Grateful Dead - summer of 1983 (RARE interview!)

In the annals of rock history, the Grateful Dead stand apart from all other groups for good reason, their longevity testament to brilliant songs, collective spirit with a legacy and influence on par with the Beatles. No group before or since has rivalled the Dead, who defied trends and retained a massive fanbase, making every concert an event. Great commentary here from Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart

[@benschlotte8242]

“Because they make me happier than anything in the world” held true ten and 40 years after this interview !!! God bless you Jerry for the great music and good friends

[@bobkeenan2907]

I miss the fat man.

[@staggerleee1053]

Same here ❤👍

[@VirginiaRe]

❤

[@homecookinmusicAZ]

Interviewer asking Micky if he can see himself still performing at 50 lol. These guys will play til the very end God bless em...

[@gratefuldoge8598]

Cocaines a hell of a drug

[@bbarclay3932]

Sang Micky happy birthday in 2021 at Riverbend, Cincinnati Ohio

[@jeffh2563]

@@bbarclay3932 I also got to sing happy birthday to Mickey, at that Riverbend show... That Looks Like Rain, that Bobby did that night was spot on. And John's guitar at the end, going out of it. Where the notes are raining down... Whew man.

[@andrewmair7371]

Yes… such a boring & pointless question 🤷🏻 Nobody ever asked John Lee Hooker or BB King when they planned on retiring… truly a question from one ill equipped to interview anyone in the arts - 😾

[@Intermentor]

And Garcia looks like a 55 year old here

[@Exileonbackroad]

Non Dead fans like to make fun of Jerry Garcia but he was certainly one of the most articulate of all rock stars.

[@honeybeemonkey5464]

Modern day prophet

[@herbythechef7624]

Jerry gets a lot of hate outside the dead world for whatever reason and to me it feels like theyre personally attacking my family

[@starchamberlain]

Still makes me happier than anything else in the whole wide world!!

[@tadowjonez]

Peace

[@rickstone8547]

Damn right 👍 The Grateful Dead has been the happiest concept ever created !

[@danielevensen5539]

All I can think about is how this is only 1983, and how many legendary shows these guys still had ahead of them.

[@deadreckoning6288]

And here we are 39 years later in the summer of 2022.....a very different world now, still dancing to the sweet vibes of Bobby, Mickey, Billy, Phil... NFA ⚘

[@michaelshearer3559]

Jerry's blues licks on Truckin' always make me smile. What an amazing guitar player.

[@numbernine2207]

I love Shoreline 90z Let The Good Times Roll>Truckin>Touch of Grey. The mix is perfect. Heavy Brent. Even better is Cal Expo 89 : Truckin>Wang Dang Doodle Crazy Fingers>Cumberland>Eyes. First set has my fav Bertha>Greatest too. I think it's 8/4/89? It's the bomb. Perfect segue out of Truckin into Doodle!!!!!

[@BillKinsman]

I miss Jerry so much! I listen to him almost every day.

[@ericball6000]

so do I.

[@alborrelli1604]

Ditto

[@dickhedd8490]

Makes My Day Every Day!! Thank You Jerry!! 1 Love

[@richardsillett5938]

Amen, brother.

[@numbernine2207]

There is so, so much brilliant music in every genre. Before I discovered the Dead, I saw so many different bands in the mid 1980's. My uncle Greg played bass for the Beat Farmers, a local blues band from Diego. Anyway, he turned me on to Los Lobos & lots of other great music when I was just a wee lad at the 1st Street Scene. So many styles. I was into The Clash, I then spent about 5 to 6 years listening to nothing but Uncle Jerry. Then in '92 discovered Jimmy Smith during intermission at Oakland. Asked Dan Hey while on mescaline who was this Hammond virtuoso. As soon as I returned to Arcata bought almost 10 Blue Note CD's. My point being it's very easy to get Jerry tunnel vision and miss out on a wealth of the American Songbook, which is VAST!!!! Getting back into record collecting in 1993 opened my eyes to EVERYTHING. Brazilian, South African, German bands like CAN, NYC No Wave like Gary Wilson, NOLA FUNK by The Meters, Toussaint, Lee Dorsey, it is literally never ending. A new record every day is possible. Mississippi John Hurt, John Fahey, Harold Budd, The Equals(!), forever and ever discoveries. Soundtracks, Exotica recs from the fifties, etc. Earthling music from 50s - 70s was a Rennessaince of original style. 80s - 2000s too. Flaming Lips 'The Soft Bulletin' blew my mind, 90z Dinosaur Jr. (J. Mascis) floored me, all SST meat puppets, The Clash!!!!, The Minutemen, The Smiths, Tracy Chapman, Screaming Trees, Evan Dando, Public Enemy, BEASTIE BOYS, Nick Cave, Tribe Called Quest, etc, etc, etc. Pearl Jam sucked. Sonic Youth rocked.

