Join us for a book talk with John Brackett, author of LIVE DEAD, exploring how live recordings–from fan tapes to official releases–have shaped the history, mythology, and enduring legacy of the Grateful Dead. Musician David Gans will lead our conversation.
May 22nd at 1pm ET / 10am PT
REGISTER HERE
The Grateful Dead were one of the most successful live acts of the rock era. Performing more than 2,300 shows between 1965 and 1995, the Grateful Dead’s reputation as a “live band” was—and continues to be—sustained by thousands of live concert recordings from every era of the group’s long and colorful career. In Live Dead, musicologist John Brackett examines how live recordings—from the group’s official releases to fan-produced tapes, bootlegs to “Betty Boards,” and Dick’s Picks to From the Vault—have shaped the general history and popular mythology of the Grateful Dead for more than fifty years. Drawing on a diverse array of materials and documents contained in the Grateful Dead Archive, Live Dead details how live recordings became meaningful among the band and their fans not only as sonic souvenirs of past musical performances but also as expressions of assorted ideals, including notions of “liveness,” authenticity, and the power of recorded sound.
Purchase Live Dead from publisher Duke University Press.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
JOHN BRACKETT is a historian who has written and lectured on a diverse array of musicians, musical traditions, and notable moments in the history of American music. His first book on the music of the maverick composer John Zorn was published by Indiana University Press in 2008. His most recent work examines the music, history, and cultural legacy of the Grateful Dead. His book Live Dead: The Grateful Dead, Live Recordings, and the Ideology of Liveness was published by Duke University Press in 2023. His forthcoming book on the Dead is called Touch of Grey, or, How the Grateful Dead Became Pop Stars and will be published by Duke University Press in 2026.
DAVID GANS is a musician, author, and radio host who has been following the Grateful Dead since 1972, writing about them since 1976, and hosting a syndicated radio show about the band since the mid-‘80s. He is a co-host of Tales from the Golden Road, a weekly talk show on SiriusXM’s Grateful Dead Channel. He has produced several compilations and boxed sets for the Grateful Dead and for the Jerry Garcia estate. His books and music are available at perfectible.net.
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