''Grateful Dead'' is an album by rock band the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

. Released on September 24, 1971 on Warner Bros. Records, it is their second

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

. Although published without a title, it is generally known by the names ''Skull and Roses'' (due to its iconic cover art) and ''Skull Fuck'' (the name the band originally wanted to give to the album, which was rejected by the record company). It was the group's first album to be certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

and remained their best seller until surpassed by '' Skeletons from the Closet''.

Recording and release

Unlike '' Live/Dead'', the album contained several lead and background vocal overdubs. For the three new original compositions ("Bertha", "

Playing in the Band "Playing in the Band" is a Grateful Dead song. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and rhythm guitarist Bob Weir composed the music, with some assistance from percussionist Mickey Hart. The song first emerged in embryonic form on the s ...

", and "Wharf Rat"), the band invited

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

associate Merl Saunders to overdub

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

parts. This made the organ playing of Saunders more prominent than that of

Pigpen A sty or pigsty is a small-scale outdoor enclosure for raising domestic pigs as livestock. It is sometimes referred to as a hog pen, hog parlor, pigpen, pig parlor, or pig-cote, although pig pen may refer to pens confining pigs that are ke ...

, whose contributions tend to be buried in the mix. "Playing in the Band" received a good amount of airplay, and became one of the Dead's most played songs in concert (a studio version was released the following year on rhythm guitarist

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...

's solo album '' Ace''). The closing segue of " Not Fade Away" into "Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad" also received airplay and became a fan favorite. The album's

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game (box art), music album (album art), ...

, composed by

Alton Kelly Alton Kelley (June 17, 1940 – June 1, 2008) was an American artist known for his psychedelic art, in particular his designs for 1960s rock concert posters and album covers. Along with artists Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse, Victor Moscoso an ...

and Stanley Mouse, is based on an illustration by Edmund Joseph Sullivan for an old edition of the '' Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam''. Though the album has been known by the sobriquet "Skull & Roses", the original vertical gatefold cover unfolds to reveal the entire skeleton. The graphic became one of the images most associated with the band. Opening track "Bertha" fades in on the original version of the album, in semblance of entering the performance space. A longer, full opening is used on CD/digital copies. More tracks from the same source concerts were later released on '' Ladies and Gentlemen... the Grateful Dead''. The 7" single release of "Johnny B. Goode" (a split single with

Elvin Bishop Elvin Richard Bishop (born October 21, 1942) is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. An original member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a membe ...

) was actually the version from the album '' Fillmore: The Last Days''. However, the version from this album was later used as a B-side on the re-release of the " Truckin'" single. The album was remastered and expanded for the 2001 box set '' The Golden Road''. This version, with three bonus tracks (two contemporaneous live tracks and a hidden promotional track) and the extended "Bertha", was released separately, in 2003. The 50th Anniversary Edition of ''Skull and Roses'' was released on June 25, 2021, in CD, LP, and digital formats. The CD includes a bonus disc of songs recorded live at the Fillmore West in San Francisco on July 2, 1971.

Title and message

When the band submitted "Skull Fuck" (a contemporary euphemism for "blow your mind") as the album title, it was rejected by the record label. Ultimately the agreement was made that the album would be published without the title appearing anywhere on the record labels or cover artwork. Though the band refers to the album by this title, and it has long been known to fans (through interviews with band members, the

Deadhead A Deadhead or Dead Head is a fan of the American rock band the Grateful Dead. In the 1970s, a number of fans began travelling to see the band in as many shows or festival venues as they could. With large numbers of people thus attending strings o ...

network and other outlets), the alternate, descriptive title "Skull & Roses" developed among distributors, music buyers and reviewers as a graphic

incipit The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it beg ...

from the cover artwork. Drummer Bill Kreutzmann explained the lack of a title on the artwork and labels, "...the original name was going to be "Skull Fuck". This was a time long before rap artists like

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

numbed concerned citizens to the idea of offensive language in music. Warner Brothers freaked out on us. They said stores would boycott it and we wouldn't be able to get it on shelves." Inside the gatefold of the original LP, the band reached out directly to its burgeoning fan base, which had begun to attend multiple concerts in a row and collect live audio tapes of each concert, with a message reading: The mailing address is no longer valid.

Track listing

The four sides of the vinyl album were combined as tracks 1–11 on CD reissues. Note: More songs from the April 25 – 29, 1971 shows at the Fillmore East are included in '' Ladies and Gentlemen... the Grateful Dead''.

Personnel

Grateful Dead *

– lead guitar, vocals *

–

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, vocals *

Phil Lesh Philip Chapman Lesh (born March 15, 1940) is an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career. After the band's disbanding in 1995, Lesh continued the tradition of ...

– bass guitar, vocals * Bill Kreutzmann –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Ron "Pigpen" McKernan –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

, vocals Additional musicians * Merl Saunders – organ on "Bertha", "Playing in the Band", "Wharf Rat" Production * Produced by Grateful Dead * Recording: Bob Matthews,

Betty Cantor Betty Cantor-Jackson (born 1948) is an American audio engineer and producer. She is best known for her work recording live concerts for the Grateful Dead from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, including the '' Cornell 5/8/77'' album. She is not ...

* Artwork: Alton Kelley * Photo:

Bob Seidemann Robert Emett (Bob) Seidemann (December 28, 1941 – November 27, 2017 ) was an American graphic artist and photographer. Biography Seidemann was born in Manhattan, New York, and grew up in Queens. He graduated from Manhattan High School of Aviat ...

Production – 50th Anniversary Edition * Produced for release by David Lemieux * Mastering: David Glasser * Tape restoration and speed correction:

Jamie Howarth Jamie Howarth is an American television and film composer and musical director. Howarth also restores damaged soundtracks from old films. He owns a company for sound restoration, called Plangent Processes. One of its more notable restorations is th ...

, John Chester * Recording – Fillmore West bonus disc: Rex Jackson * Design: Steve Vance * Liner notes essay: Gary Lambert

Charts and certification

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

RIAA certification In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets.

Notes

{{Authority control 1971 live albums Grateful Dead live albums Live at the Fillmore East albums Warner Records live albums