musicians.^[1] His parents, also musicians, inspired him to become a musician and as a child he would often accompany his mother Dominga, a singer, and father Edwin, a guitarist and director of Los Barones Trio, during their shows.

In 1986, when he was 13 years old, he accompanied his father who was performing at a hotel in Isla Verde, San Juan. Frankie Ruiz, who was a guest at the hotel, appeared and sang a couple of songs with them and had his picture taken alongside Rivera. In 2003, this picture was used by Rivera to make the album cover for his tribute Canto a mi Idolo... Frankie Ruiz ('I sing to my Idol... Frankie Ruiz'), who had died in 1998.^[2]

Singing career[link]

In 1988, Tommy Olivencia heard Rivera sing alongside his father and recommended that he sing solo. When Rivera was 14, his father made a demo and presented it to the CBS music department. They signed Rivera.^[3]

Rivera began to be known as "El Bebé de la Salsa" (the baby of salsa) after recording his first album, Empezando A Vivir, . This project generated the hit, De La Cabeza A Los Pies ("Head Over Heels"). His second album, Abriendo Puertas ('Opening Doors'), produced the hit songs Esa Niña ('That Girl'), Dime ('Tell Me'), Nada Sin Ti ('Nothing Without You'), and Como un Milagro ('Like a Miracle') became number one hits first in Puerto Rico, then among the Hispanic populations in the United States and finally across Latin America.

His third album, Cuenta Conmigo ('Count on Me'), won three Platinum Record awards in the United States, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Colombia. It became the most-sold salsa album in history, a record previously held by Willie Colón,^[4] and held the number-one spot in the Latin American Billboards for three consecutive months. Its hit songs included the Cuenta Conmigo, Me Estoy Enamorando ('I'm Falling in Love') and Casi Un Hechizo (Neary A Charm). The number one hit for the album was Amores Como El Nuestro (Love like ours) which is considered to be the best song by Rivera. Rivera was awarded two Premio Lo Nuestro Awards for "Singer of the Year" and "Album of the Year" and Sony Records presented him with three Crystal Awards.^[3]

The introduction of Amores Como El Nuestro was sampled by Haitian-rapper Wyclef Jean in his 2004 song "Dance Like This" from the soundtrack of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights which would later become the worldwide number-one 2006 hit "Hips Don't Lie" by Wyclef and Colombian-singer Shakira. However, in the case of Shakira, she was accused of plagiarism since she made the recording without Riveras consent.^[5] The introduction of "Amores Como El Nuestro" can be heard on MTV's animated series Daria episode "Fair Enough' of its second season.

In 1993, he released Cara de Niño ('Baby Face') with ¿Qué Hay De Malo? ('What's Wrong About This?'), Cara de Niño, No Hieras Mi Vida as being major hits of the year. In 1994, as his popularity was rising, he released his first compilation album, Lo Nuevo y lo Mejor (The New and the Best), and contained the single hit Me Estoy Enloqueciendo Por Ti ('I'm Going Crazy For You'). The following year, "Magia" was released with the self-titled album and Ahora Estoy Solo (Now That I'm Alone) In 1996, Rivera released "Fresco" and Una y Mil Veces (One Thousand and One Times) and Lloraré (I Will Cry) were the album hits. Ya No Soy El Niño Aquel was released in 1997. In 1999, Rivera recorded De Otra Manera ('Another Way'), his first attempt at ballad music, which featured the bolero Ese (Him). Jerry sang the song with his father at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan.^[3]

In 2000, Rivera recorded Para Siempre ('Forever'). This was his last album on Sony Latin records.^[3] In 2001, he released his self-titled album Jerry Rivera and the year after, he recorded Vuela Muy Alto (Fly High) which brought him a new fanbase all over Latin-America and the U.S., with the title track hit the top spot and the top 10 in many charts along with Herida Mortal (Mortal Wound). The following year he returned to his salsa roots and released Cantando A Mi Idolo... Frankie Ruiz ('Singing To My Idol... Frankie Ruiz'), a tribute album to one of his idol Frankie Ruiz. The album ganer him a Latin Grammy nomination, made up for the poor sales of his previous ballad albums, and his major album hit was Ruiz's Mi Libertad featuring Voltio.

Rivera played a small role in the movie I Like It Like That and appeared as himself in a Latin American soap opera titled Mi destino eres tu ('You are my destiny') which aired on Univision in the US during November 2005. Rivera has also appeared in various Banco Popular de Puerto Rico productions, including Al Compas de un Sentimiento (dedicated to the late Puerto Rican composer Pedro Flores) and Con la musica por Dentro. The same year, he released Ay Mi Vida (Oh My Life) which had received mixed reviews.^[3] In 2007, he released Caribe Gardel, a tribute to Argentine singer, Carlos Gardel with Gardel's Cuesta Abajo (Downhill) being one the major salsa hits of the year. In 2011, he released El Amor Existe, with Solo Pienso En Ti being one of the major salsa hits of 2011.

Rivera has performed in Venezuela, Colombia, Honduras, Panama, the United States, Spain, Ecuador, Argentina, Peru, Mexico, Sweden, France, and Japan.

In 2011 he was one of the four judges for Idol Puerto Rico. (The Puerto Rican Version of American Idol).

Discography[link]

External audio
	You may listen to Jerry Rivera's Cuenta Conmigo here.

Albums[link]

• Empezando a Vivir ('Beginning to Live') (Released: 1989) Sony Music
• Abriendo Puertas ('Opening Doors') (Released: 1990)
• Cuenta Conmigo ('Count On Me') (Released: 1992)
• Cara de Niño ('Baby Face') (Released: 1993)
• Jerry Rivera: Lo Nuevo y Lo Mejor ('Jerry Rivera: The New and the Best') (1994)
• Magia ('Magic') (Released: 1995)
• Fresco ('Fresh') (Released: 1996)
• Ya No Soy El Niño Aquel ('I'm Not That Child Anymore') (Released: 1997)
• De Otra Manera ('In Other Ways') (Released: 1998)
• Oro Salsero ('Salsa Gold') (Released: 2000)
• Historia 1 ('History 1') (Released: 2000)
• Para Siempre ('Forever') (Released: 2000)
• Rivera ('Rivera') (Released: 2001) 'also available in box set' BMG
• No Me Olvidarás ('You Won't Forget Me') (Released: 2001)
• Vuela Muy Alto ('Fly Very High') (Released: 2002)
• Cantando A Mi Ídolo... Frankie Ruiz ('Singing To My Idol... Frankie Ruiz') (Released: 2003)
• Ay Mi Vida ('Oh My Life') (Released: 2005) Sony BMG
• Caribe Gardel (Released: 2007) EMI Music
• El Amor Existe ('Love Exists') (Released: 2011) VeneMusic

Singles[link]

See also[link]

	Puerto Rico portal
	Biography portal

• List of famous Puerto Ricans

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jerry Rivera

• Jerry Rivera at the Music of Puerto Rico website
• Jerry Rivera's Official Website

Jerry Hsu

Personal information
Nickname(s)	The Asian Elvis[1]
Nationality	United States
Born	(1981-12-17) December 17, 1981 (age 30) San Jose, California, United States
Residence	San Jose, California
Sport
Country	U.S
Sport	Professional skateboarding

Jerry Hsu (pronounced Hu Suey) (born December 17, 1981, in San Jose, California) is a professional skateboarder. His parents are both immigrants from Taiwan.^[2]

Biography[link]

At the age of nine, Hsu began recording himself skateboarding, for the purpose of discovering what his skateboarding really looked like. He rode for Maple with Louie Barletta, Chad Bartie, Chad Night, and others in the early 2000's (see Rodney Mullen with Marc Johnson). This footage has been featured on the internet show, "Epicly Later'd".^[3]

Hsu is featured in Enjoi's skateboarding video, for which he won an award for best video part by Transworld Skateboarding magazine, in addition to a readers' choice award.^[4][5] Hsu also has his own promodel shoe with Emerica, the Hsu.

He is featured as a playable character in the skateboarding video game EA Skate, as well as its sequels.

He expresses interest in photography, and contributes work to Vice magazine.^[6] In September 2010 he exhibited a body of photographic work at the Steinsland Berliner Gallery in Stockholm under the title Vatican Gold alongside artists Ed Templeton, Kevin Long and Jonnie Craig.^[7]

Sponsors[link]

Hsu's sponsors include Emerica shoes and apparel, Enjoi skateboards, CCS, Royal trucks, Mob grip tape, Ricta wheels, and Bones bearings.

External links[link]

• Jerry Hsu biography
• About Jerry Hsu
• Jerry Hsu's photography at Nofound to New Documents

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Jerry Lee Lewis
Lewis at Credicard Hall in September 2009
Background information
Birth name	Jerry Lee Lewis
Also known as	The Killer
Born	(1935-09-29) September 29, 1935 (age 76)
Origin	Ferriday, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	Rock and roll, country, rockabilly, blues, Honky tonk, gospel
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, pianist
Instruments	Vocals, piano, guitar
Years active	1954–present
Labels	Sun, Mercury, Sire/Warner Bros, MCA
Website	www.jerryleelewis.com

Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935) is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. He is known by the nickname "The Killer". An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis had hits in the late 1950s with songs such as "Great Balls of Fire", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", "Breathless" and "High School Confidential". However, Lewis' rock 'n' roll career faltered in the wake of his marriage to his young cousin. He had little success in the charts following the scandal until his popularity recovered in the late 1960s after he extended his career to country and western music with songs such as "Another Place, Another Time". More country hits soon followed over the late 1960s and through the 1970s. Lewis's successes continued throughout the decade and he embraced his rock 'n' roll past with songs such as a cover of the Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace" and "Rockin' My Life Away". In the 21st century Lewis continues to tour to audiences around the world and still releases new albums. One such new album, titled Last Man Standing, is his best selling to date at over a million copies sold worldwide.

Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. In 2003, Rolling Stone Magazine listed his box set All Killer, No Filler: The Anthology number 242 on their list of "500 greatest albums of all time".^[1] In 2004, they ranked him number 24 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[2] His live album Live at the Star Club, Hamburg is often regarded by many music journalists and fans as one of the wildest and greatest rock and roll concert albums ever. In 2008, he was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Lewis is the last surviving member of Sun Records' Million Dollar Quartet and the Class of '55 album, which altogether included Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley, as well as Lewis himself.

Early life[link]

Jerry Lee Lewis Drive in Ferriday, Louisiana

Lewis was born to the poor family of Elmo and Mamie Lewis in Ferriday in Concordia Parish in eastern Louisiana, and began playing piano in his youth with two cousins, country music singer Mickey Gilley and TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart. His parents mortgaged their farm to buy him a piano. Influenced by a piano-playing older cousin, Carl McVoy (who later recorded with Bill Black's Combo), the radio, and the sounds from the black juke joint across the tracks called Haney's Big House.^[3] Lewis's main influence growing up was Moon Mullican.^[4]

His mother enrolled him in Southwest Bible Institute in Waxahachie, Texas, so that her son would be exclusively singing his evangelical songs. But Lewis daringly played a boogie woogie rendition of "My God Is Real" at a church assembly that sent him packing the same night. Pearry Green, then president of the student body, related how during a talent show Lewis played some "worldly" music. The next morning, the dean of the school called Lewis and Green into his office to expel them. Lewis said that Green should not be expelled because "he didn't know what I was going to do." Years later Green asked Lewis: "Are you still playing the devil's music?" Lewis replied "Yes, I am. But you know it's strange, the same music that they kicked me out of school for is the same kind of music they play in their churches today. The difference is, I know I am playing for the devil and they don't."

After that incident, he went home and started playing at clubs in and around Ferriday and Natchez, Mississippi, becoming part of the burgeoning new rock 'n' roll sound and cutting his first demo recording in 1954. He made a trip to Nashville circa 1955 where he played clubs and attempted to build interest, but was turned down by the Grand Ole Opry as he had been at the Louisiana Hayride country stage and radio show in Shreveport. Recording executives in Nashville suggested he switch to playing a guitar.

Lewis in the 1950s.

Lewis traveled to Memphis, Tennessee in November 1956, to audition for Sun Records. Label owner Sam Phillips was in Florida, but producer and engineer Jack Clement recorded Lewis's rendition of Ray Price's "Crazy Arms" and his own composition "End of The Road". During December 1956, Lewis began recording prolifically, as a solo artist and as a session musician for such Sun artists as Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. His distinctive piano can be heard on many tracks recorded at Sun during late 1956 and early 1957, including Carl Perkins's "Matchbox", "Your True Love", "You Can Do No Wrong", and "Put Your Cat Clothes On", and Billy Lee Riley's "Flyin' Saucers Rock'n'Roll". Formerly, rockabilly had rarely featured piano, but it proved an influential addition and rockabilly artists on other labels also started working with pianists.

On December 4, 1956, Elvis Presley dropped in on Phillips to pay a social visit while Perkins was in the studio cutting new tracks with Lewis backing him on piano. Johnny Cash was also there watching Perkins. The four then started an impromptu jam session, and Phillips left the tape running. These recordings, almost half of which were gospel songs, survived, and have been released on CD under the title Million Dollar Quartet. Tracks also include Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" and "Paralyzed", Chuck Berry's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", Pat Boone's "Don't Forbid Me" and Presley doing an impersonation of Jackie Wilson (who was then with Billy Ward and the Dominoes) on "Don't Be Cruel".

Lewis's own singles (on which he was billed as "Jerry Lee Lewis and his Pumping Piano") advanced his career as a soloist during 1957, with hits such as "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire", his biggest hit, bringing him international fame, despite criticism for the songs' overtly sexual undertones which prompted some radio stations to boycott them. In 2005, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.

According to several first hand sources, including Johnny Cash, Lewis himself, who was devoutly Christian, was also troubled by the sinful nature of his own material, which he firmly believed was leading himself and his audience to hell.^[5] This aspect of Lewis's character was depicted in Waylon Payne's portrayal of Lewis in the 2005 film Walk the Line, based on Cash's autobiographies.

As part of his stage act, Lewis would often kick the piano bench aside and play standing, rake his hands up and down the keyboard for dramatic accent, sit on the keyboard and even stand on top of the instrument. His first TV appearance, in which he demonstrated some of these moves, was on The Steve Allen Show on July 28, 1957, where he played the song "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On".^[6][7] It is widely believed that he once set fire to a piano at the end of a live performance, in protest of being billed below Chuck Berry.^{[citation needed]} but he is quoted in an online article in Esquire Magazine as saying "I never set fire to a piano. I'd like to have got away with it, though. I pushed a couple of them in the river. They wasn't any good."

His dynamic performance style can be seen in films such as High School Confidential (he sang the title song from the back of a flatbed truck), and Jamboree. He has been called "rock & roll's first great wild man" and also "rock & roll's first great eclectic".^[8] Classical composer Michael Nyman has also cited Lewis's style as the progenitor of his own aesthetic.^[9]

Marriage to minor[link]

Lewis's turbulent personal life was hidden from the public until a May 1958 British tour where Ray Berry, a news agency reporter at London's Heathrow Airport (the only journalist present), learned about Lewis's third wife, Myra Gale Brown. She was Lewis's first cousin once removed^[10][11] and was only 13 years old at the time. (Brown, Lewis, and his management all insisted that she was 15). Lewis was 22 years old. The publicity caused an uproar and the tour was canceled after only three concerts.

The scandal followed Lewis home to America, and as a result, he was blacklisted from radio and almost vanished from the music scene. Lewis felt betrayed by numerous people who had been his supporters. Dick Clark dropped him from his shows. Lewis even felt that Sam Phillips had sold him out when the Sun Records boss released "The Return of Jerry Lee", a bogus "interview" cut together by Jack Clement from excerpts of Lewis's songs that "answered" the interview questions, which made light of his marital and publicity problems. Only Alan Freed stayed true to Lewis, playing his records until Freed was removed from the air because of payola allegations.

Lewis was still under contract with Sun Records, and kept recording, regularly releasing singles. He had gone from $10,000 a night concerts to $250 a night spots in beer joints and small clubs. He had few friends at the time whom he felt he could trust. It was only through Kay Martin, the president of Lewis's fan club, T. L. Meade, (aka Franz Douskey) a sometime Memphis musician and friend of Sam Phillips, and Gary Skala, that Lewis went back to record at Sun Records.^[when?]

By this time,^[when?] Phillips had built a new state-of-the-art studio at 639 Madison Avenue in Memphis, thus abandoning the old Union Avenue studio where Phillips had recorded B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Lewis, Johnny Cash and others, and also opened a studio in Nashville. It was at the latter studio that Lewis recorded his only major hit during this period, a rendition of Ray Charles' "What'd I Say" in 1961. In Europe other updated versions of "Sweet Little Sixteen" (September 1962 UK) and "Good Golly Miss Molly" (March 1963) entered the Hit Parade. On popular EPs, "Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes", "I've Been Twistin'", "Money" and "Hello Josephine" also became turntable hits, especially in nascent discothèques. Another recording of Lewis playing an instrumental boogie arrangement of the Glenn Miller Orchestra favorite "In the Mood", was issued on the Phillips International label under the pseudonym "The Hawk", but disc jockeys quickly figured out the distinctive piano style, and this gambit failed.

Lewis's Sun recording contract ended in 1963 and he joined Smash Records, where he made a number of rock recordings that did not further his career.

His popularity recovered somewhat in Europe, especially in the UK and Germany, during the mid-1960s. A concert album, Live at the Star Club, Hamburg (1964), recorded with The Nashville Teens, is widely considered one of the greatest live rock and roll albums ever.^{[12][13][14][15][16][17]} Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes: "Live at the Star Club is extraordinary, the purest, hardest rock & roll ever committed to record."^[16]

Family[link]

Lewis has been married seven times.^[18] His first marriage, to Dorothy Barton, lasted for 20 months, from February 1952 to October 1953 (although there is a possibility that Lewis may have married Barton earlier than 1952). In a 1978 People magazine interview Lewis stated "I was 14 when I first got married. My wife was too old for me; she was 17."^[19] His second marriage, to Jane Mitchum, was of dubious validity because it occurred 23 days before his divorce from Barton was final. They were married for four years, from September 1953 to October 1957, and had two children. He then married Myra Gale Brown in December 1957. The couple went through a second marriage ceremony because his divorce from Jane Mitchum was not complete before the first ceremony took place. Lewis and Myra had two children and were divorced in December 1970 after 13 years of marriage. Lewis's fourth marriage was to Jaren Elizabeth Gunn Pate, and ended when she drowned in the swimming pool at their home. They were married for 12 years, from October 1971 to August 1983.^{[clarification needed]} His fifth wife was Shawn Stephens. This marriage ended with her death from a methadone overdose. They were married for three months, from June to August 1984. His sixth marriage was to Kerrie McCarver, with whom he had one child. This marriage lasted 20 years and ended in divorce in 2004. On March 9, 2012, Lewis married his seventh wife Judith Brown.^[18]

Lewis has had at least four children. Two additional people have claimed to be his children, but they had no proof. In 1962, his son Steve Allen Lewis drowned in a swimming pool accident when he was three, and in 1973, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jr., died at the age of 19^[19][20] when he overturned the Jeep he was driving.^[19] His current living children are a son, Jerry Lee Lewis III, and a daughter, Phoebe Allan Lewis.