[@johnknottiii3815]

The music is medicine and it makes me feel young and real good. I couldn't agree more.

[@deadreckoning6288]

Says it all.

[@MysticMonkeyMiracle]

Music is the language of the human heart 💕😎

[@darrencsullivan]

I like how they let the music jam out in segments. Good editing. Jerry seemed super happy.

[@technicolortabby4239]

Watching clips like this always make me tear up. The joy and love for the music is so pure. So sad I'll never see Jerry play.

[@southernmermaid2526]

Love you Jerry❣️ It’s never been as good without you. 💙💀⚡️🌈🌤🍄🐻🐢☮️

[@barbarascotto3873]

Mickey-78 years old. Still holding it down. ✌️NFA

[@sadboi7537]

Phil is 81, now THAT’S crazy. Hope he stays around a little bit longer.

[@josevillarreal9920]

@@sadboi7537 90 yrs old...picks up bass and plucks first note of Shakedown while crowd roars he's just standing there beaming 😁

[@Chris-kf8mx]

Cool little video. Been a great trip for me as a dead head since 1995. Barely a single day has passed since that I haven’t listened to at least one Grateful Dead tune and I’m better for it.

[@colmancostello]

Made me tear up. So much gratitude. When I found the dead and the people seen in this tape (yup it was a tape once) it gave me hope and let me know I didn’t have to live inside the box that most everyone around me was in. Thank you thank you thank you.

[@havefunbesafe]

I regret not paying more attention to the Dead in 1983 when I was 17. I was wrapped up in metal and punk, nothing else mattered. I thought I was a rebel but I was just blind.

[@tedwestall2269]

Same here!

[@zachhessler8722]

I saw my first show in 1985 when I was 16. I thought it would be a 'one off' interesting experience. But a year later I saw them again and it was really transformative. I was a metal head too but I got deeper and wider with this music. It was amazing to me that at least that part of the hippy movement was still available to me in the mid-80s of all decades! Thank goodness. Get on the bus. I'll be forever Grateful.

[@dickhedd8490]

Same!! I thought acdc was It. I was Blind. But Now I See!! Thank You Jerry!! 1 Love

[@revjustin1]

Your experience at 17 was valid. You were doing what you needed to do then. Don't regret it. You were just as blind as anyone else was at that age, but maybe less so than you are giving yourself credit for.

[@darkstarharry2947]

from "NBC News Overnight" with Linda Ellerbee (who appears at 3:07 for a standup), The Dead's performance was shot at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville, CA on 9/24/83.

[@susiefairfield7218]

Always liked Linda Ellerbee

[@speedspeed121]

And they did play Truckin' and I Know You Rider that night

[@willkensonit]

I thought maybe it was. It was hot that day.

[@sidlevy7828]

Thanks for identifying this show. My first show of many that were to come.

[@brendandimitri]

Good bot :)

[@decencywarrior9598]

So cool , their whole take and outlook on life , their understanding that they where doing something they could do for as long as they are to be alive . They where all friggin right too, right ahead of their time , right about their embrace of certain mind opening substances and so right about the music . So glad I caught a couple of shows when Jerry was present , but still even in its current forms as Dead and Co . or Lesh and friends it is an ecstatic joy !

