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Jerry Garcia Books

This page is split into two section. The first section lists books solely by or about Jerry Garcia . The second section lists collections that include a section about Jerry Garcia.

The books are organized by publication date within each section. Further information about most of the books is available via the 'see more information' link.

Books about the Grateful Dead are not included on this page but are listed on the Grateful Dead books page.

Jerry Garcia songs are included in all Grateful Dead songbooks. These are not included on this page but are listed on a separate Grateful Dead songbooks page.

Additions and corrections are welcome



Related pages:
Jerry Garcia discography
Jerry Garcia compositions
Covers of Jerry Garcia compositions
Songs recorded or performed by Garcia

Grateful Dead discography
Grateful Dead songbooks

Grateful Dead bookshelf
San Francisco sixties music books



Jerry Garcia books

A Signpost To New Space

Author: Charles Reich, Jann Wenner and Jerry Garcia

1972

Straight Arrow Books

This book is primarily a reprint of a major Rolling Stone interview with Jerry Garcia by Jann Wenner and Charles Reich. It also includes a 'Stoned Sunday Rap' with Jerry, Charles, and Mountain Girl.

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J. Garcia : Paintings, Drawings and Sketches

Jerry Garcia

Editor: David Hinds

1992

Celestial Arts

Reproductions of 93 paintings, drawings and sketches produced by Garcia between 1985 and 1991.

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Captain Trips : A Biography of Jerry Garcia

Sandy Troy

1994

Thunder's Mouth Press

A biography of Jerry Garcia.

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Not Fade Away: The Online World Remembers Jerry Garcia

Compiled and with an introduction by David Gans

1994

Thunder's Mouth Press

Tributes to and recollections about Garcia collected from the on-line Deadhead community.

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The Wisdom of Jerry Garcia: As Collected from Interviews

1995

Talman Co

A brief book of one line quotes by Jerry Garcia which have been taken from the interviews.

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Dark Star: An Oral Biography of Jerry Garcia

Robert Greenfield

1996

Morrow

Extracts from interviews, arranged chronologically, to give a portrait of the life of Jerry Garcia through the recollections of his family and friends.

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Garcia

The Editors of Rolling Stone

1996

Little Brown & Company

A collection of the major interviews and articles about Jerry Garcia published in the Rolling Stone magazine between 1967 and 1995. Also includes some shorter articles written specifically for the book.

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Harrington Street

Jerry Garcia

1996

Delacorte Press

"An Anecdotal Personal History" in words and pictures.

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The Teddy Bears' Picnic

Jerry Garcia / David Grisman / Bruce Whatley

1996

HarperCollins Children's Books

A children's book with illustrations by Bruce Whatley and an accompanying audio cassette of the title song by Garcia and Grisman.

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Garcia: An American Life

Blair Jackson

1999

Viking

The first full length, in-depth biography of Garcia.

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In the Spirit: Conversations with the Spirit of Jerry Garcia

Wendy Weir

1999

Harmony Books

"In the Spirit captures not only the wisdom of Jerry Garcia, but also the playful, irreverent, conversational tone that his fans will immediately recognize, whether in his personal message to the band or in his communications to those who read his words and listened to his music. In the Spirit sustains the bond between Jerry and those he loved and those who loved him."

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Jerry Garcia

?

1999

Andrews McMeel Publishing

A brief biography of Jerry Garcia.

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There Ain't No Bugs on Me

Jerry Garcia / David Grisman / Bruce Whatley

1999

HarperCollins Children's Books

A children's book with illustrations by Bruce Whatley and an accompanying audio cassette of the title song by Garcia and Grisman.

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What Will You Wear, Jenny Jenkins

Jerry Garcia / David Grisman / Bruce Whatley

2000

HarperCollins Children's Books

A children's book with illustrations by Bruce Whatley and an accompanying audio cassette of the title song by Garcia and Grisman.

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Jerry Garcia's Amazing Grace

John Newton, Jerry Garcia

2002

Harper Entertainment

A 32 page illustrated book, with an accompanying CD, comprising the lyrics of Amazing Grace, art work by Jerry Garcia and a recording of Amazing Grace by Jerry Garcia, David Grisman and Tony Rice.

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Lessons Taken to Heart: Private Banjo & Guitar Studies with Jerry Garcia

Mary E. Gibbons

2004

Blue Mountain Music Processing

This book is based around the banjo and guitar lessons given to the author by Jerry Garcia at Dana Morgan's Music Store in Palo Alto in 1964 and 1965. Includes facsimiles of 22 tablature arrangements of folk songs handwritten by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead which were written as practice charts and eleven essays reflecting on the impact of those lessons.

