Fare Thee Well: The Final Chapter Of The Grateful Deads Long, Strange Trip

Description

A Tell-All Biography of the Epic In-fighting of the Grateful Dead in the Years Following Jerry Garcias Death

The Grateful Dead rose to greatness under the inspired leadership of guitarist Jerry Garcia, but the band very nearly died along with him. When Garcia passed away in August of 1995, remaining band members experienced full crises of confidence and identity. So long defined by Garcias vision for the group, the surviving Core Four, as they came to be called, were reduced to conflicting agendas, strained relationships, and catastrophic business decisions that would leave the iconic band in utter disarray. Wrestling with how best to define their living legacy, the band made many attempts at restructuring, but it would take 20 years before relationships were mended enough for the Grateful Dead as fans remembered them to once again take the stage.

Acclaimed music journalist and New York Times bestselling author Joel Selvin was there for much of the turmoil, and he offers a behind-the-scenes account of the ebbs and flows that occurred during the ensuing two decades. Plenty of books have been written about the rise of the Grateful Dead, but this final chapter of the bands history has never before been explored in detail. Culminating in the landmark tour bearing the same name, Fare Thee Well charts the arduous journey from Garcias passing all the way up to the uneasy agreement between the Core Four that led to the series of shows celebrating the bands 50th anniversary and finally allowing for a proper, and joyous, sendoff of the group revered by so many.