The Dead were always a great concert draw. Heck, in 1989 I had hundreds of Dead Heads camping out across the street from my house in Saratoga Springs the night before their concert at SPAC. While their fans are true fanatics in every sense of the word they are not that great in numbers comparatively speaking. Back in the day, record SALES and as a result radio air play, is what drove the concept of who was/was not great.
Off the top of my head I can think of at least 50 bands/artists who most people would name before they even thought of the Dead. That being said, I have a great affinity for “Drivin’ that train” and “sugar magnolia”. And BTW, I saw the Dead when they had their Wall of Sound. Today’s sound systems can generate much more power that the wall did, but for it’s day it was REALLY impressive.
Smarter than the average bear
