Jerry Garcia

Jerry Garcia
Garcia in the 1970s.
Background information
Birth name	Jerome John Garcia
Born	August 1, 1942 San Francisco, California, United States
Died	August 9, 1995(1995-08-09) (aged 53) Forest Knolls, California, United States
Genres	Psychedelic rock, blues rock, folk rock, country rock, jam rock, bluegrass, roots rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, pedal steel guitar, banjo
Years active	1960–1995
Labels	Rhino, Arista, Warner Bros., Acoustic Disc, Grateful Dead
Associated acts	Grateful Dead, Legion of Mary, Reconstruction, Jerry Garcia Band, Old and in the Way, Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Hart Valley Drifters, Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions
Website	JerryGarcia.com
Notable instruments
"Alligator" Doug Irwin-modified Alembic "Wolf" Gibson SGs Guild Starfire 1957 Gibson Les Paul Gold-top Les Paul with P-90 Doug Irwin Custom "Tiger" Doug Irwin Custom "Rosebud" Stephen Cripe Custom "Lightning Bolt," Martin D-28, Takamine acoustic-electric guitars Travis Bean TB1000S, TB500

Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work with the band the Grateful Dead, which came to prominence during the counterculture era in the 1960s. Though he disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader or "spokesman" of the group.

One of its founders, Garcia performed with the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career (1965–1995). Garcia also founded and participated in a variety of side projects, including the Saunders–Garcia Band (with longtime friend Merl Saunders), the Jerry Garcia Band, Old and in the Way, the Garcia/Grisman acoustic duo, Legion of Mary, and the New Riders of the Purple Sage (which Garcia co-founded with John Dawson and David Nelson). He also released several solo albums, and contributed to a number of albums by other artists over the years as a session musician. He was well known for his distinctive guitar playing and was ranked 46th in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" cover story.

Later in life, Garcia was sometimes ill because of his diabetes, and in 1986 went into a diabetic coma that nearly cost him his life. Although his overall health improved somewhat after that, he also struggled with heroin and cocaine addictions, and was staying in a California drug rehabilitation facility when he died of a heart attack in August 1995.

Jerry Garcia's ancestors on his father's side were from Galicia in northwest Spain. His mother's ancestors were Irish and Swedish. He was born in the Excelsior District of San Francisco, California, on August 1, 1942, to Jose Ramon "Joe" Garcia and Ruth Marie "Bobbie" (née Clifford) Garcia, who was herself born in San Francisco. His parents named him after composer Jerome Kern. Jerome John was their second child, preceded by Clifford Ramon "Tiff", who was born in 1937. Shortly before Clifford's birth, their father and a partner leased a building in downtown San Francisco and turned it into a bar, partly in response to Jose being blackballed from a musicians' union for moonlighting.