Jerry Garcia : The Very Best Of Jerry Garcia

 Jerome John Garcia

 (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) 

was an American 

musician who 

was the

 lead guitarist 

and a vocalist 

with the rock band 

The Grateful Dead, 

which he co-founded

 and which came to 

prominence during

 the counterculture 

of the 1960s. 

Although he disavowed

 the role,

 Garcia was viewed

 by many as the leader 

of the band.

 He was inducted into

 the Rock and Roll

 Hall of Fame

 in 1994 

as a member of

 the Grateful Dead.

As one of its founders, 

Garcia performed with 

the Grateful Dead 

for the band's entire 

30-year career

 (1965–1995). 

Garcia also founded 

and participated in

 a variety of side projects,

 including

 the Saunders–Garcia Band 

with longtime 

friend 

Merl Saunders

 the Jerry Garcia Band, 

Old & In the Way,

 the Garcia/Grisman 

and

 Garcia/Kahn

 acoustic duos, 

Legion of Mary, 

and

 New Riders of the Purple Sage 

which he co-founded 

with

 John Dawson

 and

 David Nelson 

He also released 

several solo albums, 

and contributed to a 

number of albums 

by other artists

 over the years

 as a session musician.

 He was well known

 for his distinctive

 guitar playing,

 and was ranked 

13th in 

Rolling Stone's

 "100 Greatest Guitarists 

of All Time" 

cover story in 2003. 

In the 

2015 version of

 the list he was 

ranked at #46.

 In 2023, 

Garcia was ranked 34th 

by Rolling Stone.

Garcia was renowned

 for his musical

 and technical ability, 

particularly his ability

 to play a variety of 

instruments

 and sustain 

long improvisations. 

Garcia believed that

 improvisation took 

stress away

 from his playing 

and allowed him

 to make spur 

of the moment decisions 

that he would not 

have made intentionally. 

In a 1993 interview

 with Rolling Stone, 

Garcia noted that 

"my own preferences are

 for improvisation, 

for making it up

 as I go along. 

The idea of picking, 

of eliminating possibilities

 by deciding, 

that's difficult for me". 

Originating from

 the days of the 

"Acid Tests", 

these improvisations were

 a form of exploration

 rather than playing

 a song already written.

Later in life, 

Garcia struggled with diabetes

. On July 10, 1986, 

he went into a 

diabetic coma

 and nearly died. 

Although his overall

 health improved somewhat 

after the incident, 

he continued to struggle 

with obesity,

 smoking, 

and long-standing

 heroin and cocaine

 addictions. 

He was staying in a 

California drug 

rehabilitation facility 

when he died 

of a heart attack

 in August 1995,

just eight days

 after his

 53rd birthday.

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