The new arrival of Deadheads was as good as it was bad. The parking lot scene was tuning into a mob, rather than a family. The authorities started arriving under cover in the parking lots, arresting hundreds of hustlers and people out of control. In result, The Grateful Dead were almost banned from touring in certain states. The Dead felt responsible, so they recorded public service announcements asking people to become more responsible (“Memories” 52).
At the same time drugs were taking it’s toll on Garcia and the band. Garcia went from LSD, to cocain, to a potent form of heroin called persian white. Garcia told Rolling Stone Magazine that he felt the band was running on inertia, meaning that he was slowing down. In late 1992, Garcia passed out from exhaustion, reflecting his physical condition. Garcia agreed to get himself in shape and off of drugs, because everything was getting worse.
Garcia tried to regain his health back, and he did for a short period of time. But once again Garcia was using heroin. While performing on stage Garcia started mumbling his lyrics, it would
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sometimes happen very frequently. It was evident that Garcia was going down hill. After The Grateful Dead’s last shown at Soldier Field in Chicago, on July 9,1995, Garcia quietly checked himself into the Betty Ford Drug Rehabilitation Center. Two weeks into a month long treatment Garcia checked himself out of the hospital. Realizing that he couldn’t go on like that, Garcia knew he had to do something. Battling a reoccurring heroin addiction, Garcia wanted more help.
He checked himself in at Serenity Knolls’s drug treatment facility in Northern California. Waiting for his test results, the Marin County Sheriff announced that on Wednesday, August 9,1995 at 4:23 a.m, Jerry Garcia was found dead lying in his bed, from a heart attack (Memories 52).
Garcia had a vision of how he wanted people to remember him. Garcia explains, “Ideally, I would just like to disappear gracefully and not leave behind any legacy to hang people up. I don’t want people agonizing over who or what I was when I was here when I’m not here anymore. I would like to be thought of as a competent musician. That would be good. I’d like that”. (Burton 6) Garcia didn’t want to be remembered as an icon, he just wanted people to know what kind of musician he was.
In memory of Garcia and the Grateful Dead, Mayor Frank M. Jordan of San Francisco ordered city flags at half mast. Massachusetts governor William Weld, not only mourned the loss of Garcia but said, “It’s a loss to both my generation and my children’s. I had tickets for a scheduled concert September 16, and would still go if the band decided to soldier on.”(Willman 10) Also President Clinton stated at a live press conference that the death of Garcia was a loss to the entire country. Many political figures came out of the closet after the death of Garcia.
August 11, 1995 two days after the death of Garcia, a ceremonial gathering was held at
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Golden Gate Park for the remaining members of The Grateful Dead and their fans. Deadheads traveled from all over the country to pay their respects, and to find out that the Grateful Dead was no more. People were giving speeches, trying to reach over the sobbing and tears. At the end of the ceremony the remaining band members and their family went to spread the ashes of Garcia off the Golden Gate Bridge, into the San Francisco Bay ( Burton 7).
Annually, since the death of Garcia and The Dead, there has been an annual Further Festival, a summer tour with the remaining band members and their own side bands. Deadheads arrive early in the parking lots, with uncontrollable energy and anticipation to see the use to be Grateful Dead. Although there is not the sound of Garcia’s soft, soothing, high pitched guitar, Deadheads as a whole know Jerry is overtop looking down (Perkins 4).
The Grateful Dead, who for over 30 years was a icon of the 60’s did not change with the times, but brought the times along with them. They played 36,086 songs, 2,317 concerts, 298 cities, 30 years, 11 members, and 1 band, are the statistics the Grateful Dead have earned over the years. Not only did Garcia and The Grateful Dead accomplish the nearly impossible, they gave music a new level, turning their music into a way of life for thousands of dedicated fans (Mokrzycki 1).
The Grateful Dead’s music was not just music, but also an environment. Although Garcia and the Grateful Dead had many obstacles to defeat, they made it to the top. Garcia earned his childhood wish of becoming a professional musician, to such a level of greatness that he is uncomparable. Jerry Garcia can rest in peace, knowing that he did something to music that no one else will probably ever do. He gave music his heart and sole, and music gave him it’s heart and soul. Garcia’s death brought an end to perhaps the single most remarkable run in the history of
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rock n’roll. All in all, The Grateful Dead were not the best at what they did, they are the only ones who did what they did.
The Rise and Fall of The Grateful Dead