[@Richvids48]

Jerry just made everything better, times were way cooler then

[@Booger-Magnolia]

How cool to hear them talk about playing until they’re dragged away and seeing that come to fruition now. Billy, Mickey, Bobby will all play until they physically can’t anymore - and I love it!

[@gilmourdimegates]

Phil still touring too

[@patrickmcandrew4949]

I saw Phil last week! At 82 years old, he is looking well, playing well, smiling, dancing, and in my opinion, singing better then he was a few years ago!

[@Booger-Magnolia]

How could I forget to mention Phil? 🤦🏻 I was thinking D&C. They all just have a love for the music that won’t fade away

[@jenimatuja1940]

Just saw Phil and he is the oldest and killn it. Singing ain’t the best but he’s got the friends to help!

[@agentm00se]

@@patrickmcandrew4949 phils probably still dosing every show too :D

[@brianjansen3103]

When your whole life is about music you definitely play until you can't anymore, never doubted anyone in the band wouldn't ride it till the end

[@youarethecreator1]

Because they make me happier than anything else in the whole world.

[@zachleary108]

So painful to see Jerry from 83-86. He was a wreck and couldn't hide it. I can't imagine how freaked out the other band members were. Jerry is 41 years old in this interview - think about that. 41. He looks 75.

[@domenicgalata1470]

A shit diet, copious amounts of drugs and lack of sleep leads to this kind of deterioration. Not too mention he’d been using heroin for some time and it destroyed him physically. How he survived into the 90’s was a miracle.

[@Ace_Hunter_lives]

@@domenicgalata1470 Three-pack a day habit didn't help either.

[@surfnOB]

I was seeing them a lot during this period, man they rocked many, many nights. It was pretty obvious some of those nights, especially in late 83 & much of 84 he was using whatever. Comes a time when the blind man takes your hand..

[@patrickmcandrew4949]

Yet somehow, some of their tightest and fastest playing and arrangements happen during that time! 1985 is especially uptempo and sounds unusually organized. 🤷‍♂️😄

[@zachleary108]

@@patrickmcandrew4949 Oh yeah, no doubt there are upsides to drug use and music. Countless examples. It works until it doesn't, until the train comes of the rails like it did when Jerry went into a coma in '86.

[@davidcawrowl3865]

Jerry's underlying (not so underlying) sense of humor, light-heartedness and laughter translates right into the music and that happiness just spreads throughout.

[@realtijuana5998]

There was nothing like a Grateful Dead concert.

[@airtow6766]

First album I ever bough, actually I snitched it at a Woolworths store, was the Dead's 1st release in 1967. I still listen to it at least once a month to remind me of those days.

[@joe9692]

I've got a clip somewhere of the original ad. "workingman's dead... Steal one today!"

[@airtow6766]

@@joe9692 that's pretty funny, I was a young teen and had no money for albums so I did what I had to do, I loved music and was fascinated by the album cover.

[@georgelowryiii8084]

These people in '83 make it sound like the Dead were around for fifty years at that point. A mere eighteen years in '83 is the reality. I have cats and shirts older than that...

[@zachhessler8722]

Yeah, my first show was in '85 'Twenty Years So Far' tour. I thought I was late, and I was in a way. Missed some of the best eras but glad I went along for the ride when the opportunity presented itself.

[@zachhessler8722]

@@Spearca Yeah that's interesting. They were at odds with what was going on in the 80's yet there they were, if you could find them, and offered something I felt was much more authentic. Not just some antique band that was surviving on greatest hits tours. This was a thriving phenomenon that chugged along in its own corner of space and time. I am so grateful that there was an alternative to the plastic, day glow, synthesized 80's.

[@deadreckoning6288]

@@zachhessler8722 Spot on. Wish I had caught more shows in the 80's. My tribe. I was at odds with the mainstream too.....always have been.

[@georgelowryiii8084]

@@Spearca Decades were definitely distinct back in those days. From the late 90's until present day seems like one big long sameness to me with exception being technological advances here and there. Bands surviving the twenty year point seem to be the norm rather than the exception in stark contrast to the trend heavy 70's and 80's eras.

