A gift to his two children, the author describes what he has learned in his life. It is a reminder that all time is borrowed, and that there is much to be grateful for in this beautiful world as we grow on this journey called life.

Over their 30-year career as one of the most influential and successful bands in the world, the Grateful Dead released just a handful of studio albums and a small number of live albums. With a reputation built on their stellar live performances, it was only in their later years and after the death of their iconic frontman Jerry Garcia, that they began the release of over 100 recordings from their vaults that documented the magic they produced on stage. This book charts the history of the band through these hundreds of releases, as well as their studio recordings and their key solo albums, that show what made this pioneering band unique. From the heady days of the San Francisco underground in the 60s to the stadiums of the 90s, via Woodstock, Altamont, Europe and Egypt, the recorded history of the Grateful Dead covers their constantly evolving music as they changed the way that music was played, recorded and experienced. With former members of the band continuing to attract new audiences both live and online, the magic created by the Grateful Dead remains a vital ingredient in contemporary rock, and this book uncovers and celebrates the recordings that capture the band at their best.

The untold story of life on the road with the Grateful Dead, written by an insider who lived it from the early days to today. Steve Parish was never one to walk the straight-and-narrow, even during his childhood growing up in Flushing Meadow, Queens. Busted as a teenager for selling acid in the summer of 1968, Parish landed in Riker's Island. The experience changed him and after getting out he did his best to stay out of trouble, securing a job moving music equipment at the New York State Pavilion. The first show he worked was a Grateful Dead concert in July of 1969 and Parish was captivated by the music. A life seemingly headed nowhere had suddenly found its calling as he fell in quickly with a band of likeminded misfits who formed the nucleus of what would be the greatest road crew in rock 'n' roll history. Parish traveled to California where his apprenticeship began. Working for the band for free and learning his craft, Parish got to know Jerry, Bobby, Phil, Billy and Mickey and through the years their relationships forged an unbreakable bond. He became very close with Garcia in particular, acting as his personal roadie and later manager for his solo performances and Garcia Band shows. He was there during times of trouble (like when a pimp held Garcia hostage at gunpoint in a New York hotel room), spending hours by his bedside when Garcia was in a coma in 1986, and performing the duties of best man at his wedding. He was also the last friend to see Garcia alive. Throughout the Dead's historic run, there were parties of biblical proportion and celebrity run-ins with everybody from Bob Dylan to Frank Sinatra--but there was a dark side to life on the road and tragedy didn't just strike the musicians. But Home Before Daylight is a story of friendship, of music and redemption. It is a piece of music history, one that reflects the American spirit of adventure and brotherhood. Seen through Steve Parish's eyes and experiences, The Grateful Dead's wild ride has never been so revealing.

Fifty years after they first came together and changed the sound of rock 'n' roll, the Grateful Dead remain one of rock's most beloved bands -- a musical and cultural phenomenon that spans generations and paved the way for everything from the world of jam bands and the idea of independently released music to social networking. Much has been written about the band, but nothing quite as vibrant and vivid as So Many Roads. Drawing on new interviews with surviving members and people in their inner circle -- along with the group's extensive archives and his own research from years of covering the group -- David Browne, longtime music journalist and contributing editor at Rolling Stone, does more than merely delve into the Dead's saga. By way of an altogether unique structure -- each chapter centered around a significant or pivotal day in their story -- he lends this epic musical and cultural story a you-are-there feel unlike any other book written about the band. So Many Roads takes us deep into the world of the Dead in ways that will be eye-opening even to the most rabid Deadheads. Readers will find themselves inside their communal home in Haight-Ashbury during the band's notorious 1967 bust; behind the scenes in the studio, watching the Dead at work (and play); backstage at the taping of the legendary "Touch of Grey" video and at their final shows; and in the midst of the Dead's legendary band meetings. Along the way, readers will hear not only from the Dead but also from friends, colleagues, lovers, and crew members, including some who've never spoken to the press before. The result is a remarkably detailed and cinematic book that paints a strikingly fresh portrait of one of rock's greatest and most enduring institutions and sheds new light -- for fans and newcomers alike -- on the band's music, dynamics, and internal struggles. "There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert," read the legendary bumper stickers. Similarly, there's nothing like So Many Roads, which explores all-new routes on the band's long, strange trip.

