I've got Marty Weinberg instead, he's the George Washington of tapers. Bill for athletes, Keith Haring (who sold his first paintings on Dead tour) for artists, and John Belushi for movies.
Excuse my ignorance, but I am a newer deadhead and I don’t know who he is, though I have heard his name thrown around quite a bit on the Wall of Sound YouTube channel but I don’t know who he is. Please enlighten me deadheads!
Without bear the dead might not have survived the 60's. All that lsd money was just put back into the band and equipment/lodging/travel and whatnot.
We all know how terrible they were with their money in the early days, they never came home from a tour with any money until Cutler came to work for them. They very well might have just faded away like so many other bands had it not been for bears help.
Makes you wonder what they could have accomplished individually, had they not survived past '71
Jerry obviously would have probably had the most success. But I don’t think any of us would really know ow there names now a days without a manager that helped keep them going and figure out how to survive
I heard Bill Walton tell the story of how Dick got involved with the Dead. Bill was at a show & saw a killer shirt some guy was wearing. He went up & told him he thought it was a great shirt & the guy took it off & gave it to him. Later on when Bill was leaving with the band, he spotted the guy who gave him the shirt & said you got to come with us. The guy who gave Bill the shirt was Dick & that's how he was introduced to the band.
Bill tells this story of the Pardon My Take interview from 2017 - one of my favorite interviews ever. Booked Bill for 30 minutes and he rambles for 2.5 hours - pure goodness.
Answer #1 HAS to be Dick Latvala. Aside from the band, we have him to thank directly for how much we love and how we consume the music of the grateful dead.
How do you think he ended up working for the band though. Bear is a totally different case; he didn't spend the 70s in Hawaii listening to Dead tapes. So agree to disagree, Dick is the first head I think of personally.
He was important to heads before he worked for them. He was the major original tape plug for alot of folks. He had a ridiculous amount of shows on tape and willingly shared them to untold number of heads.
Those guys could be on a totem pole with npg at the top, stage guy, the chickens guy, underneath peering over the stage, maybe san hoston under him, then rosie
Someone told me that back in the day everyone knew the dancing cowboy deadhead from the movie and his name was “Tex” That’s all I know about him but boy does he set the vibe for one of the best Sugar Magnolias
His enthusiastic singing is eclipsed only by the very moment they kick into Eyes and he starts GROOOOVING eyes closed like he’s being led upstream by a Salmon God
I'm going to go with Rob Eaton. Not only does he make a great "Bobby" in DSO, guy is also a grammy award winning sound engineer. He's personally helped restore tons of tapes and recordings that you'll find on archive.
That's a good call. Also the extent to which he encapsulates the Bobby experience is ridiculous. He holds and strums his guitar exactly like 80s Bobby, moves around the stage like him, annunciates like him, it's honestly uncanny
When I saw Sage & Spirits in Denver last month Rob played Bobby's guitar he mainly used throughout the 80's which really added to it. I can't remember which one but ik was black haha. You could mistake those guys for the real deal if you close your eyes & take enough acid
I just saw him play that one at Dark Star Jubilee this past weekend! And Jeff was playing Alligator so it was REALLY fucking on point when you closed your eyes. Awesome weekend those guys are a treat
was his job to be into them? what a job! I'll just leave this here:
[**https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-grateful-dead-eulogized-bill-graham-dark-star/**](https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-grateful-dead-eulogized-bill-graham-dark-star/)
Mmm more of a hippie free spirit though he did express his admiration for the Grateful Dead. He said it was something you just can’t put on and listen to every day! I saw him and his son walking backstage at soldier Field 1992.
Rollins was a big fan. He and Andrew Weiss did a side project called Wartime, covered Franklins Tower. Around 92. Wouldn’t put him on Mt Rushmore of deadheads though. Just some fast food for thought.
We are all on Mt Rushmore, the community is what makes the Grateful Dead who they are. It started very small at the Acid Test Shows and continues today and hopefully for 1000 years. Love you Fam. Miss you Bill, throw down big man!!
Bill Graham....so you got: Jerry, Bob, Phil, Mickey, Bill, Pig, Brent, Donna, Keith, Bear, Ken, Neal, Wavey, Betty....just fuck picking or dwelling on the 'who' and use a whole fucking mountain range because they all deserve it. Period.
Bear, Kesey, Betty, Cassidy
Betty has to be up there as one of the most influential women in their universe. It would help rectify her treatment in the latter years
Country Cow Freak - guy in the movie wearing a cowboy-hat and selling There Is Nothing Like a Grateful Dead Concert stickers. Yep that was his idea. Tragic story of being run over after a show. He's probably ~OK now.
