Grateful Dead Records: Show Files, 1965-2005
Online content
Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Grateful Dead Productions
- Extent:
- 95.6 Linear Feet 214 boxes
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
Grateful Dead Records: Show Files. MS 332 Ser. 3. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains various materials documenting concerts performed by the Grateful Dead, as well as some show materials from solo and side projects with members of the Grateful Dead such as the Jerry Garcia Band, RatDog, Kingfish, Phil Lesh and Friends, and the Other Ones. Included are show contracts and production information, tour itineraries and planning documents, information sheets for Deadheads, hotline scripts, backstage passes, tickets & laminate lists, crew instructions, general venue information, and thank you notes from fans. Not all performances are represented.
- Biographical / historical:
-
The Grateful Dead were an American rock band that formed in 1965 in Northern California. They came to fame as part of author Ken Kesey's Acid Tests, a series of multimedia happenings centered around then-legal LSD. Famed for their concerts, the band performed more than 2,300 shows over thirty years, disbanding after the death of lead guitarist Jerry Garcia in August 1995. Although their only Top 10 hit, "Touch of Grey," charted in 1987, their popularity was based on concerts, and in their last decade they consistently placed in the top five tours every year. Known for the range of their repertoire and the caliber of their compositions, the Dead's songbook has been covered by a wide range of other musicians, from Bob Dylan to Jane's Addiction. They released thirteen studio albums and nine contemporary live albums during their career, and more than 100 live releases since then. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
- Acquisition information:
- Gifts of Grateful Dead Productions; April 2008, 2012. Accession 2022.031 files from 1972-1979 compiled by Noteworthy Enterprises, preserved and donated by Sue Stephens, 2022.
- Processing information:
-
Initial processing was completed in 2011 by Nicholas Meriwether, Maureen Carey, and the OAC processing unit. Additional processing was done in 2017-2018 by Alessia Cecchet and Gabriel Mindel in the Center for Archival Research and Training (CART) under the direction of Alix Norton. The 2012 accrual of materials was processed and integrated by Alix Norton and student assistant Becca Rapp in 2018-2019, with the finding aid finalized and published in 2019. The Accession 2022.031 addition was processed by Alix Norton and student assistant Rachel Ledeboer in 2022.
- Arrangement:
-
This collection is arranged in five series:
- Series 1: Grateful Dead concert files
- Series 2: Solo and side project concert files
- Series 3: Venue files
- Series 4: General show files
- Series 5: Accession 2022.031: Addition to Grateful Dead Records: Show Files
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
This collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by the creators and their heirs. Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions. For more information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy on Reproduction and Use.
- Preferred citation:
-
Grateful Dead Records: Show Files. MS 332 Ser. 3. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.
- Location of this collection:
-
Special Collections and Archives, University Library1156 High StreetSanta Cruz, CA 95064, US
- Contact:
- (831) 459-2547