Description

National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author Carol Brightman brings the Grateful Dead and their history to life in this fascinating and cogent, intelligent look at the Dead and the structure of American culture into which they so successfully tapped (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

San Franciscos Grateful Dead brought its psychedelic blend of folk, bluegrass, and blues to the 1960s counterculture, along with a romance for the Beats and a love of anarchy that made it something more than a bond. Without radio play and virtually unnoticed by the press, the Dead forged a vast underground following whose loyalty survives to the present day.

National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author Carol Brightman returns to the bands rootsto Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, the acid tests and the heady days of Haight-Ashbury, the free concerts in Golden Gate Park and the formative shows of New Yorks Fillmore Eastto uncover the secrets of the bands longevity. Drawing on exclusive interviews With band members, staff and crew, Deadheads, other musicians, journalistsand her own experience as a 60s activistBrightman shows us how, amid the turbulent Free Speech Movement and antiwar rallies, the Grateful Deads abandonment to music, drugs, and dance offered the faithful a shelter in the storm. Her riveting, in-depth portrait of Jerry Garcia, the nonleader leader who held to a vision of the Grateful Deads destiny even as he recoiled from the juggernaut it became, shows us how it was that a Dead concert become something halfway between a revival meeting and a family reunion.

An absorbing and exhilarating exploration, Sweet Chaos offers, at last, a complete understanding of the Dead phenomenon and its place in American culture.

Author: Carol Brightman
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 09/01/1999
Pages: 368
Weight: 0.99lbs
Size: 9.25h x 6.12w x 1.01d
ISBN: 9780671011178
Language: English