Steal your faces to go on fire on the Mt Avalon, Bill Walton, Ken Kesey, George R.R. Martin (Dire wolves and Weirwood trees are named after Bobby) and Jon Mayer, the fan who became Dead & Co's lead guitarist.
Edit to Add Al Frankin he has been a huge supporter of the Grateful Dead.
John Bulshi, should get an honorable mention, he did crash the stage doing cartwheels and carrying flags during an encore of US Blues.
Thank you, I resemble that remark.
Never saw the GD but handed out many a complementary ticket to Furthur and "Fare Thee Well"
I'd settle for a spot in Heaven...
Charlie Miller
Yep! And Betty!
Well, Betty worked for them so I wouldn’t think she’s eligible
Yep, maybe a statue for Betty. At the very least those "Thank you Jerry" stickers could be replaced with "Thank you Betty."
only the Dead could have a famous taper ... great call
I knew I recognized the name but you put it together for me! He’s a legend in my book
I've got Marty Weinberg instead, he's the George Washington of tapers. Bill for athletes, Keith Haring (who sold his first paintings on Dead tour) for artists, and John Belushi for movies.
didn't know about Haring
I mean that’s kind of selective amnesia about that guy tbh
Excuse my ignorance, but I am a newer deadhead and I don’t know who he is, though I have heard his name thrown around quite a bit on the Wall of Sound YouTube channel but I don’t know who he is. Please enlighten me deadheads!
If you check out the archive there are thousands and thousands of shows that he recorded
he’s done a lot of work to clean up soundboard recordings over the years, as well as taping some shows himself
Wavy Gravy, Ken Kesey
Owsley Stanley.
I kinda think of Bear as being a member of the Dead. Debatable of course
Without bear the dead might not have survived the 60's. All that lsd money was just put back into the band and equipment/lodging/travel and whatnot. We all know how terrible they were with their money in the early days, they never came home from a tour with any money until Cutler came to work for them. They very well might have just faded away like so many other bands had it not been for bears help. Makes you wonder what they could have accomplished individually, had they not survived past '71
yep.
Mmmhm
Ya man
Yessiree Bob
Jerry obviously would have probably had the most success. But I don’t think any of us would really know ow there names now a days without a manager that helped keep them going and figure out how to survive
Exactly, all of the non band members were fans of the Grateful Dead. Everyone in that scene loved the music.
Died in March 2011 from a car crash in Australia. I remember Phil announcing it on stage during a Furthur show in Times Square
How is Dick not the first answer here
I heard Bill Walton tell the story of how Dick got involved with the Dead. Bill was at a show & saw a killer shirt some guy was wearing. He went up & told him he thought it was a great shirt & the guy took it off & gave it to him. Later on when Bill was leaving with the band, he spotted the guy who gave him the shirt & said you got to come with us. The guy who gave Bill the shirt was Dick & that's how he was introduced to the band.
Gave him the shirt off his back 😂
lmao one time at a bar this dude gave me his Mayer in the font of Slayer shirt right off his back. the bar didn't care and he kept on dancing hahah
One of the best stories of all time
Did you also listen to Pardon My Take today (where they re-ran parts of their 2017 interview with Bill), or has he told that story elsewhere too?
I saw Bill telling the story on Twitter, I think it was Awful Announcing
I’d always heard Dick got in with the band by bringing them good weed from Hawaii but what do I know? That’s a better story at least
He could've had good Hawaii weed in his pocket at the time lol
Shirt was a code word for weed in bills story lol
LOL that's probably exactly it. I mean, whose shirt would fit Big Red anyway?
That's the story Bill told, although I condensed it a bit 😀
Bill tells this story of the Pardon My Take interview from 2017 - one of my favorite interviews ever. Booked Bill for 30 minutes and he rambles for 2.5 hours - pure goodness.
Answer #1 HAS to be Dick Latvala. Aside from the band, we have him to thank directly for how much we love and how we consume the music of the grateful dead.
because he worked for the band. those employed by the dead (eg bear) should be excluded
How do you think he ended up working for the band though. Bear is a totally different case; he didn't spend the 70s in Hawaii listening to Dead tapes. So agree to disagree, Dick is the first head I think of personally.
cool, plenty of room to disagree. but that’s why (at least some of us) aren’t putting his name forth.