Later career[link]

In the 1960s, Lewis's attempts at a comeback as a rock and roll performer had stalled during four years with Smash Records until he began recording country ballads.

Lewis in concert, in 1977

He had already recorded a country-oriented LP for the label Country Songs for City Folks. In 1968, his single "Another Place, Another Time" became a Top 10 success and led to a string of Top Ten singles including the 1968 number-one country single "To Make Love Sweeter For You" that brought Lewis renewed stardom among country music fans, much like that which ex-rockabilly Conway Twitty began to cultivate during that same time. His shift to country reflected the fact that he had grown up listening to the Grand Ole Opry.^{[citation needed]} Lewis's country hits during this period include "What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)", "She Still Comes Around (To Love What's Left of Me)", "She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye", "Once More With Feeling", "There Must Be More to Love Than This", "Touching Home", "Would You Take Another Chance on Me", "Me & Bobby McGee", "Think About It, Darlin'", "Sometimes a Memory Ain't Enough", and "Tell Tale Signs". Lewis's singles and albums were issued on Mercury records instead of Smash from 1970 on. Lewis's renewed popularity encouraged Sun International Inc. to issue previously unpublished recordings dating from 1963 including "Invitation to Your Party", "One Minute Past Eternity", "I Can't Seem To Say Goodbye" and "Waiting For A Train" on singles that also did well on the country music charts in 1969/70. Lewis's successes continued throughout the decade and he eventually began to re-emphasize his rock and roll past with hits like his 1972 revival of The Big Bopper's rock classic "Chantilly Lace" and "Drinkin' Wine Spo dee-o dee" as well as looking at middle age with the 1977 "Middle Age Crazy". In 1979, he signed with Elektra Records and had his last major country hit with 1981's "Thirty-Nine and Holding". He spent a very brief period with MCA Records in 1983 but left the label due to unspecified differences.

In 1989, a major motion picture based on his early life in rock & roll, Great Balls of Fire!, brought him back into the public eye, especially when he decided to re-record all his songs for the movie soundtrack. The film was based on the book by Lewis's ex-wife, Myra Gale Lewis, and starred Dennis Quaid as Lewis, Winona Ryder as Myra, and Alec Baldwin as Jimmy Swaggart. The movie focuses on Lewis's early career and his relationship with Myra, and ends with the scandal of the late 1950s. A year later, in 1990, Lewis made minor news when a new song he co-wrote called "It Was the Whiskey Talkin' (Not Me)" was included in the soundtrack to the hit movie Dick Tracy. The song is also heard in the movie, playing on a radio.

The public downfall of his cousin, television evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, resulted in more adverse publicity to a troubled family. Swaggart is also a piano player, as is another cousin, country music star Mickey Gilley. All three listened to the same music in their youth, and frequented Haney's Big House, the Ferriday club that featured black blues acts. Lewis and Swaggart have had a complex relationship over the years.

Linda Gail Lewis, touring with her brother, in 1977, in Ludwigshafen, Germany

Lewis's sister, Linda Gail Lewis has recorded with Lewis, toured with his stage show for a time and more recently recorded with Van Morrison.

"The Killer", a nickname he has had since childhood, is known for his forceful voice and piano production on stage. He was described by Roy Orbison as the best raw performer in the history of rock and roll music.^[21]

In 1986, Lewis was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That year, he returned to Sun Studio in Memphis to team up with Orbison, Cash, and Perkins along with longtime admirers like John Fogerty to create the album Class of '55, a sort of followup to the "Million Dollar Quartet" session, though in the eyes of many critics and fans, lacking the spirit of the old days at Sun.

In 1998 he toured Europe with Chuck Berry and Little Richard. On February 12, 2005, he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by The Recording Academy (which also grants the Grammy Awards). On September 26, 2006, a new album titled Last Man Standing was released, featuring many of rock and roll's elite as guest stars. Receiving positive reviews, the album charted in four different Billboard charts, including a two week stay at number one on the Indie charts.

A DVD entitled Last Man Standing Live, featuring concert footage with many guest artists, was released in March 2007, and the CD achieved Lewis's 10th official gold disk for selling over half-a-million copies in the US alone. Last Man Standing is Lewis's biggest selling album of all time. It features contributions from Mick Jagger, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards and Rod Stewart, among others.

On November 5, 2007, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, honored Lewis with six days of conferences, interviews, a DVD premiere and film clips, dedicated to him entitled The Life And Music of Jerry Lee Lewis.^{[citation needed]} On November 10, the week culminated with a tribute concert compered by Kris Kristofferson. Lewis was present to accept the American Music Masters Award and closed his own tribute show with a rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".

On February 10, 2008, he appeared with John Fogerty and Little Richard on the 50th Grammy Awards Show, performing "Great Balls of Fire" in a medley with "Good Golly Miss Molly".

Lewis now lives on a ranch in Nesbit, Mississippi with his family.^[22][23][24]

On June 4, 2008, Lewis was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

On July 4, 2008, he appeared on A Capitol Fourth and performed the finale's final act with a medley of "Roll Over Beethoven", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" and "Great Balls of Fire".

In October 2008, as part of a very successful European tour, Lewis returned to the UK, almost exactly 50 years after his ill-fated first tour. He appeared at two London shows: a special private show at the 100 Club on October 25 and at the London Forum on October 28 with Wanda Jackson and his sister, Linda Gail Lewis.^[25]

2009 marked the sixtieth year since Lewis's first public performance when he performed "“Drinking Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" at a car dealership on November 19, 1949 in Ferriday Louisiana.^{[citation needed]}

In August 2009, in advance of his new album, a single entitled "Mean Old Man" was released for download. It was written by Kris Kristofferson. An EP featuring this song and four more was also released on amazon.com on November 11.

On October 29, 2009, Lewis opened the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Discography[link]

Hits and awards[link]

Between 1957 and 2006, the date of Last Man Standing's release, 47 singles and 22 albums (The Session counted as 2 albums) made the Top Twenty Pop, Jukebox, Rock, Indie and/or Country charts in the US or the UK. Fourteen^{[clarification needed]} reached the number 1 position. He has had ten official gold disks, the latest being for the 2006 album Last Man Standing, plus unofficial ones issued by his record company Mercury for albums which sold over a quarter of a million copies. His 2006 duets CD Last Man Standing has sold over half a million worldwide, his biggest selling album ever. Lewis is also among the Top 50 all-time Billboard Country artists. It is also rumored that the soundtrack album to the movie Great Balls Of Fire has now sold over a million copies. The original Sun cut of "Great Balls of Fire" was elected to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, and Lewis's Sun recording of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" received this honor in 1999. Only recordings which are at least 25 years old and have left a lasting impression can receive this honor. Along with Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison, Lewis received a Grammy in the spoken word category for the very rare album of interviews released with some early copies of the Class of '55 album in 1986. On February 12, 2005, Lewis received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award the day before the Recording Academy's main Grammy Awards ceremony, which he also attended. On October 10, 2007, Lewis received the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's American Music Masters Award. His newest album, Mean Old Man, was released in September 2010 and reached No. 30 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Compositions[link]

Lewis has written or co-written many songs during his career:

• "End of the Road", 1956 – this is an original song and not the same as Irving Berlin's song (that inspired it) as the lyrics and melody are totally different apart from the refrain "the way is dark and the night is long" (which Lewis turns around) and "waiting at the end of the road".
• "Jerry's Boogie" (a.k.a. "Black Bottom Stomp"), 1956 – was previously recorded as Black Bottom Stomp by Jelly Roll Morton but Lewis's rendition is his own and changes a lot of the old song.
• "Lewis Boogie", 1956
• "Pumpin' Piano Rock", 1957
• "All Night Long", 1957
• "High School Confidential", 1958
• "Live & Let Live", 1958 – sometimes credited to Lewis, but this actually was recorded by Bill Monroe, Moon Mullican, Gene Sullivan & Wiley Walker, and Jimmie Davis before.
• "Memory Of You", 1958
• "Hello, Hello Baby", 1958
• "Baby, Baby, Bye Bye", 1960
• "Lewis Workout", 1960
• "Whole Lotta Twistin' Goin' On", 1962 – new lyrics
• "He Took It Like A Man", 1963
• "Baby, Hold Me Close", 1965
• "My Baby Don't Love No One But Me", 1965
• "Rockin' Jerry Lee", 1966
• "What A Heck Of A Mess", 1966
• "Lincoln Limousine", 1966
• "Alvin", 1970
• "Pilot Baby", 1980s
• "Crown Victoria Custom '51, 1995
• "New Orleans Boogie" ("Jerry Lee's Boogie"), 1952
• "Blues Like Midnight", 1980s–2000s – a 12 bar blues often done by Lewis in concert. It is sometimes entirely based around Jimmie Rodgers verses but not recorded by Rodgers in this form. On other versions, Lewis adds in original verses as well.

