3/15/40-Phil Lesh born Phillip Chapman in Berkeley, California.
6/23/41-Robert Hunter born in Arroyo Grande, California.
8/1/42-Jerry Garcia born in San Francisco,California.
9/11/43-Mickey Hart born in Brooklyn, New York.
9/8/45-Ron "PigPen" McKernan born in San Bruno, California
5/7/46-Bill Kreutzmann born in Palo Alto, California
10/16/47-Bob Weir born Robert Hall
7/19/48-Keith Godchaux born in Concord,California
2/2/51-Vince Welnick born
10/21/52-Brent Mydland born in West Germany
6/65-Phil Lesh joins the Warlocks :-)
12/4/65-First show as the Grateful Dead
5/19/66-First show at the Avalon Ballroom
3/17/67-The band's debut album,Grateful Dead, is released
6/28/67-Monterey Pop Festival in Monterey,California
9/29/67-Mickey Hart joines the Grateful Dead and plays the Straight Theater :-)
10/2/67-The Grateful Dead's residence at 710 Ashbury St. is raided and authorities arrest several band members and friends for possession of marijuana and hashish.
7/18/68-The Dead's second album,Anthem of the Sun, is released
11/68-Tom Constanten joines the Grateful Dead on piano,organ,and harpsichord :-)
6/20/69-Aoxomoxoa is released
11/10/69-Live/Dead is released
12/69-Hell's Angeles stab a concert goer to death during a show featuring the Rolling Stones,Jefferson Airplane,and the Grateful Dead at Altamont Speedway :-(
1/31/70-The band minus PigPen and Tom Constanten are arrested for drug posession in New Orleans;the charges are eventually dismissed.
1/70-Tom Constanten leaves the band :-(
5/12/70-Workingman's Dead is released
11/70-The band's sixth album,American Beauty is released
2/71-Mickey Hart leaves the Grateful Dead :-(
10/71-Skullfuck is released
10/19/71-Keith Godchaux joins the Grateful Dead :-)
12/31/71-Donna Godchaux joins the band :-)
6/17/72-PigPen plays his last show at the Hollywood Bowl :-(
11/72-Europe'72' is released
3/8/73-PigPen dies of a stomach hemorrhage brought on by alcoholism :-(
7/13/73-History of the Grateful Dead (Bear's Choice) is released
11/73-Wake of the Flood is released on Grateful Dead Records
3/23/74-The Wall of Sound debuts at the Cow Palace in Daly City,California
6/74-From the Mars Hotel is released
10/74-The "Final Run" at Winterland;Mickey Hart rejoins the band :-)
9/75-Blues for Allah is released
4/76-Grateful Dead records begins to fold
6/76-Steal Your Face is released
6/77-The Grateful Dead Movie is released featuring footage of the final shows at Winterland in October 1974
7/77-Terrapin Station is released
11/78-Shakedown Street is released
2/29-Keith and Donna Godchaux leave the Grateful Dead :-(
4/79-Brent Mydland joins the Grateful Dead :-)
4/80-Go to Heaven is released
7/23/80-Keith Godchaux dies in a car accident in Marin County,California :-(
4/1/81-Reckoning is released
8/81-Dead Set is released
1/18/85-Jerry Garcia is arrested in Golden Gate Park while freebasing cocaine in his car;he is ordered into a rehabilition program and agrees to play a benefit concert for the Haight-Ashbury Free Food Program
7/10/86-Jerry Garcia falls into a diabetic coma and the future of the Grateful Dead hangs in the balance. :-(
12/15/86-Jerry's first show after his recovery at the Oakland Coliseum :-)
7/87-In the Dark is released and shoots up the charts
1/89-Dylan and the Dead is released
10/89-Built to Last is released
7/26/90-Brent Mydland dies of a drug overdose in his home in Lafayette,California :-(
9/90-Without a Net is released
9/7/90-Vince Welnick plays his first show with the Grateful Dead :-)
9/15/90-Bruce Hornsby begins filling in on keyboards :-)
4/15/91-One From the Vault is released, featuring a show from 8/13/75 at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco
10/25/91-Bill Graham dies in a helicopter crash while returning from a Huey Lewis concert in Concord,California :-(
11/91-Infrared Roses is released
5/92-Two from The Vault is released,containing recordings from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles from 8/23/68 and 8/24/68
1/19/94-The Grateful Dead are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; since Garcia can't make it,the other band members take along a cardboard cutout of the guitarist :-)
3/94-Dan Healy leaves the Grateful Dead :-(
6/25/95-Three fans are struck by lightning at a show in Washington,D.C. :-(
7/2/95-3,000 fans riot at a show in Indiana(Deer Creek),the band criticzes their behavior in a message via the internet. The next days show was cancelled!(Damn those gate crashers!!) :-(
7/9/95-Jerry Garcia plays his last show at Soldier Field in Chicago. :-( (I was there and will never forget this show)
8/9/95-Jerry Garcia dies of a heart failure at a drug rehab center in Forest Knolls,California; :-( communication on the internet reaches such proportions that many addresses are forced to shut dowm
8/12/95-Fans gather at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park for a mass wake;surviving band and family members share their memories of Garcia :-(
12/8/95-The band announces they will no longer be touring as the Grateful Dead. :-(