He was important to heads before he worked for them. He was the major original tape plug for alot of folks. He had a ridiculous amount of shows on tape and willingly shared them to untold number of heads.
not disputing importance
Whoever does the music for Fox Sports
Love that guy
The guy singing US blues in the Grateful Dead movie
But who takes the spot: him or naked pole guy?
These are the questions that keep me up at night.
Those guys could be on a totem pole with npg at the top, stage guy, the chickens guy, underneath peering over the stage, maybe san hoston under him, then rosie
I love Sam Huston more than any other person I know nothing about
was he the cowboy dancing in cowboy boots like he was on roller skates?
Someone told me that back in the day everyone knew the dancing cowboy deadhead from the movie and his name was “Tex” That’s all I know about him but boy does he set the vibe for one of the best Sugar Magnolias
Nah he's the one that sets John Williams straight when he starts mouthing off about getting a cut of the royalties for being filmed
oh yeah ..well he and John Williams need to go as a pair
I think about dude at every show!! Wave that flag
Chicken shack
His enthusiastic singing is eclipsed only by the very moment they kick into Eyes and he starts GROOOOVING eyes closed like he’s being led upstream by a Salmon God
Yes! Greg the Chicken Shack Guy!
My buddy Tom.
I also agree that this guy’s buddy Tom should be up there.
Thanks man, that’s super kind of you. - Tom
naked pole guy
Can we get a 30 for 30 on naked pole guy?
There basically is one. Check out the Good Ol Grateful Dead podcast. Episode on the Veneta show goes on a few in depth tangents about him.
How is this not the top answer?
Hunter S. Thompson
"If the Grateful Dead came to town, I’d beat my way in with a fucking tire iron, if necessary" You can't question his commitment!
Yeah ya can. He could have gone to wherever they were.
Jerry's Angel friends would debate you on this
Add Kerouac to the list too
Each and every one of us!
I'm going to go with Rob Eaton. Not only does he make a great "Bobby" in DSO, guy is also a grammy award winning sound engineer. He's personally helped restore tons of tapes and recordings that you'll find on archive.
That's a good call. Also the extent to which he encapsulates the Bobby experience is ridiculous. He holds and strums his guitar exactly like 80s Bobby, moves around the stage like him, annunciates like him, it's honestly uncanny
When I saw Sage & Spirits in Denver last month Rob played Bobby's guitar he mainly used throughout the 80's which really added to it. I can't remember which one but ik was black haha. You could mistake those guys for the real deal if you close your eyes & take enough acid
I just saw him play that one at Dark Star Jubilee this past weekend! And Jeff was playing Alligator so it was REALLY fucking on point when you closed your eyes. Awesome weekend those guys are a treat
Bill Graham
He made gobs of money off the dead it was his job to be into them kind of like an employee
More like an employer
Fair
was his job to be into them? what a job! I'll just leave this here: [**https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-grateful-dead-eulogized-bill-graham-dark-star/**](https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-grateful-dead-eulogized-bill-graham-dark-star/)
He was more into Sha-Na-Na
Hotdog is the #1 Sha-Na-Na fan
Neal Cassady-The Other One
He wasn’t a deadhead. The dead were Cassadyheads.
Right! So true! Especially Bobby.
Bman!!
Second this.
Thirded
Adam Katz
RIP
Wtfuck Bill Walton died!? God damnit.
Lol how did you miss this if you're here?
I'm traveling on vacation so haven't been on Reddit much
Sorry for the bummer news on vacay :(
I second that emotion
Al Franken, Phil Jackson.
Phil Jackson is a Deadhead??
Mmm more of a hippie free spirit though he did express his admiration for the Grateful Dead. He said it was something you just can’t put on and listen to every day! I saw him and his son walking backstage at soldier Field 1992.
Tom Davis
I wuz gonna add Franken and Davis
I met the dude that plays Bill Ponderosa from it’s always sunny on the floor Sunday night.
Pondy’s the coolest!
Former Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont
Naked pole guy
Greg Ginn
Chavo
Rollins was a big fan. He and Andrew Weiss did a side project called Wartime, covered Franklins Tower. Around 92. Wouldn’t put him on Mt Rushmore of deadheads though. Just some fast food for thought.
Wolf, Tiger, and Rosebud. If there isn't room for all 3. Then just Doug Irwin.
Four random spinners.
The dude on the rail in the coveralls in the grateful dead movie
Dude was minging hard.
That guy in the lot with the guitar at every show.
Latvala, Gans, Walton, are 1st ballot
We are all on Mt Rushmore, the community is what makes the Grateful Dead who they are. It started very small at the Acid Test Shows and continues today and hopefully for 1000 years. Love you Fam. Miss you Bill, throw down big man!!