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (October 2008)

• Bonomo, Joe (2009). Jerry Lee Lewis: Lost and Found. New York: Continuum Books. 
• Tosches, Nick (1982). Hellfire. New York: Grove Press. 
• Gutterman, Jimmy (1991). Rockin' My Life Away: Listening to Jerry Lee Lewis. Nashville: Rutledge Hill Press. 
• Gutterman, Jimmy (1993). The Jerry Lee Lewis Anthology: All Killer, No Filler. Rhino Records. 
• Silver, Murray (1981). Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis. William Morrow/Quill/St. Martin's Press. 
• Whitburn, Joel (1985). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 

External links and sources[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jerry Lee Lewis

• The Official Jerry Lee Lewis Website
• Jerry Lee Lewis at Allmusic
• Rockin' My Life Away by Jimmy Guterman, a full online biography
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Jerry Lee Lewis page for his hits, biography.
• Jerry Lee Lewis interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969).
• Listing of all Lewis's Sun Records recordings and alternatives

Selected videos[link]

• Whole Lotta Shakin' Going on

Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia performing in New Haven, CT at the Jerry Garcia WPLR Show.
Background information
Birth name	Jerome John Garcia
Born	August 1, 1942 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	August 9, 1995(1995-08-09) (aged 53) Forest Knolls, California, U.S.
Genres	Folk rock, bluegrass, country rock, jazz, rock and roll, psychedelic rock, rhythm and blues, blues-rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, pedal steel guitar, banjo, vocals
Years active	1960–1995
Labels	Rhino, Arista, Warner Bros., Acoustic Disc, Grateful Dead
Associated acts	Grateful Dead, Legion of Mary, Reconstruction, Jerry Garcia Band, Old and in the Way, Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, New Riders of the Purple Sage
Website	JerryGarcia.com
Notable instruments
Gibson SGs Guild Starfire 1957 Gibson Les Paul Gold-top Les Paul with P-90 Fender Stratocaster "Alligator" Doug Irwin-modified Alembic "Wolf" Doug Irwin Custom "Tiger" Doug Irwin Custom "Rosebud" Stephen Cripe Custom "Lightning Bolt," Martin D-28, Takamine acoustic-electric guitars

Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead.^[1][2] Though he disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader or "spokesman" of the group.^[1][2][3][4]

One of its founders, Garcia performed with the Grateful Dead for their entire three-decade career (1965–1995). Garcia also founded and participated in a variety of side projects, including the Saunders-Garcia Band (with longtime friend Merl Saunders), Jerry Garcia Band, Old and in the Way, the Garcia/Grisman acoustic duo, Legion of Mary, and the New Riders of the Purple Sage (which Garcia co-founded with John Dawson and David Nelson).^[1] He also released several solo albums, and contributed to a number of albums by other artists over the years as a session musician. He was well known by many for his distinctive guitar playing and was ranked 13th in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" cover story.^[5]

Later in life, Garcia was sometimes ill because of his unstable weight, and in 1986 went into a diabetic coma that nearly cost him his life. Although his overall health improved somewhat after that, he also struggled with heroin and cocaine addictions,^[3][4] and was staying in a California drug rehabilitation facility when he died of a heart attack in August 1995.^[2][4]

Childhood and early life[link]

Jerry Garcia's ancestry was Galician (Spanish), Irish, and Swedish.^[6] He was born in San Francisco, California, on August 1, 1942, to Jose Ramon "Joe" Garcia and Ruth Marie "Bobbie" (née Clifford) Garcia.^[7][8][9] His parents named him after composer Jerome Kern.^[7][10][11] Jerome John was their second child, preceded by Clifford Ramon "Tiff", who was born in 1937.^[12][13] Shortly before Clifford's birth, their father and a partner leased a building in downtown San Francisco and turned it into a bar, partly in response to Jose being blackballed from a musician's union for moonlighting.^[14]

Garcia was influenced by music at an early age,^[15] taking piano lessons for much of his childhood.^[16] His father was a retired professional musician and his mother enjoyed playing the piano.^[7] His father's extended family—who had emigrated from Spain in 1919—would often sing during reunions.^[13]

At age four,^[17][18] while vacationing in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Garcia underwent amputation of two-thirds of his right middle finger.^[19][20] Garcia was given the chore of steadying wood while his elder brother chopped, when he inadvertently put his finger in the way of the falling axe.^[20] After his mother wrapped his hand in a towel Garcia's father drove him over thirty miles to the nearest hospital.^[19] A few weeks later, Garcia—who never looked at the finger after the accident—was surprised to discover most of it missing when the bandage he was wearing came off during a bath.^[21] Garcia later confided that he often used it to his advantage in his youth, showing it off to other children in his neighborhood.

Garcia experienced several tragic events during his youth. Less than a year after losing the segment of his finger, his father died. While on vacation with his family near Arcata in Northern California in 1947, his father went fly-fishing in the Trinity River, part of the Six Rivers National Forest.^[22] Not long after entering he slipped on a rock underfoot, plunging into the deep rapids of the river. The incident was witnessed by a group of boys who immediately sought help, beckoning a pair of nearby fishermen. By the time he was pulled from the water, he had already drowned. Garcia later claimed to have seen his father fall into the river, but Dennis McNally, author of the book A Long Strange Trip: The Inside Story of the Grateful Dead, asserts that he did not, instead forming the memory from hearing the story repeated many times.^[11] Blair Jackson, who wrote the biography Garcia: An American Life, lends weight to McNally's claim, citing that the newspaper article describing Jose's death made no mention of Garcia being at the scene—even misidentifying him as his parents' daughter.^[22]

Following the accident, Garcia's mother took over their late father's bar, buying out his partner for full ownership. As a result, Ruth Garcia began working full-time, sending Jerry and his brother to live just down the road with their maternal grandparents, Tillie and William Clifford. During the five-year period in which he lived with his grandparents, Garcia enjoyed a large amount of autonomy and attended Monroe School, the local elementary school. At the school, Garcia was greatly encouraged in his artistic abilities by his third grade teacher: through her, he discovered that "being a creative person was a viable possibility in life."^[23] According to Garcia, it was around this time that he was opened up to country and to bluegrass by his grandmother, who he recalled enjoyed listening to the Grand Ole Opry. His elder brother, Clifford, however, staunchly believed the contrary, insisting that Garcia was "fantasizing all [that] ... she'd been to Opry, but she didn't listen to it on the radio." It was at this point that Garcia started playing the banjo, his first stringed instrument.^[24]

In 1953, Garcia's mother was remarried to a man named Wally Matusiewicz.^[25] Subsequently, Garcia and his brother moved back home with their mother and new stepfather. However, due to the roughneck reputation of their neighborhood at the time, the Excelsior District, Garcia's mother moved their family to Menlo Park.^[25] During their stay in Menlo Park, Garcia became acquainted with racism and antisemitism, things he disliked intensely.^[25] The same year, Garcia was also introduced to rock and roll and rhythm and blues by his brother, and enjoyed listening to the likes of Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, B. B. King, Hank Ballard, and, in a few years, Chuck Berry.^[26] Clifford often memorized the vocals for his favorite songs, and would then make Garcia learn the harmony parts, a move to which Garcia later attributed much of his early ear training.^[26]

In mid-1957, Garcia began smoking cigarettes and was introduced to marijuana.^[27][28] Garcia would later reminisce about the first time he smoked marijuana: "Me and a friend of mine went up into the hills with two joints, the San Francisco foothills, and smoked these joints and just got so high and laughed and roared and went skipping down the streets doing funny things and just having a helluva time".^[15] During this time, Garcia also took up an art program at the San Francisco Art Institute to further his burgeoning interest in the visual arts.^[17] The teacher there was Wally Hedrick, an artist who came to prominence during the 1960s. During the classes, he often encouraged Garcia in his drawing and painting skills.^[29]

In June of the same year, Garcia graduated from the local Menlo Oaks school. He then moved with his family back to San Francisco, where they lived in an apartment above the newly built bar, the old one having previously been torn down to make way for a freeway entrance.^[30] Two months later, on Garcia's fifteenth birthday, his mother purchased him an accordion, to his great disappointment.^[15] Garcia had long been captivated by many rhythm and blues artists, especially Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley: his one wish at this point was to have an electric guitar.^[30] After some pleading, his mother exchanged the accordion for a Danelectro with a small amplifier at a local pawnshop.^[31] Garcia's stepfather, who was somewhat proficient with instruments, helped tune his guitar to an unusual open tuning.^[27]

After a short stint at Denman Junior High School, Garcia attended tenth grade at Balboa High School in 1958, where he often got into trouble for skipping classes and fighting.^[32] Consequently, in 1959, Garcia's mother again moved the family to get Garcia to stay out of trouble, this time to Cazadero, a small town in Sonoma County, 90 miles north of San Francisco.^[32] This turn of events did not sit well with Garcia. To get to Analy High School, the nearest school, he had to travel by bus thirty miles to Sebastopol, a move which only made him more unhappy.^[33] Garcia did, however, join a band at his school known as the Chords. After performing and winning a contest, the band's reward was recording a song—they chose "Raunchy" by Bill Doggett.^[34]

Recording career[link]

Relocation and band beginnings[link]