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Jerry Garcia: The Collected Artwork

Editor: April Higashi

Foreword: Bob Weir

2005

Thunder's Mouth Press

Over a hundred full color reproductions of paintings, drawings and prints by Jerry Garcia. The work is arranged in chapters which present that work in the context of Garcia's life and times.

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Jerry Garcia: The Collected Artwork: Collector's Edition

Editor: April Higashi

2007

Insight Editions

This special edition of the book is enclosed in a clamshell box. It is a 200 page hardcover book with 8 six-page gatefolds and 3 facsimile reproductions of early Garcia sketchbooks. The package also includes 3 limited edition prints, a photograph of Garcia signed by photographer Baron Wolman and a companion double CD featuring music covering Jerry's entire career.

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Jerry Garcia: A Biography

Jacqueline Edmondson

2009

Insight Editions

"This biography offers students and general readers an insightful look into Garcia's creative genius and the various influences on his work as he contributed to the counter-cultural movement in the United States."

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Positively Garcia: Reflections of the JGB, Volume 1: 1972-1984

Howard F. Weiner

2014

CreateSpace

Positively Garcia is the story of the rise of the Jerry Garcia Band from their early California club gigs through the band's glory days in the early ‘80s. Author and Garcia aficionado Howard Weiner ranks JGB's greatest shows, and explores the sublime solos and transcendent moments from those performances in essays that are accompanied by rare concert photos.

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Tribute: Jerry Garcia

Bluewater Comics

2015

A 24 page biographical comic.

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Jerry on Jerry: The Unpublished Jerry Garcia Interviews

Editor: Dennis McNally

2015

Black Dog & Leventhal

These never-before-published interviews with Jerry Garcia reveal his thoughts on religion, politics, his personal life, and his creative process.

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Jerry Garcia: Secret Space Of Dreams

Photographs: Jay Blakesberg

2019

Rock Out Books

"A coffee table book featuring Jay Blakesberg's photographs of Jerry Garcia on and offstage with members of the Grateful Dead, guest musicians, friends, and other musical partners. This book features 145 color and B&W photographs spanning 1978-1995."

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Books that include a section by or about Jerry Garcia

The Hippies

Burton H. Wolfe

1968

Signet Books

A study of hippies in the Haight-Ashbury and elsewhere in the USA. Includes a section that discusses the Acid Tests and includes an interview with Jerry Garcia.

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The Age Of Rock

Editor: Jonathan Eisen

1969

Random House

A collection of articles and essays that includes an essay by Burton H. Wolfe The New Music And The New Scene which discusses the music of the Acid Tests and Haight Ashbury and includes an interview with Jerry Garcia. The essay is taken from Wolfe's book Hippies.

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The Jefferson Airplane and the San Francisco Sound

Ralph J. Gleason

1969

Ballantine Books

A history of the San Francisco rock scene of the mid to late 1960's. Includes a chapter called Jerry Garcia - The Guru which is based on an interview with Garcia.

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Improvising Blues Guitar: A Programmed Manual of Instruction

1973

Green Note Music Publications

An instructional manual that is based on recorded blues solos includes a section based on a Jerry Garcia solo.

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The Hashish Club: An Anthology Of Drug Literature, Vol. 2: The Psychedelic Era from Huxley To Lennon

Editor: Peter Haining

1975

Peter Owen

A collection of essays and fiction excerpts based around the subject of psychedelics. Includes one chapter that is part of the lengthy Rolling Stone interview that Jerry Garcia gave to Charles Reich and Jann Wenner in 1972. That interview was originally published in book form as A Signpost To New Space in 1972.

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Rock N'Roll Guitar

David Bennett Cohen

1977

Kicking Mule

An instructional book, with accompanying LP, on how to play guitar in the style of a number of rock guitarists. Includes a section on how to play like Jerry Garcia.

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Spit in the Ocean #6: The Cassady Issue

Editor: Ken Babbs

1980

Pleasant Hill

The sixth in a series of the literary journal founded by Ken Kesey. This volume was a special Neal Cassady issue and included previously unpublished autobiographical material by Cassady and contributions from many others. Includes a short piece by Garcia Behind The Wheel With Neal which is a reminiscence of a drive home with Cassady after an Acid Test.

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The Rolling Stone Interviews: Talking With The Legends Of Rock And Roll, 1960-1980

The Editors Of Rolling Stone

1981

St Martin's Press

A collection of interviews from the pages of Rolling Stone. Includes an interview with Jerry Garcia, by Jann Wenner, Charles Reich and Ben Fong-Torres, which originally appeared in editions 100 and 101 of the magazine.