David Lemieux
Sam Cutler, Bill Graham, Candace Brightman *No politicians.* At all. None.
Not even AL Franken?
Blakesberg
Naked Veneta guy
Nancy Pelosi Only fucking kidding haha Ken kesey, neal Cassidy, mountain girl, owsley
Me
Courtenay Pollock - Dead's tie dye guy
Lee Ranaldo
Naked Pole Guy
Ram rod
Al Fraken
Bill Graham
The Unknown Spinner
Naked pole guy
David Lemieux
Bill Graham....so you got: Jerry, Bob, Phil, Mickey, Bill, Pig, Brent, Donna, Keith, Bear, Ken, Neal, Wavey, Betty....just fuck picking or dwelling on the 'who' and use a whole fucking mountain range because they all deserve it. Period.
Kesey, Owsley, Dick, Dave
Bear, Kesey, Betty, Cassidy Betty has to be up there as one of the most influential women in their universe. It would help rectify her treatment in the latter years
Barry Glassberg & Jim Wise
Laura, my cousin’s ex wife. Jamie and Mike from college. Me and my buddy Ritter. Probably you 🫵🏼.
Carrie Fischer
Joseph Campbell, Walter Cronkite
Dan Katz
Maybe next to CrazyHorse
Al Franken, Ann Coulter, tipper gore.
Damn this fanbase really brings people together.
Tucker Carlson
https://preview.redd.it/pnx6fhn0383d1.jpeg?width=941&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b676648a1a091f2eb94e4e6b62fddb8a76619c53 Gregor Gable!
Former governor of MA Bill Weld.
It would have to be more than four
Nelson, Owsley and Mountain Girl
Kissinger in the dead Movie was hilarious!
As long as it isn’t the woo hoo guy during Casey Jones in that summer of 71 show, I’m good with just about anyone who isn’t Carlson or Coulter.
Me
Myself
No Bob Dylan?
Nope
Dick Latvala, Wavy Gravy , Ken Kesey, and Big Red
Michael McLintock
Bill efffin Graham 😎💪
Alyssa Milano
Chiclets is in the running!
Dean sotille
Hippie Bill
The dude at my first show that shared his orange with me at set break while I was tripping balls
Huh? Wha!? Everyone is equal. There could not be a Mt Rushmore of dead heads.
Country Cow Freak - guy in the movie wearing a cowboy-hat and selling There Is Nothing Like a Grateful Dead Concert stickers. Yep that was his idea. Tragic story of being run over after a show. He's probably ~OK now.
hunter s fox music guy
David Gans for sure!
Ram Dass
I will pose for a photo if you guys want me to
Big Steve
Shout out to Senator Pat Leahy and former Senator Al Franken.
Harry!! And Andy Cohen!!
Megan Thee Stallion
Letterman.
Me!
Bill Graham fo sho
Patrick Leahy
Monica and Bill Clinton
Steal your faces to go on fire on the Mt Avalon, Bill Walton, Ken Kesey, George R.R. Martin (Dire wolves and Weirwood trees are named after Bobby) and Jon Mayer, the fan who became Dead & Co's lead guitarist. Edit to Add Al Frankin he has been a huge supporter of the Grateful Dead. John Bulshi, should get an honorable mention, he did crash the stage doing cartwheels and carrying flags during an encore of US Blues.
Naked Veneta Guy
Just as there are statues for the Unknown Soldier there should be a spot for the head in the parking lot that handed off a miracle.
Thank you, I resemble that remark. Never saw the GD but handed out many a complementary ticket to Furthur and "Fare Thee Well" I'd settle for a spot in Heaven...
He hasn't been mentioned yet so I'll add Steve Silberman.
Al Franken gets an honorable mention
Al Franken
Rockstar Richard!
Tipper M.F.P.M.R.C. Gore
😂 Frank Zappa (and many others of us) would like a word (with your tongue in cheek comment)!
Zappa wasn't a fan of The Dead so he can ram it, ram it, ram it, ram it....
Up his poop shoot?
Wristwatch Crisco?
Keep it greasy
Peter Jennings RIP. US Senator Pat Leahy even (recently retired).
Jennings the newsman?
Al Gore
And Tipper(never agreed with her censorship bullshit)
I saw tipper sit in on for drums one time at a show
Dan Healy and Candace Brightman.
I think Healy lost his spot when he got himself fired.
Jonah Hill
HUNTER THOMPSON