Garcia stole his mother's car in 1960, and as punishment, joined the United States Army. He received basic training at Fort Ord.^[15] After training, he was transferred to Fort Winfield Scott in the Presidio of San Francisco.^[35] Garcia spent most of his time in the army at his leisure, missing roll call and accruing many counts of AWOL.^[36] As a result, Garcia was given a general discharge on December 14, 1960.^[37]

In January 1961, Garcia drove down to East Palo Alto to see Laird Grant, an old friend from middle school.^[38] He had purchased a 1950 Cadillac sedan from a cook in the army, which barely made it to Grant's residence before it broke down.^[38] Garcia proceeded to spend the next few weeks sleeping where friends would allow, eventually using his car as a home. Through Grant, Garcia met Dave McQueen in February, who, after hearing Garcia perform some blues, introduced him to local people and to the Chateau, a rooming house located near Stanford University which was then a popular hangout.^[39]

On February 20, 1961, Garcia entered a car with Paul Speegle, a 16-year-old artist and acquaintance of Garcia; Jack Royerton, a poet from Indiana and childhood friend of Garcia; Lee Adams, the house manager of the Chateau and driver of the car; and Alan Trist, a companion of theirs.^[39] After speeding past the Menlo Park Veterans Hospital, the car encountered a curve and, traveling around ninety miles per hour, collided with the guard rail, sending the car rolling turbulently.^[40][41] Garcia was hurled through the windshield of the car into a nearby field with such force he was literally thrown out of his shoes and would later be unable to recall the ejection.^[40] Lee Adams, the driver, and Alan Trist, who was seated in the back, were thrown from the car as well, suffering from abdominal injuries and a spine fracture, respectively.^[40] Royerton suffered a mild concussion and shattered his ulna. Garcia escaped with a broken collarbone, while Speegle, still in the car, was fatally injured.^[41]

The accident served as an awakening for Garcia, who later commented: "That's where my life began. Before then I was always living at less than capacity. I was idling. That was the slingshot for the rest of my life. It was like a second chance. Then I got serious".^[42] It was at this time that Garcia began to realize that he needed to begin playing the guitar in earnest—a move which meant giving up his love of drawing and painting.^[43]

Garcia met Robert Hunter, who would become a long-time lyrical collaborator with the Grateful Dead, in April 1961.^[1][7] Garcia and Hunter began to participate in the local art and music scenes, sometimes playing at Kepler's Books.^[7] Garcia performed his first concert with Hunter, each earning five dollars. Garcia and Hunter also played in a band called the Wildwood Boys with David Nelson, a future contributor to some Grateful Dead albums.^[17]

In 1962 Garcia met Phil Lesh, the eventual bassist of the Grateful Dead, during a party in Menlo Park's bohemian Perry Lane neighborhood (where Ken Kesey lived).^[44] Lesh would later write in his autobiography that Garcia resembled the composer Claude Debussy, with his "dark, curly hair, goatee, Impressionist eyes".^[17] While attending another party in Palo Alto, Lesh approached Garcia to suggest that he record some songs on Lesh's tape recorder (Phil was musically trained, though he did not start playing bass guitar until the formation of the Grateful Dead in 1965) with the intention of getting them played on the radio station KPFA.^[17] Using an old Wollensak tape recorder, they recorded "Matty Groves" and "The Long Black Veil", among several other tunes. Their efforts were not in vain, leading to a spot on the show, a ninety-minute special on Garcia. It was broadcast as: "'The Long Black Veil' and Other Ballads: An Evening with Jerry Garcia".^[17]

Garcia soon began playing and teaching acoustic guitar and banjo.^[17] One of Garcia's students was Bob Matthews, who later engineered many of the Grateful Dead's albums.^[45] Matthews went to high school and was friends with Bob Weir, and on New Year's Eve 1963, he introduced Weir and Garcia.^[45]

Between 1962 and 1964, Garcia sang and performed mainly bluegrass, old-time and folk music. One of the bands Garcia performed with was the Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers, a bluegrass act. The group consisted of Jerry Garcia on guitar, banjo, vocals, and harmonica, Marshall Leicester on banjo, guitar, and vocals, and Dick Arnold on fiddle and vocals.^[46] Soon after this, Garcia joined a local bluegrass and folk band called Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions, whose membership included Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, a rhythm and blues fan. Around this time, the psychedelic LSD was gaining popularity. Garcia first began experimenting with LSD in 1964; later, when asked how it changed his life, he remarked: "Well, it changed everything [...] the effect was that it freed me because I suddenly realized that my little attempt at having a straight life and doing that was really a fiction and just wasn't going to work out. Luckily I wasn't far enough into it for it to be shattering or anything; it was like a realization that just made me feel immensely relieved".^[15]

In 1965, Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions evolved into the Warlocks, with the addition of Phil Lesh on bass guitar and Bill Kreutzmann on percussion. However, the band discovered that another group was performing under their newly selected name, prompting another name change. Garcia came up with the name by opening a Funk and Wagnall's dictionary to an entry for "Grateful Dead".^[15][16][17] The definition for "Grateful Dead" was "a dead person, or his angel, showing gratitude to someone who, as an act of charity, arranged their burial".^[47] The band's first reaction was disapproval.^[15][16] Garcia later explained the group's reaction: "I didn't like it really, I just found it to be really powerful. [Bob] Weir didn't like it, [Bill] Kreutzmann didn't like it and nobody really wanted to hear about it. [...]"^[15] Despite their dislike of the name, it quickly spread by word of mouth, and soon became their official title.

Career with the Grateful Dead[link]

The corner of Haight and Ashbury, center of the San Francisco neighborhood in which the Grateful Dead shared a house at 710 Ashbury from fall 1966 to spring 1968.

Garcia served as lead guitarist, as well as one of the principal vocalists and songwriters of the Grateful Dead for their entire career. Garcia composed such songs as "Dark Star",^[48] "Franklin's Tower",^[48] and "Scarlet Begonias",^[48] among many others. Robert Hunter, an ardent collaborator with the band, wrote the lyrics to all but a few of Garcia's songs.

Garcia was well-noted for his "soulful extended guitar improvisations",^[2] which would frequently feature interplay between himself and his fellow band members. His fame, as well as the band's, arguably rested on their ability to never play a song the same way twice.^[3] Often, Garcia would take cues from rhythm guitarist Bob Weir on when to solo, remarking that "there are some [...] kinds of ideas that would really throw me if I had to create a harmonic bridge between all the things going on rhythmically with two drums and Phil [Lesh's] innovative bass playing. Weir's ability to solve that sort of problem is extraordinary. [...] Harmonically, I take a lot of my solo cues from Bob."^[49]

When asked to describe his approach to soloing, Garcia commented: "It keeps on changing. I still basically revolve around the melody and the way it’s broken up into phrases as I perceive them. With most solos, I tend to play something that phrases the way the melody does; my phrases may be more dense or have different value, but they’ll occur in the same places in the song. [...]"^[50]

Garcia and the band toured almost constantly from their formation in 1965 until Garcia's death in 1995, a stint which gave credit to the name "endless tour". Periodically, there were breaks due to exhaustion or health problems, often due to unstable health and/or Garcia's drug use. During their three decade span, the Grateful Dead played 2,314 shows.^[3]

Garcia's mature guitar-playing melded elements from the various kinds of music that had enthralled him. Echoes of bluegrass playing (such as Arthur Smith and Doc Watson) could be heard. But the "roots music" behind bluegrass had its influence, too, and melodic riffs from Celtic fiddle jigs can be distinguished.^{[citation needed]} There was also early rock (like Lonnie Mack, James Burton and Chuck Berry), contemporary blues (such as Freddie King and Lowell Fulson), country and western (such as Roy Nichols and Don Rich), and jazz (like Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt) to be heard in Jerry's style. Don Rich was the sparkling country guitar player in Buck Owens's "the Buckaroos" band of the 1960s, but besides Rich's style, both Garcia's pedal steel guitar playing (on Grateful Dead records and others) and his standard electric guitar work, were influenced by another of Owens's Buckaroos of that time, pedal-steel player Tom Brumley. And as an improvisational soloist, John Coltrane was one of his greatest personal and musical influences.

Garcia later described his playing style as having "descended from barroom rock and roll, country guitar. Just 'cause that's where all my stuff comes from. It's like that blues instrumental stuff that was happening in the late Fifties and early Sixties, like Freddie King." Garcia's style varied somewhat according to the song or instrumental to which he was contributing. His playing had a number of so-called "signatures" and, in his work through the years with the Grateful Dead, one of these was lead lines making much use of rhythmic triplets (examples include the songs "Good Morning Little School Girl", "New Speedway Boogie", "Brokedown Palace", "Deal", "Loser", "Truckin'", "That's It for the Other One", "U.S. Blues", "Sugaree", and "Don't Ease Me In").

