David Browne of the Rolling Stone is probably one of the best sources to go to when you want to find out something about the Grateful Dead since while so many have written about this band he gave a pretty detailed accounting of what would happen when they showed up to venue. It wasn’t always crazy, but it was still wild enough at times to make people wonder if something was about to pop off or not. Those were the days though, as Ben Ratliff of The New York Times would describe it, that made just one aspect of the Grateful Dead’s career. Having been such a prolific group during their heyday it was expected that they would continue to be popular throughout the coming decades, and as Jesse Jarnow of Wired puts it, the fact that they were pioneers in their field has helped this to become a very real truth that has kept their popularity soaring among those that were there back in the day and those that are still growing up and coming to enjoy the sounds of the past decades. The Grateful Dead isn’t an outmoded sound or concept, not yet, and so long as they’re remembered they won’t be likely to become obscure any time soon. There are bands that some would liken to GD in some way though, if only because some of them were around during the same time period, or were also considered important in their day.
Here are some of the bands that people might liken to the Grateful Dead.
5. Jefferson Airplane
The idea of psychedelic rock has been around for a while now and it’s been something that a lot of people have picked up on throughout the decades. Even as pop, rock, rap, and many other genres have taken over and gained prominence this style has stuck around. There are still plenty of people willing to embrace it in a way that reeks of nostalgia and pays homage to the past. Some folks just can’t let it go, while others want to try and infuse it into the mainstream of today. While it’s not the same and likely won’t be since it’s so hard to replicate, it’s still a comparison between Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead that many can understand.
4. The Doors
This goes along with the psychedelic rock method and the popularity that it’s brought to so many bands. Like a lot of Deadheads there have been just as many that were enamored of and even obsessed with the Doors since Jim Morrison was a man that did things his way and didn’t care to be told otherwise. The Doors seemed a little more edge than the GD but at the same time they were a lot of fun and had a huge following that during the time of their rise was nothing short of amazing. The fact that their songs are still being played and idolized in the present day is a testament to how great they once were.
3. Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin drew from psychedelia but it wasn’t the main part of their repertoire. Like the GD though they did have an amazing following and a few songs that people absolutely loved and would play over and over until those around them simply got sick of listening. Stairway to Heaven is by and large one of their biggest songs and has been one of those that’s been featured heavily in pop culture throughout the years as it’s a great song and helped them to become one of the greatest bands in history.
2. The Allman Brothers Band
This band was active on and off throughout the same time that the GD were and gained a huge following throughout the years thanks to several of their songs, but these days it might seem that a lot of people have distanced themselves from the band or simply forgotten about them. They’re still a very well-respected group but in terms of how they’re remembered when compared to many other groups it would seem that their notoriety has started to slip away over the years. A lot of people still remember them and the music that they came out with back in the day fondly and will gladly claim to be fans, but it’s evident that their reputation did kind of fade after a while.
1. The Who
Some people might not know a lot about this band and might believe that the resurgence of their popularity in recent years has been more of a fluke than anything, but back in their day the Who were quite popular. It might spark an argument as to HOW popular, but they were still one of the many bands that had what it took to get up on stage and entertain the audience in a way that left them wanting more. That alone is a great reason to compare them to the GD.
No two bands are ever the same, but some of them are at least comparable enough to place next to each other.
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