[@user-kd4tz5xo9b]

Girl, you’re so right.. whether it be The Grateful Dead or almost any band from that era music makes you happy, happier or any kind of feeling. That’s what music is all about❤🌟❤️

[@KeyserSoze685]

Great upload...thanks!!!! Love looking at "The Wolf" 😎👍✌

[@bzfgt1]

That's the Tiger

[@kowalski3769]

Man I miss those days!! Jerry looks like crap but what a time we all had back then!! What I'd give to just go back for one more show 🤗☝

[@michaelc.ateoate979]

the music industry is never really taken us seriously so that's just as well

[@westrnite]

Just lost a dear dead head buddy he seen over 300 shows. I never seen one show live, I love the Greatful Dead. Thanks Jerry for all the good times...

[@bigbossman7991]

Thank you so much for this!

[@mcamp9445]

Most American band ever

[@michaelsteding7720]

Amen brother.

[@tonybahama6817]

SO glad I got tuned-in when I did...first show '78 I think but was listening on their albums for a decade prior. We really got to see art going to concerts in 60's-80's imo...we were lucky. 🍀 RIP Jerry

[@CAmudlarks]

So glad I was able to see the Dead 3 times in the early 90’s. LA Forum, LA Coliseum, and Mountain View. Fun Times!

[@bennylevine387]

I think I was at that Coliseum show. Opened with Shakedown Street.

[@disprogreavette8545]

Robert Hunter and Jerry, that's electrified peanut butter and jelly right there.

[@TheOldYellers]

Still makes me happier than anything else in the world in 2024. Just saw dead and co at sphere and it made me as happy as anything could. I met a person each night who were at their first show. And Mickey was still playing and making the medicine.

[@nedhoey]

I live in Santa Cruz and went to this show.

[@BillKinsman]

I miss Jerry so much, but the scene will go on forever, just the way Jerry wanted it to be.

[@teresademaria7462]

"There's NOTHING like a Dead Show!"❤✌️

[@edhorton2766]

Most eclectic band ever.

[@charlesandrews2360]

Until King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard came along. Massive Dead fan since I was 12 in 1970 and I have many wonderful memories including this clip. It was so exciting to see my favorite band finally getting the recognition they deserved in 1983. All that being said, when dead and Company played their final shows in Chicago this past June I attended the King Gizzard shows instead. They're not a jam band they are a rock band that just plays really long songs while they weave in and out of many different genres of pop rock.

[@jimmyb4728]

I miss everything about them and the people that came to enjoy what they offered. 😎✌️🐻🐢🍄🤪🕺💃

[@user-xv4up6oo3p]

The year I got on the bus full time..! No regrets ,turned out to be a Wonderfully Long Strange Trip it is.....Thanks Guys ✌️

[@user-xv4up6oo3p]

Did US..82',and kingfish at Anaheim in 77' But 83 was the year I bought the ticket and took the ride permanently

[@averycardosia2486]

I miss that America. That was the freest time in the history of the world. Oh well, at least I got to experience it.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

Jeez, even 1983 seems a better time than 2022

[@josevillarreal9920]

Very true.

[@MarvinMonroe]

@@RideAcrossTheRiver you're talking about 1983? Or the late 60s?

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

@@MarvinMonroe 1983.

[@johnbock1896]

@@RideAcrossTheRiver Because it WAS better back then.Even in 1983 there was still real music and Real Drugs,😉

[@haroldcromack1065]

Definitely some of the greatest days of my life I will remember it till the day I die ✌️✨️🙌🇺🇸

[@Justin_Hikes]

Nice to see a happy Jerry!

[@sadboi7537]

Fall of 83’ is where it’s at.

[@omarks]

Incredible to think Garcia was only 41 years old here, he looks like a really old, unwell guy

[@420Gold]

Got to see further play 3-4 nights at a festival almost 10 years ago now, blew me away. Unfortunately I’m to young to have really see jerry, but I’ve there music and spirit still lives strong today!

[@deanguando1335]

Jerry was the heart & soul of the grateful dead.