Side projects[link]

In addition to the Grateful Dead, Garcia had numerous side projects, the most notable being the Jerry Garcia Band. He was also involved with various acoustic projects such as Old and in the Way and other bluegrass bands, including collaborations with noted bluegrass mandolinist David Grisman. The documentary film Grateful Dawg chronicles the deep, long-term friendship between Garcia and Grisman.^[51]

Other groups of which Garcia was a member at one time or another include the Black Mountain Boys, Legion of Mary, Reconstruction, and the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band. Jerry Garcia was also an appreciative fan of jazz artists and improvisation: he played with jazz keyboardists Merl Saunders and Howard Wales for many years in various groups and jam sessions, and he appeared on saxophonist Ornette Coleman's 1988 album, Virgin Beauty. His collaboration with Merl Saunders and Muruga Booker on the Grammy-nominated world music album Blues From the Rainforest launched the Rainforest Band.^[52]

Garcia also spent a lot of time in the recording studio helping out fellow musician friends in session work, often adding guitar, vocals, pedal steel, sometimes banjo and piano and even producing. He played on over 50 studio albums the styles of which were eclectic and varied, including bluegrass, rock, folk, blues, country, jazz, electronic music, gospel, funk, and reggae. Artists who sought Garcia's help included the likes of Jefferson Airplane (most notably Surrealistic Pillow, Garcia being listed as their "Spiritual Advisor"), Tom Fogerty, David Bromberg, Robert Hunter (Liberty, on Relix Records), Paul Pena, Peter Rowan, Warren Zevon, Country Joe McDonald, Ken Nordine, Ornette Coleman, Bruce Hornsby, Bob Dylan and many more. He was also one of the first musicians to really cover in depth Motown music in the early 1970s and probably the most prolific coverer of Bob Dylan songs. In 1995 Garcia played on three tracks for the CD Blue Incantation by guitarist Sanjay Mishra, making it his last studio collaboration.

Throughout the early 1970s, Garcia, Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, drummer Mickey Hart, and David Crosby collaborated intermittently with MIT-educated composer and biologist Ned Lagin on several projects in the realm of early electronica; these include the album Seastones (released by the Dead on their Round Records subsidiary) and L, an unfinished dance work.

Garcia also lent pedal-steel guitar playing to fellow-San Francisco musicians New Riders of the Purple Sage from their initial dates in 1969 to October 1971, when increased commitments with the Dead forced him to opt out of the group. He appears as a band member on their début album New Riders of the Purple Sage, and produced Home, Home On The Road, a 1974 live album by the band. He also contributed pedal steel guitar to the enduring hit "Teach Your Children" by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. Garcia also played steel guitar licks on Brewer & Shipley's 1970 album Tarkio. Despite considering himself a novice on the pedal steel, Garcia routinely ranked high in player polls. After a long lapse from playing the pedal-steel, he played it once more during several of the Dead's concerts with Bob Dylan during the summer of 1987.

Having studied art at the San Francisco Art Institute, Garcia embarked on a second career in the visual arts. He offered for sale and auction to the public a number of illustrations, lithographs, and water colors. Some of those pieces became the basis of a line of men's neckties characterized by bright colors and abstract patterns. Even in 2005, ten years after Garcia's death, new styles and designs continued to be produced and sold.

Personal life[link]

Garcia met his first wife, Sara Ruppenthal Garcia, in 1963.^[17] She was working at the coffee house in the back of Kepler's Bookstore where Garcia, Hunter, and Nelson performed. They married on April 23, 1963, and on December 8 of that year the only child they had together, their daughter Heather, was born.^[53]

Garcia and his fellow musicians were subjected to a handful of drug busts during their lifetime. On October 2, 1967, 710 Ashbury Street in San Francisco (where the Grateful Dead had taken up residence the year before) was raided after a police tip-off.^[17] Grateful Dead members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan were apprehended on marijuana charges which were later dropped, although Garcia himself was not arrested.^[54] The following year, Garcia's picture was used in a campaign commercial for Richard Nixon.^[55]

Most of the Grateful Dead were arrested again in January 1970, after they flew to New Orleans from Hawaii.^[17] After returning to their hotel from a performance, the band checked into their rooms, only to be quickly raided by police. Around fifteen people were arrested on the spot, including many of the road crew, management, and nearly all of the Grateful Dead (except Garcia, who arrived later, and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, who was not taking drugs at the time).^[17]

During August 1970, Garcia's mother Ruth was involved in a car accident near Twin Peaks in San Francisco.^[17] Garcia, who was recording the album American Beauty at the time, often left the sessions to visit his mother with his brother Clifford. She died on September 28, 1970. That same year, Garcia participated in the soundtrack for the film Zabriskie Point.

Carolyn Adams, also known as 'Mountain Girl', gave birth to Garcia's second and third daughters, Annabelle Walker Garcia (February 2, 1970) and Theresa Adams "Trixie" Garcia (September 21, 1974). Adams and Garcia married in 1981.^[53]

In 1975, around the time Blues for Allah was being created, Garcia met Deborah Koons, the woman who would much later become his third wife and widow.^[17] He began seeing her while he was still involved with Adams, with whom Koons had a less-than-perfect relationship. Garcia and Adams eventually went different ways.

While touring in late 1973 the band began to use cocaine in order to reduce the exhausting effects^{[citation needed]} of constantly being on the road. During the band's hiatus in 1975, Garcia was introduced to a smoke-able form of heroin. Influenced by the stresses of creating and releasing The Grateful Dead Movie in 1977, Garcia's cocaine and heroin use increased. This, combined with the drug use of several other members of the Grateful Dead, produced turbulent times for the band: the band's chemistry began "cracking and crumbling",^[17] resulting in poor group cohesion. As a result, Keith and Donna Godchaux were asked to leave the band in February 1979. With the addition of keyboardist Brent Mydland, the band was reaching new heights. Though things seemed to be getting better for the band, Garcia's health was descending. By 1983, Garcia had lost his "liveliness" on stage. The so-called "endless tour," the result of years of financial risks, drug use and mistakes, also became extremely taxing.

Garcia's use of heroin increased heavily over the years, eventually culminating in the rest of the Grateful Dead holding an intervention in January 1985.^[17] Given the choice between the band or the drugs, Garcia readily agreed to check into a rehabilitation center in Oakland, California. A few days later in January, before the start of his program in Oakland, Garcia was arrested for drug possession in Golden Gate Park; Garcia subsequently attended a drug diversion program. Throughout 1985, Garcia fought to kick his habit while on tour, and by 1986, was completely clean.

Precipitated by an unhealthy weight, bad eating habits, and recent drug use, Garcia collapsed into a diabetic coma in July 1986, waking up five days later.^[3][4] Garcia later spoke about this period of unconsciousness as surreal: "Well, I had some very weird experiences. My main experience was one of furious activity and tremendous struggle in a sort of futuristic, space-ship vehicle with insectoid presences. After I came out of my coma, I had this image of myself as these little hunks of protoplasm that were stuck together kind of like stamps with perforations between them that you could snap off."^[16] Garcia's coma had a profound effect on him: it forced him to have to relearn how to play the guitar, as well as other, more basic skills. Within a handful of months, Garcia quickly recovered, playing with the Jerry Garcia Band and the Grateful Dead again later that year.^[17] Garcia frequently saw a woman named Manasha Matheson during this period. Together they produced Garcia's fourth and final child, a girl named Keelin Noel Garcia, who was born December 20, 1987.^[53] (Jerry, Keelin and Manasha toured and shared a home together as a family until 1993.) After Garcia's recovery, the band released a comeback album "In the Dark" in 1987, which became their best ever selling studio album. Inspired by Garcia's improved health and a successful album, the band's energy and chemistry peaked in the late 1980s and 1990.

During the summer of 1990, keyboardist Brent Mydland died of a drug overdose. Mydland's death greatly affected Garcia, leading him to believe that the on and off stage chemistry would never be the same. Before beginning the fall tour, the band acquired keyboardists Vince Welnick and Bruce Hornsby. The power of Hornsby's keys musically drove Garcia to new heights on stage. As the band continued through 1991, Garcia became concerned with the band's future. He was burnt out from four straight years of high powered touring. Jerry thought a break was necessary, mainly so that the band could come back with fresh material. The idea was put off by the pressures of management, and the touring continued. Jerry's decrease in both his stamina and his interest to continue touring, may have caused him to use again. Though his relapse was relatively brief, lasting through the summer, the band was quick to react. Soon after the last show of the tour in Denver, Garcia was confronted by the Grateful Dead with another intervention. After a somewhat disastrous meeting, Garcia invited Phil Lesh over to his home in San Rafael, California, where he explained that after the meeting he would start attending a methadone clinic. Garcia said that he simply wanted to clean up in his own way, and get back to making music.^[17]

After returning from the Grateful Dead's 1992 summer tour, Garcia became extremely sick, evidently a throwback to his diabetic coma in 1986.^[17] Refusing to go to the hospital, he instead enlisted the aid of an acupuncturist named Yen Wei Choong and a licensed doctor to treat him personally at home. Garcia recovered over the following days, despite the Grateful Dead having to cancel their fall tour to allow him time to recuperate. Following this episode, Garcia quit smoking, became a vegetarian, and began losing weight.

Garcia and girlfriend Barbara Meier, who had met in December of the previous year, separated at the beginning of the Dead's 1993 spring tour. In 1994, Garcia renewed acquaintances with Deborah Koons, with whom he had been involved sometime around 1975. They married on February 14, 1994, in Sausalito, California. The wedding was attended by family and friends.^[17] Garcia had divorced Adams in January of that year.

By the beginning of 1995, Garcia's physical and mental condition began a decline. His playing ability suffered to the point where he would turn down the volume of his guitar, and he often had to be reminded of what song he was performing.^[17] Due to his frail condition, he began to use again just to dull the pain.

