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30 Years After His Death, A Reflection On Grateful Dead Jerry Garcia’s Political Legacy

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BERKELEY, UNITED STATES - MAY 22: Jerry Garcia performing with the Grateful Dead at the Greek Theater in Berkeley on May 22, 1982. (Photo by Clayton Call/Redferns)

This week marks 30 years since the death of Grateful Dead frontman and San Francisco native Jerry Garcia. Despite Garcia’s disdain for government and politics, he navigated his band through the counterculture revolution of the 1960s and had a remarkable influence on American culture. 

In a new biography of Garcia, writer and former Los Angeles Times journalist Jim Newton describes how Garcia did his best to shun politics even as the band performed in support of political causes. Scott talks with Newton about his book, “Here Beside the Rising Tide: Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead and an American Awakening.” 

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