The Grateful Dead Bands Impact on Their Fans - Research Paper Example

The Grateful Dead Band’s Impact on Their Fans Having someone to idolize and look up to is something most people look for to guide them in life. The idol becomes a trusted mentor they can emulate especially if they truly believe in his ideals and what he stands for. The same idea goes with art and music. Artists can develop a huge following – people they impress with their work and hang on to whatever they say. Some are even revered as demi-gods, such as celebrities and rock stars that whatever they do, their avid fans regard as something worth doing as well. The Grateful Dead, an American rock and roll band who played various types of music from country, bluegrass, folk-tinged songs as well as cover versions of songs, enjoyed a successful career that spanned 30 years. It started in the sixties when the band’s lead guitarist, singer-songwriter, Jerry Garcia brought a banjo to play in folk and bluegrass bands until he joined a band in 1965 called the Warlocks (Rolling Stone). This band used electric instruments and soon became a regular at Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests which are public multimedia party events that endorsed LSD before the drug became illegal. It was LSD chemist Owsley Stanley who renamed the band Grateful Dead which is a name Garcia found in an Egyptian prayer. Stanley also supervised the building of the band’s huge state-of-the-art sound system which they brought along with them in their concert tours. Almost as famous as the band itself was its cult-like following, a fan base called Deadheads (McNally:14). Most of these fans were white men who relished in the culture brought about by the band as well as its corresponding accoutrements of tie-dye clothing, hallucinogenic drugs and of course, the band’s eclectic music. The Deadheads followed the band in their tours around the country and enlivened the concerts with their zeal for the band. The Grateful Dead kept the Deadheads captivated because they emphasized diversity in the live music experience (Rodriguez, Gintautas & Pepe). Each concert/ show offered something different and the fans got hooked into the experiences. The typical deadhead was not content with just purchasing recorded studio albums but go out of his way to travel with the band from concert to concert in whatever city or country they are booked (Adams:14; Pattacini:9). The band temporarily disbanded in 1974 while the members pursued individual projects outside with other artists. Separately, the members shone in their own individuality together with their new co-artists. The Grateful Dead band resumed in 1976. Bob Dylan toured with the band in 1986 and by that time, the press was getting hold of Garcia, the band leader’s disturbing health and personal habits. Previously, in 1985, he was arrested for possession of heroin in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Then while touring with Dylan, Garcia collapsed in a coma that lasted for five days. This was brought on by his excessive drug use. Upon his recovery, the Dead had a huge comeback with their albums In the Dark which featured the song “Touch of Grey” which is the band’s only top ten single (Rolling Stone). Since the culture of the Grateful Dead tolerated drug use, it was likewise commonplace in their concerts. Such dangerous behaviours caused them much trouble because in 1989, when their normally mellow Deadheads went out of control with drug-related behaviours: “In April 1989 there were 55 arrests (mostly for drugs and disturbing the peace) and violent encounters with police at two Pittsburgh shows; and 70 arrests and reports of vandalism by Dead fans at three Irvine, California, shows. In October 1989 a college student died of a broken neck outside a Dead show at the New Jersey Meadowlands (his death was never explained, but an investigation cleared security guards of guilt); in December of that year a 19-year-old fan high on LSD died while in police custody for public intoxication at the L.A. Forum (the autopsy reported neck-compression during restraint, but police were cleared of any wrongdoing). As a result, the Dead recorded public service announcements imploring fans to act responsibly.” (Rolling Stone). Even the band members were not immune to the dangerous consequences of drug use. Mydland, a band member, died in 1990 due to an overdose of cocaine and morphine. Garcia, also succumbed to death from his unhealthy lifestyle. He died in his sleep in the rehabilitation center he was confined in for his long-time heroin addiction (Rolling Stone). It is possible that fans of the Grateful Dead wanted to emulate their idols even beyond the bounds of their roles as musicians. Being aware of the band members’ drug use may encourage imitation on the part of the Deadheads in order to relate to the band and be one with them. Bandura (12), a prominent psychologist and expert in social learning contend that people imitate behaviors of others without being reinforced. Vicariously observing others’ behaviors is enough reinforcement to exhibit the behavior itself. However, learning by observation entails attention and accurate perception of the significant features of the modeled behavior. Next, the observer should remember what he has observed and hence retained in his memory. Proof of retention is via two symbolic systems – representation of the behavior in image form, as in a visual cue, or by verbal form, as