Deadhead
[1][2][3][4][5] The Deadhead subculture originated in the 1970s, when a number of fans began traveling to see the Grateful Dead in as many shows or festival venues as they could.
[6] Unlike other popular acts in music, the Grateful Dead are well known for the use of improvisation in their performances making each show unique.
[8] Much Deadhead-related historical material received or collected by the band over the years is housed in the Grateful Dead Archive of University of California, Santa Cruz.
[10] The eclectic musical styling of the Grateful Dead was heavily inspired by the Beatnik movement of the 1950s and later the psychedelic counterculture of the 1960s.
By the late 1970s, some Deadheads began to sell tie-dye T-shirts, veggie burritos, or other items at Grateful Dead concerts.
"[14] Eileen Law, a long time friend of the band, was put in charge of the mailing list and maintained the Dead Heads newsletter.
[16] The band's extensive song catalog enabled them to create a varied "rotation" of setlists, which were never exactly the same for each performance ("show") throughout a tour.
As generations turned from the Acid Tests to the 1970s (and onward), tours became a time to revel with friends at concerts, old and new, who never knew the psychedelic age that spawned the band they loved.
[23] Publicist and Jerry Garcia biographer Blair Jackson stated that "shows were the sacrament ... rich and full of blissful, transcendent musical moments that moved the body and enriched the soul.
"[26] Rock producer Bill Graham summarized much of the band's effect when he created a sign for the Grateful Dead when the group played the closing of the Winterland Ballroom on December 31, 1978.
The "Tape Exchange" evolved into Dead Relix magazine, co-founded by Kippel and its first editor, Jerry Moore (1953–2009), a native of The Bronx, New York.
Dupree's Diamond News was distributed as an in-concert newsletter at several hundred Grateful Dead concerts, where it averaged 10,000 copies per run.
Dupree's Diamond News was also distributed on a quarterly basis as a full-color, 72-page magazine to approximately 35,000 international subscriptions.
Some bootleg recordings from unscrupulous bootleggers have turned up on the black market, but a general "code of honor specifically prohibited the buying and selling of Dead tapes".
[36] Much Deadhead-related historical material received or collected by the band over the years is housed in the Grateful Dead Archive of UC-Santa Cruz.
Deadhead Day is celebrated each July 9th to commemorate the Grateful Dead's final concert performed at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois in 1995.
[83] The holiday is an opportunity reach out to old friends, curate playlists to share and organize local meet-ups where fans can socialize with other Deadheads.