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Grateful Dead: The Official Book of the Deadheads

Paul Bassett, Cynthia Bassett, Jonas Grushkin

1983

William Morrow

A portrait of the Dead through the eyes of deadheads. Includes a preface by Jerry Garcia.

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Commies From Mars, The Red Planet : The Collected Works

Editor: Tim Boxell

1986

Last Gap

This collection of underground comics has an introduction written by Jerry Garcia accompanied by a drawing of Garcia by Tim Boxell.

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Ask: The Chatter of Pop

Paul Morley

1986

Faber & Faber

A collection of interviews, with primarily rock and pop musicians, that were originally published between 1978 and 1985 in the UK music paper, the New Musical Express. Includes an interview with Jerry Garcia.

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My Life As A Gal

Alice Kahn

1987

Delacorte

A collection of essays that includes the article Jerry Garcia and the Call of the Weird which is based on an interview with Garcia and focuses on his early years in Palo Alto.

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Off The Record: An Oral History of Popular Music

Joe Smith

Editor: Mitchell Fink

1988

Warner

This collection of 'oral contributions' from over 200 people in rock includes sections taken from interviews with Jerry Garcia and Mickey Hart.

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On the Bus : The Complete Guide to the Legendary Trip of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters and the Birth of the Counterculture

Paul Perry and Ken Babbs

1990

Thunder's Mouth Press

A celebration of the 'fabled' cross-country bus trip made by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters in 1964 and of the Acid Tests. Includes lots of photos and 'commentary' by many of the principle characters including Jerry Garcia. Garcia also provides a foreword.

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Secrets From The Masters : Conversations With Forty Great Guitar Players

Editor: Don Menn

1992

Backbeat Books / Guitar Player International

This collection of interviews taken from Guitar Player magazine includes one with Jerry Garcia.

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Singer-Songwriters: Pop Music's Performer-Composers, from A to Zevon

Dave DiMartino

1994

Billboard Books

A collection of short entries on more than 200 singer-songwriters. Includes entries on Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Bruce Hornsby. Each entry is about a page and half long.

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Woodstock 1969, The First Festival

Editor: Elliott Landy

1994

Squarebooks

A collection of photographs, by many of the leading photographers of the 1960s, accompanied by a lengthy text by Landy. Jerry Garcia provides the foreword.

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Voices from the Edge

Conversations With Jerry Garcia, Ram Dass, Annie Sprinkle, Matthew Fox, Jaron Lanier, & Others

Interviewers: David Jay Brown, Rebecca McClen Novick

1995

Crossing Press

A collection of wide ranging interviews with 'mind pioneers' including one with Jerry Garcia.

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Hispanic American Biography

Editor: Sharon Rose, Ross Nagel

1995

International Thomason Publications

A two volume reference work that provides biographical information about 'important or influencial' Hispanic-Americans. Includes an entry for Jerry Garcia.

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45 Profiles in Modern Music

Linda R. Churchill and E. Richard Churchill

1996

J Weston Walch Publishing

This book of brief profiles includes a section called “Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead.

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Dead Before Their Time

Diana Karanikas and Jackson Harvey

1996

Metro Books

Profiles of famous people from the movies, sport and, music who died "before their time." Includes a section about Jerry Garcia who is also pictured on the front cover.

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Travelers' Tales San Francisco: True Stories

Editors: James O'Reilly, Larry Habegger, Sean O'Reilly

1996

Travelers' Tales

A collection of true tales with a San Francisco connection. Includes a tale called Jammin' With Garcia by Darby Slick.

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Rock 'N' Roll Heaven

Nikki Corvette

1997

Berkley Publishing Group

A book about famous, dead, rock stars. Subjects include Jerry Garcia, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, Janis Joplin and John Lennon.

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Bad Subjects: Political Education for Everyday Life

Editors: Bad Subjects Production Team, Michael Berube, Janet Lyon

1997

NYU Press

This collection includes an article called On Consideration of the End of the World: Life Without Jerry Garcia by Cynthia Hoffman.

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The Walls of Illusion: A Psychedelic Retro

Editor, introduction: Peter Haining

1998

Souvenir Press Ltd

This collection of essays and fiction excerpts based around the subject of psychedelics includes one chapter that is part of the lengthy Rolling Stone interview that Jerry Garcia gave to Charles Reich and Jann Wenner in 1972.

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Guitar World Presents Classic Rock

Editor: Jeff Kitts, Brad Tolinski, Harold Steinblatt

1999

Hal Leonard

A collection of articles from Guitar World magazine. Includes the chapter American Beauty: A tribute To Jerry Garcia One Of the Most Influential Musicians Of Our Era which was originally published in the November 1995 issue.