In light of his second drug relapse and current condition, Garcia checked himself into the Betty Ford Center during July 1995. His stay was limited, however, lasting only two weeks. Motivated by the experience, he then checked into the Serenity Knolls treatment center in Forest Knolls, California.^[4][56]

Death[link]

On August 9, 1995, at 4:23 am, Garcia's body was discovered in his room at the rehabilitation clinic.^[4][56] The cause of death was a heart attack.^[57] Garcia had long struggled with drug addiction,^[4] weight problems, sleep apnea,^[4]a long standing cigarette habit and diabetes all of which contributed to his physical decline. Phil Lesh remarked in his autobiography that, upon hearing of Garcia's death, "I was struck numb; I had lost my oldest surviving friend, my brother."^[17] On the morning of August 10, Garcia was rested at a funeral home in San Rafael, California. Garcia's funeral was held on August 12, at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Belvedere.^[17][56] It was attended by his family, the remaining Grateful Dead members and their friends, including former basketball player Bill Walton and musician Bob Dylan, and his widow Deborah Koons,^[56] who barred Garcia's other two wives from the ceremony.^[17]

On August 13, a municipally sanctioned public memorial took place in the Polo Fields of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, and was attended by about 25,000 people.^[17] The crowds produced hundreds of flowers, gifts, images, and even a bagpipe rendition of "Amazing Grace"^[56] in remembrance.

On April 4, 1996, Bob Weir and Deborah Koons spread half of Garcia's cremated ashes into the Ganges River at the holy city of Rishikesh, India,^[17][58] a site sacred to Hindus. Then, according to Garcia's last wishes, the other half of his ashes were poured into the San Francisco Bay. Deborah Koons did not allow one of Garcia's ex-wives, Carolyn "Mountain Girl" Garcia, to attend the spreading of the ashes.^[59]

Musical equipment[link]

Garcia played many guitars during his career, which ranged from Fender Stratocasters and Gibson SGs to custom-made instruments. During his thirty-odd years of being a musician, Garcia used about 25 guitars.^[60]

In 1965, when Garcia was playing with the Warlocks, he used a Guild Starfire,^[60] which he also used on the début album of the Grateful Dead. Beginning in late 1967 and ending in 1968, Garcia played various colored Gibson Les Paul guitars. In 1969, he picked up the Gibson SG and used it for most of that year and 1970, except for a small period in between where he used a Sunburst Fender Stratocaster.

During Garcia's "pedal steel flirtation period" (as Bob Weir referred to it in Anthem to Beauty), from approximately 1969 to 1974, he played a ZB Custom D-10 steel guitar, especially in his earlier public performances. Although this was a double neck guitar, Garcia often would choose not to attach the last 5 pedal rods for the rear or Western Swing neck. Additionally, he was playing an Emmons D-10 at the time of the Grateful Dead's and New Riders of the Purple Sage's final appearances at the Filmore East in late April 1971. Also, he had been given a Fender Pedal Steel (probably a 1000 model) prior to owning the ZB Custom, but did not play it much.^{[citation needed]}

In 1969, Garcia played pedal steel on two notable outside recordings: the track "The Farm" on the Jefferson Airplane album Volunteers; and the hit single "Teach Your Children" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young from their album Déjà Vu, released in 1970. Garcia played on the latter album in exchange for harmony lessons for the Grateful Dead, who were at the time recording their acoustic albums Workingman's Dead and American Beauty.^[61]

In 1972, Garcia used a Fender Stratocaster nicknamed Alligator for its alligator sticker on the pickguard.^[60] The guitar was given to him by Graham Nash. This was due in part to damage to his first custom-made guitar, made by Alembic. This guitar, nicknamed Wolf for a memorable sticker Garcia added below the tailpiece, cost $1500 – extremely high for the time.^[62]

In the late eighties Garcia, Weir and CSN (along with many others) endorsed Alvarez Yairi acoustic guitars. There are many photographs circulating (mostly promotional) of Jerry playing a DY99 Virtuoso Custom with a Modulus Graphite neck. He opted to play with the less decorated model but the promotional photo from the Alvarez Yairi catalog has him holding the "tree of life" model. This hand-built guitar was notable for the collaboration between Japanese luthier Kazuo Yairi and Modulus Graphite of San Rafael. As with most things Garcia, with his passing, the DY99 model is rendered legend and valuable among collectors.

Wolf was made with an ebony fingerboard and featured numerous embellishments like alternating grain designs in the headstock, ivory inlays, and fret marker dots made of sterling silver. The body was composed of western maple wood which had a core of purpleheart. Garcia later had former Alembic employee Doug Irwin replace the electronics inside the guitar, at which point he added his own logo to the headstock alongside the Alembic logo. The system included two interchangeable plates for configuring pickups: one was made for strictly single coils, while the other accommodated humbuckers. Shortly after receiving the modified instrument, Garcia requested another custom guitar from Irwin with the advice "don't hold back."^[62]

During the Grateful Dead's European Tour, Wolf was dropped on several occasions, one of which caused a minor crack in the headstock. Garcia returned it to Irwin to fix; during its two-year absence Garcia played predominantly Travis Bean guitars. On September 28, 1977, Irwin delivered the renovated Wolf back to Garcia.^[62] The wolf sticker which gave the guitar its name had now been inlaid into the instrument; it also featured an effects loop between the pick-ups and controls (so inline effects would "see" the same signal at all times) which was bypassable. Irwin also put a new face on the headstock with only his logo (he later claimed to have built the guitar himself, though pictures through time clearly show the progression of logos, from Alembic, to Alembic & Irwin, to only Irwin). In the "Grateful Dead Movie" Jerry is playing Wolf and this film provides excellent views of Wolf.

Nearly seven years after he first requested it, Garcia received his third custom guitar from Irwin in 1979 (the first Irwin was "Eagle", the second was "Wolf").^[63] The first concert that Jerry played Tiger was August 4, 1979 at the Oakland Auditorium Arena.^[63] It was named Tiger from the inlay on the preamp cover.^[64] The body of Tiger was of rich quality: the top layer was cocobolo, with the preceding layers being maple stripe, vermilion, and flame maple, in that order.^[64] The neck was made of western maple with an ebony fingerboard. The pickups consisted of a single coil DiMarzio SDS-1 and two humbucker DiMarzio Super IIs which were easily removable due to Garcia's preference for replacing his pickups every year or two.^[64] The electronics were composed of an effects bypass loop, which allowed Garcia to control the sound of his effects through the tone and volume controls on the guitar, and a preamplifier/buffer which rested behind a plate in the back of the guitar. In terms of weight, everything included made Tiger tip the scales at 13½ pounds. This was Garcia's principal guitar for the next eleven years, and most played.

In 1990, Irwin completed Rosebud, Garcia's fourth custom guitar.^[65] It was similar to his previous guitar Tiger in many respects, but featured different inlays and electronics, tone and volume controls, and weight. Rosebud, unlike Tiger, was configured with three humbuckers; the neck and bridge pickups shared a tone control, while the middle had its own. Atop the guitar was a Roland GK-2 pickup which fed the controller set inside the guitar. The GK2 was used in junction with the Roland GR-50 rack mount synthesizer. The GR-50 synthesizer in turn drove a Korg M1R synthesizer producing the MIDI effects heard during live performances of this period as heard on the Grateful Dead recording 'Without a Net'.^[65][66] Sections of the guitar were hollowed out to bring the weight down to 11½ pounds. The inlay, a dancing skeleton holding a rose, covers a plate just below the bridge. The final cost of the instrument was $11,000.^[65]

In 1993, carpenter-turned-luthier Stephen Cripe tried his hand at making an instrument for Garcia.^[60] After researching Tiger through pictures and films, Cripe set out on what would soon become known as Lightning Bolt, again named for its inlay.^[67] The guitar used Brazilian rosewood for the fingerboard and East Indian rosewood for the body, which, with admitted irony from Cripe, was taken from a 19th century bed used by opium smokers.^[67] Built purely from guesswork, Lightning Bolt was a hit with Garcia, who began using the guitar exclusively. Soon after, Garcia requested that Cripe build a backup of the guitar. Cripe, who had not measured or photographed the original, was told simply to "wing it."^[67]

Cripe later delivered the backup, which was known by the name Top Hat. Garcia bought it from him for the price of $6,500, making it the first guitar that Cripe had ever sold.^[67] However, infatuated with Lightning Bolt, Garcia rarely used the backup.

After Garcia's death, the ownership of his Wolf and Tiger came into question. According to Garcia's will,^[53] his guitars were to go to Doug Irwin, who had constructed them.^[68][69] The remaining Grateful Dead members disagreed—they considered his guitars to be property of the band, leading to a lawsuit between the two parties.^[68][69] In 2001, Irwin won the case. Irwin, being a victim of a hit-and-run accident in 1998,^[69] was left nearly penniless. He placed Garcia's guitars up for auction in hopes of being able to start another guitar workshop.^[68]

On May 8, 2002, Wolf and Tiger, among other memorabilia, were placed for auction at Studio 54 in New York City.^[68] Tiger was purchased for $957,500, while Wolf was bought for $789,500. Together, the instruments were bought for 1.74 million dollars, setting a new world record.^[69] Wolf is in a private collection kept in a secure climate controlled room in a private residence at Utica, N.Y., and Tiger is in the private collection of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.^[70]

Legacy[link]

Garcia appeared in the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind as an extra during the scenes in India in a crowd shot.^[71] During the following year, the Grateful Dead would occasionally improvise the theme from "Close Encounters" in concert.

