The Economic History of the Grateful Dead: A Look Inside the Financial Records of America’s Biggest 20th Century Touring Act

NEW AVAILABLE AS eBOOKI recommend you buy the actual book for a better reading experinceGRATEFUL DEAD EXPERTS SHOW LOVE DOES NOT FADE AWAYThis is the first book to actually have substantial new information about the Dead in 20 years--Corry Arnold, Lost Live DeadDave knows the numbers and Dave knows the Dead. If you want to know the nuts and bolts of how the carnival was made materially possible, then this is the book for you.--Joe Jupille, Author of upcoming Jerry Garcia book Fate MusicThe Grateful Dead remain fascinating on so many levels, most of all that of the music itself, but as an unorthodox touring and recording act, a multifaceted cultural movement and social experiment, they evolved a makeshift approach to the music business, guided both by idealistic principles and piratical impulses, that makes for a sprawling, sorta crazy, and uniquely American saga. Davis, with the receipts in hand and love in his heart, unfurls an alternative nuts-and-bolts financial history of the life and times of this extraordinary band.--Nick Paumgaten, staff writer, The New YorkerDavis has done something no one has ever done before: he's made the business of music utterly fascinating.--Eric Lefcowitz, author of Monkee Business: The Revolutionary Made-For-TV BandHow much did the Dead make on tour? This book presents the first financial history of the Dead, full of show income figures and documents from the Grateful Dead Archive. --Light Into Ashes, Grateful Dead GuideIn this meticulously researched book by David Davis, we can experience Grateful Dead history in a new way, by following the money trail. There’s an abundance of new and intriguing documentation in these pages. Davis uncovers everything you need to know about the band’s economic history and places it in context with what other major touring acts of the day were earning. This is a book every Deadhead should have on their coffee table.--Howard F. Weiner, author of eight books on the Grateful Dead and Bob DylanFirst off, Rest in Peace Phil Lesh. You do not have to be an expert on the Grateful Dead or even know any of their songs to enjoy this book. This is a historical look at a quirky California rock band’s 30 years in existence, from 1965 to 1995, viewed almost entirely through financial and business documents, obscure and long out-of-print periodicals, 50-year-old newspaper reports and fragments from other Grateful Dead authors. As I found during my career in entertainment finance, the documents and the contracts almost always speak for themselves.Here are some of the things about the Grateful Dead in this book that have never been reported in prior books:1. First time the band made $1,000, $10,000, $100,000 and $1,000,000 at gigs2. First time the band made professional tour schedules and what exactly were those gigs3. First time the Grateful Dead were the top grossing concert act in the US, much earlier than previously thought4. The proposed 1975 tour in which the band would play two sets a night with separate admission fees5. The economics of 1976 and 1977 tours6. Exactly how high the Dead placed in the US Concert Scene very year from 1971-19957. First time it's shown that the Dead were the highest grossing concert act in the US during the 1965-1996 era8. Comparisons with the Allman Bros and the Rolling Stones9. The time college students co-financed a dead show which turned out to be the highest gross Dead concert over the first six years of the band10. The time pot dealers who flew their product into the US in prop airplanes put on a Dead show and lost basically all their money.And many others. This is a serious well-researched book self-financed and self-produced by Dave Davis, who saw 82 Dead concerts and worked in entertainment finance for 35 years. Read more