[@haroldcromack1065]

No doubt about it he was the leader of the pack ✌️✨️🙌🇺🇸

[@terryatpi]

Made my day. Ty!

[@tonybeck9541]

What a rush to see my old friend Curt interviewed. RIP my friend.

[@michaelblanks3409]

We miss you Brent.its been22 yrs.peace.NFA!!!

[@JohnGieschenJr]

Brent bring the heat at the end with those vocals

[@timothyedsall9424]

I honestly saw them well over 400 times. The only American band who never had to promote a tour

[@theelevan2]

2:44 Great splice! Great story. Great memories.

[@disprogreavette8545]

0:32 quick flash of Phil putting on the legendary crimson white and indigo sweatbands. I'd watch an 30 episode documentary of Phil explaining his wardrobe choices for every year.

[@mattycreek384]

I can smell this video

[@codybluetarp]

Yeah, i always get a flash of that time when i see interviews online and especially gigs from "back in the day", whatever "back in the day" means. Because The Dead were explicit about a common theme: Being alive in the moment. Like when Jerry, when asked "How long are you going to do this?",replies -"I'll be playing until they drag me away." Not being particularly nostalgic, i'm inclined to think that might be what "back in the day" means. And with that, i think i'll play music for awhile, or until they take me away; whichever comes 1st. And since they get there at the same time, it supports the idea of a single image to encompass it all? Jerry, and others would say in a unified way, cosmologically and 'right here', It's All Music,

[@dirkevans3443]

And the Music never stopped

[@chipc4936]

What a long, strange (and wonderful!) trip it was...

[@mcamp9445]

It is

[@dickhedd8490]

I told My Daughter I Wanted this On My Rock!! I'm Serious Jamie!! D.

[@deadreckoning6288]

And still is....

[@dickhedd8490]

Happy Labor Day Weekend 2022

[@jmartin4886]

Unfortunately the insidious authoritarianism has gotten exponentially worse.

[@thejamnasium6447]

I wish I was a headlight

[@gratefulgoddess420]

Because they make me happier than anything else in the whole world. Still. 💯 Thanks guys NFA ❤️⚡️💙

[@aamomii]

Mickey knew we would still be here

[@elissasangi-hd9om]

1st show 1972 Roosevelt Stadium. Some of the greatest performances❗

[@matthewmaurysmith2486]

Cool daytime show at "the fairgrounds" Jerry looked like he was super into it during the Truckin and Rider segments

[@rodjohnson3045]

Nah. More likely the drugs were kicking in.

[@patrickmcandrew4949]

@@rodjohnson3045 gotta respectfully disagree with you there! After Jerry's coma, getting on stage was what brought all his abilities and memory back. He loved playing.

[@matthewmaurysmith2486]

@@rodjohnson3045 ;) wouldn't the coke already have kicked in? I guess the Xanax and downtown balance was just right.... oof what a job it must have been to keep your head straight under those circumstances

[@herbythechef7624]

​@@rodjohnson3045i hate when jerry is having fun or playing something awesome and people just go "its the drugs". Jerry was more than that. Such a disrespect

[@BillKinsman]

The music will live on forever! As technology improves, it will stand the test of time!

[@Pabstmear]

Loved that Truckin segue mod clip and Jer’s glorious laugh.

[@tflyer98]

Awesome period for GD. This was also the years where Jerry wasn't bathing or washing his hair. He looks pretty fried but man his guitar playing and singing was still stellar. I love early 80's Dead.

[@rodjohnson3045]

Yeah, ol' Jer was truly a drug addicted degenerate by this point, who couldn't even be bothered to do right by his family. Good times!

[@surfnOB]

No doubt. Those years were so fun. Loved84/85 shows too

[@ratso8860]

I think the heroin had something to do with that. Poor guy looked awful.

[@MarvinMonroe]

@@ratso8860 this was also the heavy heavy heavy cocaine use era

[@dickhedd8490]

Judge Not....

[@Galidi1969]

Looks like a good time!