In 1987, ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry's came out with Cherry Garcia, which is named after the guitarist and consists of "cherry ice cream with cherries and fudge flakes".^{[72][73][74][75]}

Garcia was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead in 1994.

Famous guitar player and known Jerry fan Warren Haynes wrote the song "Patchwork Quilt" in memory of Jerry.

In the episode titled "Halloween: The Final Chapter" on the show Roseanne, aired shortly after his death on October 31, 1995, a tribute to Jerry Garcia was made, and the character name of the baby was Jerry Garcia Conner.

In 2003, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Jerry Garcia 13th in their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.^[5]

In 2005, Rapper Proof from the group D12 released an album named after Garcia, Searching for Jerry Garcia. The album was dedicated to the Grateful Dead and released ten years to the day of Garcia's death.

Ween recorded the song, "So Long Jerry" during the sessions for their 12 Golden Country Greats album, but it was left off the album, eventually appearing on the "Piss Up a Rope" single.

According to fellow Bay Area guitar player Henry Kaiser, Garcia is "the most recorded guitarist in history. With more than 2,200 Grateful Dead concerts, and 1,000 Jerry Garcia Band concerts captured on tape – as well as numerous studio sessions – there are about 15,000 hours of his guitar work preserved for the ages."^[76]

On July 30, 2004, Melvin Seals was the first Jerry Garcia Band member to headline an outdoor music and camping festival called the Grateful Garcia Gathering. The festival is a tribute to the Grateful Dead's guitarist Jerry Garcia. "Jerry Garcia Band" drummer David Kemper, joined Melvin Seals & JGB in 2007. To date, other musicians and friends of Jerry's have also included Donna Jean Godchaux, Mookie Siegel, Pete Sears, G.E. Smith, Barry Sless, and Jackie Greene to name a few musicians. The 3G's festival is still going strong hosting hundreds of fans yearly to see such headliners as Elf Lettuce, The Workshy, and Afternoon Moon at a swinger's campground in Wisconsin.

On July 21, 2005, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission passed a resolution to name the amphitheater in McLaren Park "The Jerry Garcia Amphitheater."^[77] The amphitheater is located in the Excelsior District, where Garcia grew up. The first show to happen at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater was Jerry Day 2005 on August 7, 2005. Tiff Garcia was the first person to welcome everybody to the "Jerry Garcia Amphitheater." Jerry Day is an annual celebration of Jerry in his childhood neighborhood. The dedication ceremony (Jerry Day 2) on October 29, 2005 was officiated by mayor Gavin Newsom.

On September 24, 2005, the Comes a Time: A Celebration of the Music & Spirit of Jerry Garcia tribute concert was held at the Hearst Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California.^[78] The concert featured Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Bruce Hornsby, Trey Anastasio, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, Michael Kang, Jay Lane, Jeff Chimenti, Mark Karan, Robin Sylvester, Kenny Brooks, Melvin Seals, Merl Saunders, Marty Holland, Stu Allen, Gloria Jones, and Jackie LaBranch.

Also in 2008, Georgia-based composer Lee Johnson released an orchestral tribute to the music of the Grateful Dead, recorded with the Russian National Orchestra, entitled "Dead Symphony: Lee Johnson Symphony No. 6." Johnson was interviewed on NPR on the July 26, 2008 broadcast of "Weekend Edition", and gave much credit to the genius and craft of Garcia's songwriter. A live performance with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Johnson himself, was held Friday, August 1.^[79]

Seattle rock band Soundgarden wrote and recorded the instrumental song "Jerry Garcia's Finger", dedicated to the singer, which was released as a b-side with their single "Pretty Noose".

The argentinian band Massacre included a song called "A Jerry Garcia" (To Jerry Garcia) on their album "Juguetes para olvidar".

Numerous music festivals across the United States and Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK hold annual events in memory of Jerry Garcia.

Discography[link]

• Jerry Garcia^[80]
  • Garcia – 1972
  • Compliments – 1974
  • Reflections – 1976
  • Run for the Roses – 1982
• Jerry Garcia Band
  • Cats Under the Stars – 1978
  • Jerry Garcia Band – 1991
  • How Sweet It Is – 1997
  • Don't Let Go – 2001
  • Shining Star – 2001
  • After Midnight: Kean College, 2/28/80 – 2004
  • Let It Rock: The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 2 – 2009
• Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band
  • Almost Acoustic – 1988
  • Ragged but Right – 2010
• Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders
  • Heavy Turbulence – with Tom Fogerty – 1972 (LP)
  • Fire Up – 1973 (LP)
  • Live at the Keystone – Merl Saunders / Jerry Garcia / John Kahn / Bill Vitt – 1973 (LP)
  • Keystone Encores, Volume 1 – Merl Saunders / Jerry Garcia / John Kahn / Bill Vitt – 1988 (LP)
  • Keystone Encores, Volume 2 – Merl Saunders / Jerry Garcia / John Kahn / Bill Vitt – 1988 (LP)
  • Live at the Keystone Vol. 1 – Merl Saunders / Jerry Garcia / John Kahn / Bill Vitt – 1988 (CD)
  • Live at the Keystone Vol. 2 – Merl Saunders / Jerry Garcia / John Kahn / Bill Vitt – 1988 (CD)
  • Keystone Encores – Merl Saunders / Jerry Garcia / John Kahn / Bill Vitt – 1988 (CD)
  • Fire Up Plus – with John Kahn, Tom Fogerty and Ron Tutt – 1992 (CD)
  • Keystone Berkeley, September 1, 1974 – Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders – 2004 (also listed under Pure Jerry series)
  • Legion of Mary: The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 1 – Legion of Mary – 2005
  • Well Matched: The Best Of Merl Saunders & Jerry Garcia – 2006 (also listed under Compilations)
• New Riders of the Purple Sage
  • New Riders of the Purple Sage – 1971
  • Before Time Began – 1986
  • Vintage NRPS – 1986
• Old and in the Way
  • Old and in the Way – 1975
  • That High Lonesome Sound – 1996
  • Breakdown – 1997
  • Live at the Boarding House – 2008
• Jerry Garcia and David Grisman
  • Garcia/Grisman – 1991
  • Not for Kids Only – 1993
  • Shady Grove – 1996
  • So What – 1998
  • The Pizza Tapes (featuring Tony Rice) – 2000
  • Grateful Dawg – 2001
  • Been All Around This World – 2004
• Compilations
  • All Good Things – 2004 (box set of studio albums Garcia, Compliments, Reflections, Cats Under The Stars, Run For The Roses', as well as outtakes, jams, and alternate versions)
  • Garcia Plays Dylan – 2005
  • The Very Best of Jerry Garcia – 2006
  • Well Matched: The Best Of Merl Saunders & Jerry Garcia – 2006
• Pure Jerry – a series of live concert CDs licensed by the Garcia Family LLC.^[81]
  • Theatre 1839, July 29 & 30, 1977 – Jerry Garcia Band – 2004
  • Lunt-Fontanne, New York City, October 31, 1987 – Jerry Garcia Band and Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band – 2004
        (This album is one of 10 "live jam releases of this century" according to the August issue of Guitar One magazine.)
  • Lunt-Fontanne, New York City, The Best of the Rest, October 15 – 30, 1987 – Jerry Garcia Band and Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band – 2004
  • Keystone Berkeley, September 1, 1974 – Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders – 2004
  • Merriweather Post Pavilion, September 1 & 2, 1989 – Jerry Garcia Band – 2005
  • Warner Theatre, March 18, 1978 – Jerry Garcia Band – 2005
  • Coliseum, Hampton, VA, November 9, 1991 – Jerry Garcia Band – 2006 (with Bruce Hornsby)
  • Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium, February 28, 1986 – Jerry Garcia and John Kahn – 2009
  • Bay Area, 1978 – Jerry Garcia Band – 2009

• With other artists
  • Surrealistic Pillow – Jefferson Airplane – 1967
  • Volunteers – Jefferson Airplane – 1970
  • Tarkio – Brewer & Shipley – 1970
  • Déjà Vu – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – 1970
  • Blows Against the Empire – Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship – 1970
  • Marrying Maiden – It's a Beautiful Day – 1970
  • Stephen Stills 2 – Stephen Stills – 1971
  • Hooteroll? – Howard Wales and Jerry Garcia – 1971
  • If I Could Only Remember My Name – David Crosby – 1971
  • Sunfighter – Paul Kantner and Grace Slick – 1971
  • Powerglide – New Riders of the Purple Sage – 1972
  • Songs for Beginners – Graham Nash – 1972
  • Graham Nash David Crosby – Graham Nash and David Crosby – 1972
  • Demon in Disguise – David Bromberg – 1972
  • Excalibur – Tom Fogerty – 1972
  • Ace – Bob Weir – 1972
  • Wanted Dead or Alive – David Bromberg – 1973
  • Keith & Donna – Keith Godchaux and Donna Jean Godchaux – 1975
  • Virgin Beauty – Ornette Coleman – 1988
  • Devout Catalyst – Ken Nordine – 1992
  • Astronauts & Heretics – Thomas Dolby – 1992
  • Blue Incantation – Sanjay Mishra and Jerry Garcia – 1994
  • Trios – Rob Wasserman – 1994
  • Side Trips, Volume One – Howard Wales and Jerry Garcia – 1998
  • Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions – Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions – 1999

See also[link]

Notes and references[link]