1a65 Message-ID: <000a01c2a251$2e36f700$e66c1d18@nyc.rr.com> From: "Barry Smith" Subject: The Facial Hair History of the Grateful Dead Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 21:41:43 -0500 Here's something you might enjoy that I posted on the GD newsgroup Rec.Music.gdead a while back. It's probably not complete. I'd definitely encourage feedback and info that I migh have left out. 30 years of the Grateful Dead brought about many changes in the visual and musical styles of the band. You can go on forever discussing many of these changes. One particular change I have noticed is the status of the facial hair of some of the band members' faces. Garcia rearranged his face countless times. Some of the other band members less so. Once in a while there was a bad mustache. What are some of the noteworthy changes in their beards?? Below I present to you the FACIAL HAIR HISTORY OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD. Donna Jean Godchaux : Not applicable. Garcia- 1960's: During the Pre-Dead days When Garcia was just a banjo-picking folkie there was a brief period when he was seen with short hair, suit & tie (!!) and a goatee. (Circ. 1964- photograph on GRATEFUL DAWG website playin' fiddle). By 1965 Garcia had become clean shaven (photograph with the Asphalt Jungle Boys 1965). As a member of the Warlocks Garcia's hair grew considerably yet remained clean shaven. Not until late1968 into 1969 Garcia grew a full beard and a wild head of hair. Check out the January 1969 footage of Playboy After Dark. By May 1969, Garcia shaved off his beard but kept a bad mustache (Photos from Polo Grounds 05/07/69 Two >From The Vault; 2001 GD Calendar). By Woodstock and afterward(late 1969- into early 1970) Garcia grew back his beard, kept his mustache. 1970's and beyond: Around April- May 1970 Garcia had become clean shaven again. Check out photos of 05/06/70 MIT from The Taper's Compendium of Garcia on the pedal steel. Photos of Garcia from 05/24/70 Hollywood Festival show more stubble on his face as by summer-late 1970 he was back to a full beard. This seemed to be the trend until late1973. On the handbill advertising the 11/28/73 Garcia/Hart concert at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, a clean shaven Garcia sits next to a clean shaven Hart. This seems to be the case way into mid 1974. Wall-of-Sound photos from 07/21/74 Hollywood Bowl depicts a smiling clean shaven Garcia below the huge sound system. However, by late 1974 and the Winterland 10/74 shows, Garcia's full beard returned. I'm not aware of any further changes although the gray started to develop by 1979 and by the mid-late 80s Garcia became totally gray bearded. Lesh- 1960's: Early pictures from the Warlocks days show Lesh totally clean shaven. By 1966 he was clean shaven, but his hair seemed to grow wildly on his head (and he had a tendency of wearing hippie head bands). By 1967-1968 Lesh grew a mustache and beard, which looked plainly awful. Check out the photo inside the Two From The Vault CD, where Lesh looks like Duane Allman!! By Early 1969 Lesh had become clean shaven again. Check out the January 1969 Playboy After Dark footage of Lesh with long hair and really bad black glasses. Mid-late 1969 was a clean shaven period, and a much-needed haircut. He looks rather normal in the movie Gimme Shelter where he is seen talking to Mike Shrive of Santana. 1970's and beyond: In the summer of 1970, Lesh can be seen with a bad mustache. Check out the psychedelic 08/30/70 Calebration footage or the American Beauty photo sessions at Mickey's ranch with the NRPS. This trend didn't last long as Lesh had become clean shaven by 1971. However, by late 1974 and the Winterland 10/74 shows, Lesh grew a full beard and mustache, something immortalized forever in the Grateful Dead Movie. Luckily this seemed to be Lesh's final experimentation with facial hair, because by 1975 until 2002, he remained clean shaven. Weir- "The baby-faced killer" as Pigpen once said in 1971 apparently only experimented with facial hair just one time. In late 1976 at the 10/76 Oakland Stadium shows he can bee seen with a full beard and mustache. This trend continued sometime into 1977 but I don't know how far. Any info? Anyway, by late 1977 perhaps, he was back to normal. Hart- From the beginning of his tenure as the second drummer in 1967 until mid 1970, Hart can be seen as the true hippie of the group with wild long hair, headbands, full mustache and beard. In May 1970 Hart can be seen with long sideburns that may or may not become a full beard. This trend continued until late August 1970 when he had become clean shaven!!! Check out the incredible video footage from 08/30/70 where Hart looks like a ninja or something to that effect. Also check page 256 of the first volume of the Taper's Compendium for the photo of Hart at Fillmore West. Apparently by the fall of 1970 with the American Beauty promotional photos (check out the ad in Rolling Stone magazine which was reproduced in the American Beauty CD of the new GD box set) Hart brought back his mustache. Hart left the band by 1971, so mid 70s photographs are scarce. However the handbill advertising the 11/28/73 Garcia/Hart concert at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco depicts a clean shaven Garcia sitting next to a clean shaven Hart. On his return to the band in late 1974-1975, there are pictures of him with a full mustache and beard. The late 70s period Hart had just a mustache. When in the early 80s did Hart become completely clean shaven. I believe it was 1982? Info? Kreutzmann: Didn't do much research on Billy K, but apparently clean shaven and youthful looking until probably mid-late 1969 where he grew his mustache. The gatefold picture of the Dead inside the Skulls & Roses LP depict Kreutzmann's '70s look: mustache. More noticeable was his horrible wig. Man, did he need some hair styling. Check out the "Dead Ahead" video how bad his hair was. In the 80s he finally cut his hair short and somewhere along the line he shaved his mustache until it became hardly noticeable or nonexistent. Pigpen, Brent Mydland, Keith Godchaux, Tom Constanten, Vince Welnick: The keyboard guys all had beards and rarely shaved. I did see of a picture of a clean shaven TC in 1983 (The American Book Of The Dead page 71). Mydland 's hair was extremely long until around 1982 when he cut it. Pigpen always seemed to have facial hair even in his formative years. He always looked old. During the 1965-67 period, Pigpen mostly had just a mustache. By 1968-1973 he had a goatee look. I didn't do any research on Welnick. . 0