The complete history of one of the most long-lived and legendary bands in rock history, written by its official historian and publicist—a must-have chronicle for all Dead Heads, and for students of rock and the 1960s’ counterculture. From 1965 to 1995, the Grateful Dead flourished as one of the most beloved, unusual, and accomplished musical entities to ever grace American culture. The creative synchronicity among Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan exploded out of the artistic ferment of the early sixties’ roots and folk scene, providing the soundtrack for the Dionysian revels of the counterculture. To those in the know, the Dead was an ongoing tour de force: a band whose constant commitment to exploring new realms lay at the center of a thirty-year journey through an ever-shifting array of musical, cultural, and mental landscapes. Dennis McNally, the band’s historian and publicist for more than twenty years, takes readers back through the Dead’s history in A Long Strange Trip. In a kaleidoscopic narrative, McNally not only chronicles their experiences in a fascinatingly detailed fashion, but veers off into side trips on the band’s intricate stage setup, the magic of the Grateful Dead concert experience, or metaphysical musings excerpted from a conversation among band members. He brings to vivid life the Dead’s early days in late-sixties San Francisco—an era of astounding creativity and change that reverberates to this day. Here we see the group at its most raw and powerful, playing as the house band at Ken Kesey’s acid tests, mingling with such legendary psychonauts as Neal Cassady and Owsley “Bear” Stanley, and performing the alchemical experiments, both live and in the studio, that produced some of their most searing and evocative music. But McNally carries the Dead’s saga through the seventies and into the more recent years of constant touring and incessant musical exploration, which have cemented a unique bond between performers and audience, and created the business enterprise that is much more a family than a corporation. Written with the same zeal and spirit that the Grateful Dead brought to its music for more than thirty years, the book takes readers on a personal tour through the band’s inner circle, highlighting its frenetic and very human faces. A Long Strange Trip is not only a wide-ranging cultural history, it is a definitive musical biography.

For almost three decades, the Grateful Dead was America's most popular touring band. No Simple Highway is the first book to ask the simple question of why—and attempt to answer it. Drawing on new research, interviews, and a fresh supply of material from the Grateful Dead archives, author Peter Richardson vividly recounts the Dead's colorful history, adding new insight into everything from the Acid Tests to the band's formation of their own record label to their massive late career success, while probing the riddle of the Dead's vast and durable appeal. Arguing that the band successfully tapped three powerful utopian ideals—for ecstasy, mobility, and community—it also shows how the Dead's lived experience with these ideals struck deep chords with two generations of American youth and continues today. Routinely caricatured by the mainstream media, the Grateful Dead are often portrayed as grizzled hippy throwbacks with a cult following of burned-out stoners. No Simple Highway corrects that impression, revealing them to be one of the most popular, versatile, and resilient music ensembles in the second half of the twentieth century. The band's history has been well-documented by insiders, but its unique and sustained appeal has yet to be explored fully. At last, this legendary American musical institution is given the serious and entertaining examination it richly deserves.

This memoir chronicles the Dead's seminal years: 1965-1985.

The Grateful Dead-rock legends, marketing pioneers The Grateful Dead broke almost every rule in the music industry book. They encouraged their fans to record shows and trade tapes; they built a mailing list and sold concert tickets directly to fans; and they built their business model on live concerts, not album sales. By cultivating a dedicated, active community, collaborating with their audience to co-create the Deadhead lifestyle, and giving away "freemium" content, the Dead pioneered many social media and inbound marketing concepts successfully used by businesses across all industries today. Written by marketing gurus and lifelong Deadheads David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan, Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead gives you key innovations from the Dead's approach you can apply to your business. Find out how to make your fans equal partners in your journey, "lose control" to win, create passionate loyalty, and experience the kind of marketing gains that will not fade away!

Chronicles 10 years of my life on the road, from 1979 thru 1989, following the Grateful Dead on tour across America with a core group of friends while recording the music along the way. I share my stories while introducing my real life traveling companions.

Take a trip down memory lane from the band's humble beginnings to international stardom through this collection of memorabilia, photos and writings on the 30th anniversary of the original publication. This is both a candid family history of one of America's most enduring rock bands and a priceless time capsule of '60s rock culture. Filled with anecdotes and never-before seen photos, this timeless title was compiled by a band insider. The long strange trip continues...