When their lead guitarist and singer, Jerry Garcia, passed back in 1995, The Grateful Dead were officially no more, while the remaining members continued to make music in some shape or form.
Yet, almost thirty years after the band was over, The Grateful Dead kept making history - twice in one year (2024). First, back in February, the Grateful Dead broke the record for the most Top 40 albums to chart on the Billboard 200.
Before them, the record holders were Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra held the record with 58 albums each, only for The Dead to pass them with 59 when their album “Dave’s Picks, Volume 49: Frost Amphitheatre, Stanford U., Palo Alto, CA (4/27/85 & 4/28/85)” entered the Billboard charts at number 25. A shockingly high number for an older live album.
The Grateful Dead are still finding a way to make history
It also turned out that 41 of the band’s 59 entries in the Top 40 have happened since 2012, thanks to the popularity of the series of archival albums compiled by David Lemieux. Quite possibly, that run is set to continue as Dave’s Picks series continues, as do releases of other (mainly live) albums by the band.
By the end of 2024, The Grateful Dead made music history - again. This time, the band was included in The Kennedy Center’s 47th annual honors list as the winners of the 2024 Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievements, along with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, blues singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Raitt; jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer Arturo Sandoval, and the Apollo Theater.
Commenting on the award, guitarist Bob Weir, one of the three surviving members of the band said, "Not so long ago, we were sort of outsiders. Now all of that's kind of changed. We've been more or less accepted into the American musical tradition, which is where we've always been."