in a series of instructions, and eventually, being able to reproduce the behavior. Finally, the component of motivation keeps the behavior going. Example of motivation is the reward of attention and praise from others. Bandura et al. (10) claims the expectation of reward can be as motivating as the reward itself. In the case of the Deadheads who imitated the drug use and wild behaviours of the Grateful Dead, the motivation was the notion of being like their idols and belonging to a group that is closely associated with them. It also cannot be denied that drugs made them feel good and its addictive feature may have kept them in using it. Rock music, rap and other hiphop songs have been controversial in terms of the effect they have on the audience’s moral formation and have been targets in an ongoing moral crusade to protect the youth from musical turpitude (Epstein:91). Some have called it deviant music and claims it is the outcome of collective efforts to control public definitions and establish moral boundaries (Sanders:5). It is believed that music has the power to arouse strong emotions which may shape collective values and behaviors (Frith, 17). This is why it has hyped in efforts to organize pro-social behaviors as well as criticized in efforts to regulate untoward activities (Bayles:82). Although Grateful Dead may perform mellow songs like country or bluegrass, the inappropriate behaviours that go with the culture of their group was questionable in the eyes of society. Lynxwiler and Gay (70) provide a short history of how people viewed rock, rap, hiphop and other loud music adolescents seem to gravitate to. Anti-music organizations stemmed from movements against rock music which was believed to have a sinful impact on the moral development of children (78). Moral crusaders included mostly conservative religious groups which led in record burnings and public sermons (McDonald:296). Their acts fueled public debates that went beyond morality issues pointing towards deviant behavior expressed through payola scams, juvenile delinquency and drug abuse (Martin and Segrave:44). The controversy that surrounded such movements attracted enough attention of government to prompt Congressional hearings in the 1950s,1960s and 1970s (McDonald:300). This trend continued into the 1980s, when America’s current forms of popular music came under attack (Jones:78). For rock bands, having such controversy attached to them may not faze their fans. They may even cling more desperately to them especially if they are already hooked on drugs and find their music comforting. The Grateful Dead’s influence is not limited to pushing their fans to inappropriate and wild behaviours. They are considered truly talented musicians whose legacy in making great music, live on to inspire other musicians to likewise be creative. In the course of its more than three decade career, they played over 37,000 songs live in some 2,300 concerts An accumulation of over 450 unique songs were compiled in their repertoire (Lundquist).. Their success and appeal across multiple generations of music lovers earned them an induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 (Rolling Stone). It would be useful to society in general if celebrities like the Grateful Dead use their popularity not only in spreading great music but also to be good role models in words and deeds especially to their impressionable fans. Works Cited Adams, R.G., “Inciting sociological thought by studying the deadhead community: Engaging publics in dialogue,” Social Forces, volume 77, number 1, pp. 1–25. (1998). Print Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. Imitation of film-mediated aggressive models. Journalof Abnormal and Social Psychology, 66, 3– 11. (1963). Print. Bayles, M., Hole In Our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music. New York : Free Press. 1994. Print Epstein, J., Adolescents and Their Music: If It’s Too Loud, You’re Too Old. Garland. 1994. Print. Frith, S., Youth, Leisure, and the Politics of Rock ‘N Roll. New York : Pantheon. 1981. Print. Jones, S. ‘‘Ban(ned) in the USA: Popular Music and Censorship.’’ Journal of Communication Inquiry, 15:73–87. (1991). Print. Lundquist, M. 1996–2007. “The setList program: Grateful Dead setlists and listener experiences, (17 Nov. 2013) Web. Lynxwiler, J. & Gay, D., Moral boundaries and deviant music: public attitudes toward heavy metal and rap. Deviant Behavior : An Interdisciplinary Journal, 21: 63–85, 2000. Print. Martin, L. and K. Segrave.. Anti-Rock: The Opposition to Rock ‘N’ Roll. New York, NY: DeCapo. 1993. Print. McDonald, J.. ‘‘Censoring Rock Lyrics : A Historical Analysis of the Debate.’’ Youth and Society 19:294–313. (1988). Print. McNally, D., A long strange trip: The inside history of the Grateful Dead. New York: Broadway Books. 2002. Print Pattacini, M. M., . “Deadheads yesterday and today: An audience study,” Popular Music and Society, volume 24, number 1, pp. 1–14. 2000. Print. Rodriguez, M.A. Gintautas, V. & Pepe, A. A Grateful Dead Analysis: The relationship between concert and listening behavior, 2009 (16 Nov. 2013). Web. Rolling Stone, The Grateful Dead Biography. 16 Nov. 2013. Web. Sanders, C., ‘‘A Lot of People Like It’: The Relationship Between Deviance and Popular Culture.’’ Pp. 3–13 in Marginal Conventions : Popular Culture, Mass Media, and Social Deviance, edited by C. Sanders. BowlingGreen, OH: Bowling Green State University Press. 1990. Print. Read More