Jerry Garcia

What a Long Strange trip it was.

Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995), spreading peace, love and happiness.

"Well, I ain't always right but I've never been wrong. Seldom turns out the way it does in a song. Once in a while you get shown the light In the strangest of places if you look at it right."

1942 - 1995

• 1942 - He was born as Jerome John Garcia on August 1, 1942, to Jose Ramon "Joe" Garcia and Ruth Marie "Bobbie" in San Francisco, California. His parents were big fans of music and they named him after the composer Jerome Kern. He had one elder brother.
• 1947 - Tragedy struck the Garcia household in 1947 when his father drowned while on a fishing trip. His mother started working to support the family and Jerry and his brother were sent to live with their grandparents. His mother eventually remarried.
• 1957 - Began smoking cigarettes and was introduced to marijuana.
• 1959 - Joined first band.
• 1960 - Joins the Army
• 1960 - Gets general discharge from the Army.
• 1961 - In 1961, he was involved in a serious car accident in which one of his friends died. This was a wakeup call for young Jerry and he vowed to rebuild his life. Read more at
• 1963 - Jerry Garcia married Sara Ruppenthal Garcia in 1963 and had one daughter. He became involved with another woman, Carolyn Adams, while still married to Sara leading to their divorce in 1967.
• 1965 - Along with Bob Weir, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Phil Lesh, and Bill Kreutzmann, he founded the rock band, The Grateful Dead, in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band had many musical influences and made extensive use of improvisation, and is considered one of the originators of jam band music.
• 1967 - Releases first alblum "The Grateful dead".
• 1968 - Releases second alblum "Anthem of the Sun"
• 1969 - Releases third alblum "Aoxomoxoa"
• 1970's - Carolyn gave birth to two daughters in the 1970s. Garcia married Carolyn in 1981. He started a relationship with Deborah Koons while he was still involved with Carolyn.
• 1994 - Garcia and Carolyn Adams officially divorced in 1994 and he married Deborah Koons.
• 1994 - Jerry Garcia was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead.
• 1995 - Jerry Garcia struggled with drug addiction and heavy smoking. He was also a diabetic, and his addictions aggravated his health problems. He died of a heart attack on August 9, 1995, at the age of just 53.