The history of the Grateful Dead dates back to 1965. Jerry Garcia was one of the original members and was known for playing Gibson guitars as well as the banjo. When the band first started, they went by the name of The Warlocks and played in clubs around Menlo Park, close to San Francisco, California. They were particularly known for the shows they played at a club by the name of Kepler's Books. The band was forced to change its name because another band by the same name was already touring. The Grateful Dead Biography at All Music and The Rise and Fall of the Haight-Ashbury give more information on these early years.
The band owed much of its early success to Rock Scully, a manager that moved them into San Francisco and began booking them at larger clubs. Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Ron McKernan, Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann formed the basis of this original band. According to a former band member, Jerry Garcia actually came up with the name of the Grateful Dead, after paging through a dictionary. They originally served as a jug band, but later changed its focus due to other successful bands at the time. Encyclopedia Britannica gives more details on these years for the band.
In the early years the Grateful Dead had a psychedelic sound, which was the basis for their first album released in 1967. They moved into the Haight-Ashbury district, which allowed the band to embrace the psychedelic feel of the area. They played in street festivals, at fairs and at other independent gatherings, far removed from the typical rock and roll tours at the time. They focused on creating rock and roll music that combined elements of other genres such as blues and country. The band also believed in creating shows that people would remember, by changing the set list each time and playing songs they thought fit the mood of the audience. Rolling Stone and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame provide more information on the band.
The Grateful Dead continued to record and play until the late 1990s. in 1995 founding member Jerry Garcia died and the band slowly dissolved as members left for solo careers. Two members of the band formed The Other Ones, a band that changed members frequently. Those two members left and came back several times and it wasn't until 2002 that they established a regular roster of members. Marin Icons the Dead tells more about the band following Garcia's death.
The impact of the band lives on even today. Fans with their Fender acoustic guitars still pretend they're playing just like the Grateful Dead and they're remembered for the legacy they left behind. They were one of the first bands to endorse the idea of fans recording their concerts, which resulted in thousands of shows saved. Many of these live shows appear on Welcome to the Grateful Dead. They were also one of the first bands to use a symbol and millions of people now know the little dancing teddy bear image. Dance of the Dead and Slate offer more on the idea of the band and their fans.
The greatest legacy of the Grateful Dead are the fans known as the Dead Heads. These individuals toured with the band, going from show to show every day and traveling with them. They even setup shops and sold products in parking lots, simply to make ends meet. The band may be long gone now, but those fans still help keep their legacy alive.