1961
  • x +

    May 1961 - June 1961

    Bob and Jerry

    A folk duo formed by Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia shortly after meeting in the spring of 1961. They performed only a handful of times using this name.
  • x +

    June 1961 - November 1962

    Jerry Garcia and David Nelson

    Jerry and David performed together informally throughout the early part of the 1960s.
  • x +

    Summer 1961

    Jerry Garcia, Marshall Leicester,
    and Robert Hunter

    During the summer of 1961 Garcia performed in a number of informal situations with Leicester, Hunter, and others.
  • x +

    Spring 1962

    Thunder Mountain Tub Thumpers

    This group formed from Bob and Jerry with additional members David Nelson, Joe Edminston, and Jim Edminston.
  • x +

    May 1962 – September 1962

    Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers

    A trio formed by Jerry Garcia, Marshall Leicester, and Dick Arnold in May 1962.
  • x +

    Fall 1962

    Wildwood Boys

    This group existed with a variety of members, on and off for over six months, and provided a setting for Garcia to hone his banjo playing.
  • x +

    November 1962

    Hart Valley Drifters

    Jerry Garcia, Norman Van Maastricht, Robert Hunter, and David Nelson formed this band. At other times Ken Frankel and Worth Handley were members.
  • x +

    Winter 1962

    Badwater Valley Boys

    This group’s members are listed as Jerry Garcia, Ken Frankel, Marshall Leicester, and Robert Hunter.
  • x +

    Spring 1963 – Spring 1964

    Jerry & Sara

    Garcia and future wife, Sara Ruppenthal, met and performed as a duo on a number of occasions during the year.
  • x +

    Summer 1963

    Godawful Palo Alto Bluegrass Ensemble

    Garcia played mandolin in this trio because Peter Wernick could only play banjo. They played gigs until Wernick headed back to college.
  • x +

    Winter 1963 – Spring 1964

    Black Mountain Boys

    Group members included Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, Eric Thompson, Sandy Rothman, and David Nelson. A number of recordings exist such as recordings from the Top of the Tangent, Palo Alto.
  • x +

    Spring 1964 - Fall 1964

    Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions

    Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions was an extremely short-lived jug band that formed in the spring of 1964 and played twenty-five or thirty gigs through the summer of that year. One live performance by the group was recorded in July of 1964 by Stanford students Pete Wanger and Wayne Ott, who were collecting material for their KZSU-FM radio program, "Live from the Top of the Tangent." This recording was released 1998.
  • x +

    Summer 1964

    Asphalt Mountain Jungle Boys

    A trio formed by Jerry Garcia, Eric Thompson, and Jody Stecher in the summer of 1964.
1965
  • x +

    October 1968 - November 1968

    Mickey and the Hartbeats

    In October 1968 Bob Weir and Pigpen were kicked out of the Grateful Dead for their lack of commitment to the project and the practice sessions. The remaining members of the band played a few shows at the Matrix in San Francisco at the end of that month, billed as Mickey And The Hartbeats. Elvin Bishop sat in on guitar for one of the shows. The act mostly consisted of Grateful Dead songs without the lyrics. Both Weir and Pigpen eventually rejoined the band, and they were able to survive as the Grateful Dead.
1970
1980
1990
1995