b. Jerome John Garcia, 1 August 1942, San Francisco, California, USA, d. 9 August 1995, Forest Knolls, California, USA. The mercurial guitarist of the Grateful Dead was able to simultaneously play with two or three other conglomerations without it affecting his career as leader of one of rock music's legendary bands. For four decades Garcia was a leading light on the west coast musical scene - he was credited on the Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow as "musical and spiritual adviser" and known locally as "Captain Trips". In addition to his session work with the Jefferson Airplane, he worked with David Crosby, Paul Kantner, Jefferson Starship, New Riders Of The Purple Sage and Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young as well as various spin-offs involving David Nelson, John Kahn, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Merl Saunders and Howard Wales (ex-A.B. Skhy). Garcia was equally at home on banjo and pedal-steel guitar, and had the ability to play two entirely different styles of music without a hint of musical overlap (rock 'n' roll/blues and country/bluegrass). His flowing manner was all the more remarkable given that the third finger of his right hand was missing, owing to an accident as a child. Jerry and his older brother Tiff were both chopping wood with axes, Jerry kept putting his finger on the block and removing it just in time before Tiff chopped the wood. He was a split second too late and Tiff accidentally chopped the finger.
Garcia was known and loved as a true hippie who never "sold out". Following his heroin addiction and much publicised near-death in 1986, Garcia philosophically stated, "I'm 45 years old, I'm ready for anything, I didn't even plan on living this long, so all this shit is add-on stuff." He continued touring and recording, with the Dead, David Grisman, and with his own versions of the Jerry Garcia Band, until shortly before his death from a heart attack during a stay at the Serenity Knolls treatment centre, near his home in Marin County, California (see Grateful Dead entry). Years of drug abuse, heavy smoking and a bad diet (he loved hot dogs) contributed to his decline. This should not overshadow the love and affection he commanded, and his major significance as a dedicated musician, singer and songwriter. Garcia had an incredibly wide musical palette. He could play with anybody at anytime, almost anywhere, and retained the remarkable ability to play any style or genre. The posthumous release The Pizza Tapes demonstrates this; a spontaneous recording full of the sheer joy of being able to play with other musicians in an informal atmosphere. His was a rare genius.
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