Jerry Garcia played in several bands prior to the formation of the Grateful Dead. In 1965 he was playing with Pigpen, Dawson, and Bob Weir as Mother McRee's Uptown Jug Champions. Soon they changed the name to The Asphalt Jungle Boys. This didn't last long, as soon they renamed themselves to The Warlocks. Adding Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann, and losing Dawson, The Warlocks played a blues based sound. Heavy into acid, they played more and more offbeat. This new sound had the guys ready for a trippier name. After opening a dictionary, the first words Jerry saw were "Grateful Dead". The words formed an image in his mind that "blasted out of him", and he asked the band what they thought. This time, the name would stay. Becoming more popular in the San Francisco scene, they were playing all over the place. It was the begining of a long, strange trip for the Grateful Dead; A trip that lasted until the death of Jerry on Augast 9, 1995. The band gathered on December 8, 1995 to announce they would no longer be playing as the Dead. Although Jerry and the name were laid to rest, they will live on with the music and memories in our hearts forever.
