A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead

By Dennis McNally

Book Overview

The complete history of one of the most long-lived and legendary bands in rock history, written by its official historian and publicist--a must-have chronicle for all Dead Heads, and for students of rock and the 1960s' counterculture. From 1965 to 1995, the Grateful Dead flourished as one of the most beloved, unusual, and accomplished musical entities to ever grace American culture. The creative synchronicity among Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan exploded out of the artistic ferment of the early sixties' roots and folk scene, providing the soundtrack for the Dionysian revels of the counterculture. To those in the know, the Dead was an ongoing tour de force: a band whose constant commitment to exploring new realms lay at the center of a thirty-year journey through an ever-shifting array of musical, cultural, and mental landscapes. Dennis McNally, the band's historian and publicist for more than twenty years, takes readers back through the Dead's history in A Long Strange Trip . In a kaleidoscopic narrative, McNally not only chronicles their experiences in a fascinatingly detailed fashion, but veers off into side trips on the band's intricate stage setup, the magic of the Grateful Dead concert experience, or metaphysical musings excerpted from a conversation among band members. He brings to vivid life the Dead's early days in late-sixties San Francisco--an era of astounding creativity and change that reverberates to this day. Here we see the group at its most raw and powerful, playing as the house band at Ken Kesey's acid tests, mingling with such legendary psychonauts as Neal Cassady and Owsley "Bear" Stanley, and performing the alchemical experiments, both live and in the studio, that produced some of their most searing and evocative music. But McNally carries the Dead's saga through the seventies and into the more recent years of constant touring and incessant musical exploration, which have cemented a unique bond between performers and audience, and created the business enterprise that is much more a family than a corporation. Written with the same zeal and spirit that the Grateful Dead brought to its music for more than thirty years, the book takes readers on a personal tour through the band's inner circle, highlighting its frenetic and very human faces. A Long Strange Trip is not only a wide-ranging cultural history, it is a definitive musical biography.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767911865
• ISBN13: 9780767911863
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 684 Pages
• Weight: 1.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

The Absolute Best

Absolutely the best book from the best of sources. We all know that Jerry died but I still cried at the end of the book. Anything more than what Scrib has shared is none of our business. I "Listen to the river sing sweet songs to rock my soul." Highly recommended.

Definitive biography - Enjoy the ride

If you're a Deadhead, buy this book. I'm surprised at some of the middlin reviews here! you should read some of the book's excerpts -- i think the writing is grate! there are so many subtle phrases that add so much more to the picture. there Are some funny parts where it seems the bandmembers might have written in a sentence or two that are in stark contrast to the rest of a given paragraph, but other than that, dennis...

Finally, a tremendous book on the Dead!

As a graduate of the Grateful Dead class of Red Rocks, Colorado 1979, I have to say that this is the first book on the Dead that really gets it. Dennis McNally is incredibly articulate (it seems he retained most/all his brain cells through his 20 year journey on "the bus") and his writing is very illuminating. He reconfirms most of my own opinions on what it was all about. Peter Yarrow (of Peter Paul and Mary-who all attended)...

How about a complimentary product...Robert Hunter's story?

I have to admit to a certain bias towards the Grateful Dead. Their music has comforted and beguiled me, it has been my joy and my delight, it has been my heaven, my hell and it's spirit lives on. My first written word experience of the band whom I hold so dear was a book by Hank Harrison given to me by one of my closest and best friends, Rib Chile Kyam.Since Jerry Garcia's early and untimely demise has deprived us of his and...

A Long, Strange Trip and a Great Read!

Believe me, McNally's book is going to be the definitive Dead book from now on. Only Blair Jackson's GARCIA is in the same league. Not only is the whole story of the band told, but it's told well and is a terrific read. McNally is to be commended for concentrating on the band, their world, and their music without getting bogged down in their personal lives. That's not the point here. His decision to break the narrative...