Jerry Garcia, Grateful Dead and the new wave: who were the “original” punks?
Although Grateful Dead formed before the major punk movement in the mid-1970s, the band is largely considered to be one of the biggest contributors to the genre. Many punks and Deadheads contend that they existed in their own realm, but there’s no denying punk’s embracing of the Dead’s ethos of DIY, anti-establishment, and assertive values.
While there are definite similarities, however, there are also, of course, stark differences. For instance, many of punk’s most defining songs were relatively short, fast-paced, and filled with lyrics that sought to tear down the capitalist and corporate sentiment. The Dead, by contrast, expanded rock’s restrictive nature by introducing longer compositions and improvisation.
From day one, the Grateful Dead became popular for their diverse array of influences, which spanned jazz, bluegrass, county, reggae, and experimentation, with intuition that introduced real instinct into musical creation. In the late 1970s, the punk movement was in full swing, and public defiance became channelled into music with the use of loud and abrasive sounds that made a statement.
Power pop, which emerged at the same time, shared the same ideology. Bands like Cheap Trick and Badfinger infused a more melodic appeal into the punk sound, supercharging the “new wave” movement, which appealed to a more mass audience. According to the Dead’s Jerry Garcia, these players may not be “very good”, but the “spirit” is something that young people always have that ensures these mentalities and musical trends maintain relevancy and longevity.
Although many enthusiastic music lovers, both internal and external to the industry, have long debated who the original punk is, Garcia’s response might surprise some. Rather than pointing the finger at established punk trailblazers, like The Clash or the Ramones, Garcia once decidedly claimed The Who as the bearer of the esteemed title. “We did a show with The Who; they were the original punks,” he said, discussing the moment the Dead performed with the London rock band in a 1978 interview on WCMF.
In fact, The Who is a band Garcia has “a lot of respect” for, with music he greatly “admires”. However, he also discussed the moment he spoke with Pete Townsend, who shared a mutual admiration for the Dead, before the set. Although they are largely considered one of the greatest ever rock bands, live performances aren’t always the most joyful experience. According to Garcia, Townsend said the band were feeling “depressed” about “playing the same show for four years,” adding that “they’re capable of better things”.
Interesting, then, that Garcia regarded them as the “original punks”. Perhaps they had been in the early days when all they had was a youthful drive and an audience willing to listen. As time went on, however, their DIY, anti-conformist punk ethos seemed to become replaced with conformity and entrapment within the system.