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Touched by the Hand of Bob: Epiphanal Bob Dylan Experience from a Buick Six

Dave Henderson

1999

Black Book Company

The unknown and the famous recount how they have been touched by the hand of Bob (Dylan). Includes comments by Jerry Garcia.

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Remembrances and Celebrations: A Book of Eulogies, Elegies, Letters, and Epitaphs

Editor: Jill Werman Harris

1999

Pantheon / Vintage

This anthology includes Robert Hunter's eulogy for Jerry Garcia.

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Rock Troubadours: Conversations on the Art and Craft of Songwriting

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

2000

String Letter Publishing

Songwriters and musicians talking about songwriting. Includes a conversation with Jerry Garcia and David Grisman.

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Paul Krassner's Psychedelic Trips for the Soul

Paul Krassner

2001

High Times Press

A collection of 'psychedelic trip' related tales. Jerry Garcia is one of the subjects of theses tales.

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Leaving the Twentieth Century : The Last Rites of Rock 'N Roll

Dave Henderson, Howard Johnson

2001

Black Book Company

A collection of obituaries of musicians who played in important part in creating popular music in the second half of the twentieth century but didn't live to see the twenty first century. Includes a section on Jerry Garcia.

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Roy Buchanan: American Axe

Phil Carson

2001

Backbeat Books

A biography of guitarist Roy Buchanan. Includes sections about his guitars and technique plus a discography. Includes reminiscences by Jerry Garcia.

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Dead Letters, Vol. 1 Inaugural Issue

Editor: Nicholas Meriwether

2001

A Collection of articles discussiing the art and phenomenon of the Grateful Dead and related issues. Includes the article The Resacralization of American Culture: Lord Buckley, Jerry Garcia, 'the Naz,' and 'Ripple' by Dale Osofsky.

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Working Musicians: Defining Moments From the Road, the Studio, and the Stage

Bruce Pollock

2002

Perennial Currents

A book that explores the life of the working musician using interviews with around 100 musicians. Jerry Garcia is one of the interviewees.

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Acoustic Stories: Playing Bass with Peter, Paul & Mary, Jerry Garcia, and Bill Monroe, and Eighteen Other Unamplified Tales

Bill Amatneek

2003

Vineyards Press

A collection of musicians stories by the folk and bluegrass bassist Bill Amatneek.

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Great Americans

KK Ottesen

2003

Bloomsbury

A collection of photographs and interviews with Americans who share a famous name. Includes a Jerry Garcia.

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When They Were 22: 100 Famous People at the Turning Point in Their Lives

Brad Dunn

2006

Andrews McMeel Publishing

Jerry Garcia is one of the 100 people discussed in this book.

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Cumberland Blues

Michael Norman Mann

Songs by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter

Additional material by Greg Anton, Mickey Hart and Phil Lesh

2006

CreateSpace

The script of the musicial play Cumberland Blues. The score of the play comprised songs by Garcia and Hunter. Also includes a Hunter / Greg Anton song, I Will Love You, and a new Robert Hunter song, Immigrant.

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Relix: The Book: The Grateful Dead Experience

Editor: Toni Brown with Lee Abraham and Ed Munson

2009

Backbeat

A compilation of articles from Relix magazine plus photographs, cover images and new material by Toni Brown. Includes at least one interview with Jerry Garcia.

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Guitar Gods: The 25 Players Who Made Rock History

Bob Gulla

2008

Greenwood Press

This book includes a chapter about Jerry Garcia.

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The Rock And Roll Book Of The Dead

David Comfort

2009

Citadel

This book includes a chapter about Jerry Garcia.

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The '90s: The Inside Stories from the Decade That Rocked

Editors of Rolling Stone

2010

Citadel

This book includes a chapter about Jerry Garcia.

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The Routledge History of Social Protest in Popular Music

Editor: Jonathan C. Friedman

2013

Routledge

A collection of 28 essays that provide an introduction to the history of social protest music. Includes one essay that discusses Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead.

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High Notes: A Rock Memoir

Richard Loren with Stephen Abney

Foreword: David Grisman

2014

East Pond Publishing

A memoir by former Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead manager.

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The Smith Tapes: Lost Interviews with Rock Stars & Icons 1969-1972

Editor: Ezra Bookstein

2015

Princeton Architectural Press

This collection of Howard Smith interviews includes a 1970 interview with Jerry Garcia.

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If I Knew the Way, I Would Take You Home

Dave Housley

2015

Dzanc Books

A short story collection that includes the story The Jerry Garcia Finger.

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Talking Guitar: Conversations with Musicians Who Shaped Twentieth-Century American Music

Jas Obrecht

2017

University of North Carolina Press

This collection of interviews includes an interview with Jerry Garcia from January 1985.

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Last updated June 2019