When thinking of influential music artists, there are a few household names sure to come up first. Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson are known as the Kings of Rock and Pop because of what they did for their respective genres, and The Beatles were a global sensation often credited with changing music forever. However, there is one name that is often glossed over. Whether it’s because they are marginalized as a hippie fad or just that the average person doesn’t stop to consider their impact, the Grateful Dead are rarely brought up when discussing influential music artists. It may not be widely known, but the Grateful Dead were the founding fathers of a whole genre of music, and also had a major role in changing the business practices of music.
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Perhaps one of the band’s greatest endeavors was their “Wall of Sound” P.A. system. This system consisted of six hundred and four speakers, which transmitted twenty-six thousand watts of power, and has been referred to as “the greatest vessel for the amplification of sound in history.” Thirty-two or more of those speakers were allotted for Phil Lesh alone. Every modern P.A. system can be traced back to the Wall of Sound, as it set the standards for the line array loudspeaker format (Paumgarten). Although the Grateful Dead ended up creating a sound system that became vital to the music industry for generations to come, that wasn’t what they set out to do with the Wall of Sound. The band was just looking to provide the clearest, purest way to amplify their music. The Grateful Dead always held the music at high priority, which is what allowed them to do so much with it. This dedication to the music was what many other artists found respectable about the Dead, and assuredly contributed to their becoming an idol in the music …show more content…
Their characteristic improvisation during concerts made them stand out in their time and is what set the foundation for the jam band genre. Many groups were born from this and followed in the Dead’s footsteps, but the jam band that arguably came the closest in popularity to the Dead is Phish. A common misconception is that Phish is a carbon copy of the Grateful Dead; this is not true. While Phish does draw a lot of influence from the improvisational part of the Dead’s style, they do so with their own sound and playing style. Phish is not copying the Dead, but rather taking what the Grateful Dead started and evolving it further. This is how they were able, and are still continuing to, drum up a hefty fanbase. Phish consistently draws large numbers to their concerts even though they tour so frequently. These loyal fans are what allowed Phish to accomplish something most bands would never be able to: host a two-day music festival where they are the only act. This festival was known as the Clifford Ball, and took place in 1996 at a former air force base in Plattsburgh, New York. The festival was a success, drawing approximately 50,000 fans both days, and the band ended up holding eight more of these festivals throughout their career, with more possibly to come (Evans). These festivals directly influenced the Bonnaroo music festival, which in turn inspired more of the well known American music festivals, such as Coachella and
Perhaps one of the band’s greatest endeavors was their “Wall of Sound” P.A. system. This system consisted of six hundred and four speakers, which transmitted twenty-six thousand watts of power, and has been referred to as “the greatest vessel for the amplification of sound in history.” Thirty-two or more of those speakers were allotted for Phil Lesh alone. Every modern P.A. system can be traced back to the Wall of Sound, as it set the standards for the line array loudspeaker format (Paumgarten). Although the Grateful Dead ended up creating a sound system that became vital to the music industry for generations to come, that wasn’t what they set out to do with the Wall of Sound. The band was just looking to provide the clearest, purest way to amplify their music. The Grateful Dead always held the music at high priority, which is what allowed them to do so much with it. This dedication to the music was what many other artists found respectable about the Dead, and assuredly contributed to their becoming an idol in the music …show more content…
Their characteristic improvisation during concerts made them stand out in their time and is what set the foundation for the jam band genre. Many groups were born from this and followed in the Dead’s footsteps, but the jam band that arguably came the closest in popularity to the Dead is Phish. A common misconception is that Phish is a carbon copy of the Grateful Dead; this is not true. While Phish does draw a lot of influence from the improvisational part of the Dead’s style, they do so with their own sound and playing style. Phish is not copying the Dead, but rather taking what the Grateful Dead started and evolving it further. This is how they were able, and are still continuing to, drum up a hefty fanbase. Phish consistently draws large numbers to their concerts even though they tour so frequently. These loyal fans are what allowed Phish to accomplish something most bands would never be able to: host a two-day music festival where they are the only act. This festival was known as the Clifford Ball, and took place in 1996 at a former air force base in Plattsburgh, New York. The festival was a success, drawing approximately 50,000 fans both days, and the band ended up holding eight more of these festivals throughout their career, with more possibly to come (Evans). These festivals directly influenced the Bonnaroo music festival, which in turn inspired more of the well known American music festivals, such as Coachella and