Skeleton Key

For fifty years and more than two thousand shows the Grateful Dead have been earning the deadication of more than a million fans. Along the way Deadheads have built an original and authentic American subculture with vivid jargon and rich love and its own legends myths and spirituality.. Skeleton Key: A Dictionary for Deadheads is the first map of what Jerry Garcia calls the Grateful Dead outback as seen through the eyes of the faithful friends and family including Bill Walton Elvis Costello Tipper Gore Al Franken Bob Bralove Dick Latvala Blair Jackson David Gans Bruce Hornsby Rob Wasserman and Robert Hunter. Skeleton Key puts you on the Merry Pranksters' bus behind the real Cowboy Neal uncovers the origins of Cherry Garcia follows the dancing bear on its trip from psychedelic artifact to trademarked icon and unlocks the Dead's own tape vault.. Informative reading for the new fan or the most grizzled tourhead Skeleton Key shines throughout with Deadheads' own stories wit insiders' knowledge sincere appreciation of the music of the band beyond description and the diverse and soulful culture it inspires.