[@liamsdad33]

Anyway this music is medicine it makes me feel good real good amen Mickey

[@LL-bl8hd]

I was surprised some of those people they interviewed were in their early 20s. They looked older.

[@2get2Terrapin]

Love you, Kurt. RIP, brother

[@masonkanterbury3007]

I remember being a kid in the nineties and reporters like that would joke about some rockers being 50!!! and will they still be playing gigs. Now as the rolling stones reach their eighties, and those reporters are all dead by now, you have to wonder--is heroin a good choice for geriatric treatment?

[@deadreckoning6288]

Keith Richards? Has he found the key to immortality?

[@masonkanterbury3007]

@@deadreckoning6288 I think staying fit and trim has a lot to do with it. With Jerry, his heart couldn't handle kicking the habit. Even Bill Wyman is alive and traipsing about the globe insearch of adventure.

[@FlaschDJ]

Rare? When was it discovered? How long will it remain rare? Will you tell us when it stops being rare? :) I’m just busting chops. Thanks. Nice interview.

[@jeffreyhogan7298]

Ah yes lived in the Bay Area most of my life and got to experience the 60's!! Sure miss those days!!👍💯❤️

[@bebopbaby2436]

I just want to hug Jerry so tight, in my arms. 🫂

[@BS-ez2ud]

Smiling ear to ear.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

I have the 1989 recording of John Fogerty playing Creedence hits with Jerry and Bob at Oakland--along with Randy Jackson and Steve Jordan!

[@christophercampbell1677]

Thanks boys!!

[@KittyCarlile-490]

Linda Elerbee, the interviewer

[@johnhenry4]

Beard in full glory

[@DecriminalizeMarijuana]

Beautiful excerpt💀🌺

[@anthonyfoutch3152]

If Jerry hadn't gone into treatment he could had lived years longer. He should had been in a hospital not a treatment center.

[@herbythechef7624]

I agree he definitely needed medical attention in 95 and definitely needed help with his diet and maybe some light exercise would have helped him out some..

[@YogsenForfoth]

Linda Ellerbee was the voice of my childhood. ❤

[@Doviderus]

At that time the Deads were not in their first bloom but still kicked the ass. Whole gens of followers right up to now and long back.

[@mdell7131]

I miss it so much❤❤❤❤

[@droid9959]

Jerry talking about authoritarianism hmm, wonder what he'd think of the United States today 🤔

[@markusrose9667]

I see the country split in two, with both sides trying to tell the other what to do.

[@droid9959]

@@markusrose9667 the old line in uncle Johns band "whose moto is don't tread on me" right 👍

[@emechem]

His comment about authoritarian paranoia would fit in perfectly in the excellent Netflix show "How To Change Your Mind" (4-part mini-series about psychedelics).

[@deadreckoning6288]

He would be disappointed of course. But he'd still be bringing joy to thousands of people. ⚘

[@johncopeland3826]

They were a true Band ..just like The Band ,there was no front man and a sideman mentality . Musicality beats everything else in my book .

[@nicka731]

All interviews are rare because they can only happen once.

[@lanerider7265]

very beautiful

[@chordiepa.9268]

Ahhh yes. 1983. The year I got on the bus. :)

[@josevillarreal9920]

Oh sheetz! Did you catch Olympic Arena, NY or Silva Hall, ME? You are fortunate some smoking playing in JGB too.

[@chordiepa.9268]

@@josevillarreal9920 Nope. Philly in April, Harrisburg in June, and Syracuse in October.

[@gabevachon5555]

I almost killed Jerry Garcia at a Dead show in Boston on June 28th, 1974. My birthday. Threw a beer can from the first balcony onto the stage. Missed Jerry by 5 feet. Thank God.....

[@KD_1989]

People say you have to be high to enjoy their music but that’s just not true. I’m high and still don’t enjoy it very much.

[@atllzable]

Just great...!!!

[@devildude65]

Id give almost anything to have been alive and seen them in the 70s and 80s.

[@jamesstoltzfus887]

God Bless the Grateful Dead

[@josevillarreal9920]

Yes sir 🃏

[@paulsture7045]

So miss those days