The Grateful Dead's Effect on Counter Culture 
Jacqueline Smudzinski
Thinking and Writing 1302-60
Bouchard
September 29, 2013
The Grateful Dead “You’ve got to listen to the heavens, you got to try to understand. The greatness of their movement is just as small as it is grand.” Most young adults of my generation do not know who The Grateful Dead are, but they unknowingly dawn the apparels and slang created in the counterculture of the bands following the Deadheads. The band, The Grateful Dead, became popular in the 60s and carried out wide spread recognition and fame into the 80s. Their calming, peace-promoting music became popular because it ‘transported’ people, it took them away from whatever they were going through in their life and set them on a new path. Fans of the band described the feeling of being at a Grateful Dead concert as being high even without drugs. This is what sparked many fans to follow the band around on tour, stopping at every venue to enjoy the experience of a Grateful Dead show. However, the influence of the dead spread way beyond the walls of the concert. The music of the Grateful Dead inspired a completely new counterculture, which stretched beyond the concerts and the albums, and affected people outside of the band’s fan base. The Deadheads was the name given to fans of The Grateful Dead whom traveled with the band to attend as many of the concerts and festivals as they could. However on a more large-scale level, they were the fans that created the widespread 70s counterculture that began at the Grateful Dead concerts. The counterculture began as a part of life outside of the concerts. Because these fans would travel with the band, they would camp outside the venue in small tight knit communities. Living and traveling together for months and months became an almost spiritual experience that bonded the fans in an indescribable manner. They participated in group use of drugs, such as marijuana and LSD, which shaped the way they viewed the world and in turn sparked a relaxed, free
Thinking and Writing 1302-60
Bouchard
September 29, 2013
The Grateful Dead “You’ve got to listen to the heavens, you got to try to understand. The greatness of their movement is just as small as it is grand.” Most young adults of my generation do not know who The Grateful Dead are, but they unknowingly dawn the apparels and slang created in the counterculture of the bands following the Deadheads. The band, The Grateful Dead, became popular in the 60s and carried out wide spread recognition and fame into the 80s. Their calming, peace-promoting music became popular because it ‘transported’ people, it took them away from whatever they were going through in their life and set them on a new path. Fans of the band described the feeling of being at a Grateful Dead concert as being high even without drugs. This is what sparked many fans to follow the band around on tour, stopping at every venue to enjoy the experience of a Grateful Dead show. However, the influence of the dead spread way beyond the walls of the concert. The music of the Grateful Dead inspired a completely new counterculture, which stretched beyond the concerts and the albums, and affected people outside of the band’s fan base. The Deadheads was the name given to fans of The Grateful Dead whom traveled with the band to attend as many of the concerts and festivals as they could. However on a more large-scale level, they were the fans that created the widespread 70s counterculture that began at the Grateful Dead concerts. The counterculture began as a part of life outside of the concerts. Because these fans would travel with the band, they would camp outside the venue in small tight knit communities. Living and traveling together for months and months became an almost spiritual experience that bonded the fans in an indescribable manner. They participated in group use of drugs, such as marijuana and LSD, which shaped the way they viewed the world and in turn sparked a relaxed, free