As the cosmic musical force at the heart of The Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia was a counterculture icon in the ’60s and beyond. Born in San Francisco in 1942, Garcia started out playing folk and bluegrass; by the mid-’60s, he was playing with a so-called jug band that gradually evolved into trailblazing psychedelic rockers The Grateful Dead. With his sweet, simple vocals and a virtuosic guitar style blending rock, jazz, country, and more, he led the Dead to the forefront of the San Francisco psychedelic scene, becoming one of rock’s most renowned guitar stylists. Garcia toured tirelessly with the Dead for the rest of his life but found plenty of time for eclectic side projects. Those include a solo career, the all-star bluegrass band Old & In the Way, collaborations with mandolinist David Grisman and organist Merl Saunders, and guest appearances on records by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Ornette Coleman, and plenty more. Though he died from a heart attack in 1995, his spirit lives on through jam-band descendants like Phish and Goose, while bandmate Bob Weir has brought the Dead’s music to a new generation with Dead & Company, featuring John Mayer on guitar.