Fare Thee Well: The Final Chapter of the Grateful Dead’s Long, Strange Trip - Joel Selvin

Written by Joel Selvin
Read by John Glouchevitch
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

A tell-all biography of the epic in-fighting of the Grateful Dead in the years following band leader Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995.

The Grateful Dead rose to greatness under the inspired leadership of guitarist Jerry Garcia, but the band very nearly died along with him. When Garcia passed away suddenly in August of 1995, the remaining band members experienced full crises of confidence and identity. So long defined by Garcia’s vision for the group, the surviving “Core Four,” as they came to be called, were reduced to conflicting agendas, strained relationships, and catastrophic business decisions that would leave the iconic band in utter disarray. Wrestling with how best to define their living legacy, the band made many attempts at restructuring, but it would take 20 years before relationships were mended enough for the Grateful Dead as fans remembered them to once again take the stage.

Acclaimed music journalist and New York Times best-selling author Joel Selvin was there for much of the turmoil following Garcia’s death, and he offers a behind-the-scenes account of the ebbs and flows that occurred during the ensuing two decades. Plenty of books have been written about the rise of the Grateful Dead, but this final chapter of the band’s history has never before been explored in detail. Culminating in the landmark tour bearing the same name, Fare Thee Well charts the arduous journey from Garcia’s passing all the way up to the uneasy agreement between the Core Four that led to the series of shows celebrating the band’s 50th anniversary and finally allowing for a proper, and joyous, sendoff of the group revered by so many.

Co-authored with Pamela Turley.

Note: PDF file containing supplemental text and photos is included with download.

Date of release: 2018
Length: 10 hours 13 minutes