Guide to the Dick Latvala papers MS.333
Nicholas G. Meriwether. Processing assisted by Mathew Simpson, Robert Barrett, and Pauline Disch.
University of California, Santa Cruz
2014
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz 95064
speccoll@library.ucsc.edu
Note
Finding aid revised in 2018
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Santa Cruz
Title: Dick Latvala Papers
creator:
Latvala, Dick, 1943-1999
Identifier/Call Number: MS.333
Physical Description:
47 Linear Feet
67 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1966-1999
Date (bulk): 1990-1999
Abstract: This collection documents the tape collecting and archival release work of Dick Latvala.
Physical Location: Collection stored, in part, off-site at NRLF: Advance notice is required for access.
Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights for this collection reside with the University of California. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained
by the creators and their heirs. The publication or use of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use
for research or educational purposes requires written permission from the copyright owner. Responsibility for obtaining permissions,
and for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information on copyright or to order a reproduction, please visit
guides.library.ucsc.edu/speccoll/reproduction-publication.
Preferred Citation
Dick Latvala papers, MS 333. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz
Biography
Dick Latvala (1943 – 1999) was the first Vault Archivist for the Grateful Dead. He graduated from San Francisco State University
and attended shows at the Fillmore Auditorium, the Avalon Ballroom, and other San Francisco venues in the 1960s, including
famous events such as the Trips Festival in January 1966 and the Great Human Be-In in January 1967. He began taping shows
in 1971 from radio broadcasts and began collecting and trading concert tapes in 1974, amassing an impressive collection that
he thoroughly documented in notebooks and correspondence. He became a friend of the band and the crew, and was hired by the
band in 1985 to organize their tape collection. As the first Vault Archivist, he was instrumental in the archival recordings
released by the band; the series
Dick's Picks is named in his honor, and was continued by his successor David Lemieux for a total of 36 releases.
Scope and Contents
This collection documents the tape collecting and archival release work of Dick Latvala, the Grateful Dead's first Vault Archivist.
The papers comprise his notebook entires, documenting his impressions of live performance tapes, and his later research on
what shows would be good cadidates for commercial release. His personal collection of reel-to-reel tapes, a series in the
collection, is an indication of the range of recordings that the first generation of Deadhead tape collectors could amass.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Latvala, Dick, 1943-1999
Grateful Dead (Musical group)
Notebooks
Note
Latvala kept these entries in four binders and seems to have ceased actively making records circa 1983. Early entries are
well documented, often with succeeding impressions entered when a tape was replaced with a better quality one. By 1982, entries
are often limited to song lists only, with little to no annotation, although the entries for 1983 are somewhat more frequent,
and most with greater detail.
box 1, folder 9
1977, February - June Entries
box 1, folder 10
1977, September - December Entries
box 1, folder 11
1978, January - May Entries
box 1, folder 12
1978, June - December Entries
box 1, folder 13
1979, April - September Entries
box 1, folder 12
1979, October - December Entries
box 1, folder 13
1980, January - June Entries
box 1, folder 14
1980, August - December Entries
box 1, folder 15
1981, February - May Entries
box 1, folder 16
1981, July - December Entries
box 2-14
Dead.Net, Dead.Net Central
box 15
Dead.Net, Dead.Net Central: shelf lists, notebooks 1978-1979, Dick's Picks files
box 18-21
Dead Net Central & other topics binders
box 60
Winterland, 10/22/1967 (2); Unknown, 1968 (2); Carousel Ballroom, 2/14/1968; Avalon Ballroom, 10/12/1968, 1/26/1969 (2)
box 61
Avalon Ballroom, 1/26/1969, 4/5/1969 (2), 4/6/1969, Winterland 1/1/1979 (2)
box 62
Fillmore East 4/29/1971 (2); Jackson, MI 12/19/1978; Frost 5/11/1986; HJK 2/11/1986; Telluride, CO 8/15-16/1987; Red Rocks,
CO 8/13/1987
box 64
Providence, RI 9/9/1987; Madison Square Garden 9/11/1987, 9/17-18/1987; Philadelphia Spetrum 9/22-24/1987, 9/11/1988
box 66-67
Reel-to-reel tape recorder and accessories
