The Grateful Dead was a popular American rock band that was formed back in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band was pretty active in the late 60s, 70s, and 80s. This band was loved by many music lovers and which is why this band is still popular and known even after over five decades.
They have more than 200 albums and most of them were recorded in concerts. They were quite unique band and it is said that this band was one of a kind. As most of their albums were recorded in concerts we can already say that they played many live shows. But the question is how many shows did they play or performed on?
Grateful Dead’s 1995 tour had to postpone
Since we are talking about the live shows and concerts Grateful Dead played. Let’s talk about their tour in 1995 which had to be postponed. So why was it postponed anyway? well, it was because one of the founding members and the main or lead guitarist and vocalist of the band Jerome John Garcia, popularly known as Jerry Garcia died.
As per the reports, Garia died on August 9, 1995. He died of a heart attack but what led to the heart attack was his drug addiction and smoking. His funeral took place on August 12, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Belvedere, where his family and friends were present however, celebrities including Bob Dylan and Bill Walton were also present.
Now let’s see how many shows did the Grateful Dead play or performed on.
How Many Shows Did The Grateful Dead Play?
There are various bands claiming various things however, here our source is the official site of the band, and even so, we don’t claim that we are all sure. However, since the source is the official site of the band, we are positive that the amount of shows we claim here is most likely true.
We will talk about all the shows Grateful Dead played however, first let’s take a look at approximately how many shows the band played. As per the reports the band has played in over 2000 shows. Furthermore, the sources claim that they played on 2350 shows. However, if we only count the shows where Jerry Garcia was present then the number of shows the Grateful Dead played is 2314.
The point to be noted is that the main source of income for the band was live shows and as mentioned the band recorded most of their songs during live shows or concerts. As mentioned the band has played on more than 2000 shows and 2300 of their live shows were recorded so you can also find all of these on the internet.
Among their live shows, it is considered that their 1973 live show at Bickershaw Festival in Wigan is the longest show the band ever played. Moreover, reports have it that Elvis Costello got inspired to form his own band after this very show.
Which song have the Grateful Dead played the most?
As mentioned above, the Grateful Dead band has played on more than two thousand live shows and obviously, they have played various songs however, fans want to know which of their song have they played the most. And after some research, we have come to know that the most played song of the band is “Sugar Magnolia” which has been played most probably 494 times.
Moreover, it is said that the Grateful Dead was so successful in fact many claims that they were the most successful band because of their live sound quality which other bands couldn’t fulfill.
Did the Grateful Dead disband?
Sadly the Grateful Dead decided to disband sometime after 1995. The lead singer and guitarist of the band Jerry Garcia died on August 9, 1995, and sometime after his death, the remaining band member decided to disband the Grateful Dead.
So we can say that the Grateful Dead died along with the leader (Jerry Garcia) of the band.