Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead were two of the most impactful and lasting musical forces to come out of the 1960s countercultural music landscape, but it wasn’t always peace, love, and music back then. There was one night in 1968 when they almost collaborated onstage, but one legendary San Francisco promoter says that egos got in the way of what would have been a historic collaboration.
Hendrix and the Grateful Dead first officially crossed paths at the landmark Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, though Jerry Garcia explained in a 1987 interview he was already familiar with Jimi from Hendrix’s days with John Hammond. On Sunday, June 18th, the Grateful Dead were unfortunately tasked with following The Who‘s destructive spectacle and preceding Hendrix’s incendiary performance. Though Jimi was relatively unknown going into Monterey, when he left he was on his way to becoming a household name. The Dead, however, were left in the dust following what Garcia himself deemed a lackluster performance, especially when compared to Hendrix and The Who’s dynamic stage presence.
The following year, Hendrix returned to the Dead’s neck of the woods for a three-night run at Winterland Ballroom from October 10th to 12th. The Dead, meanwhile, were playing a three-night stand at San Francisco’s Avalon Ballroom from October 11th to 13th. According to famed San Francisco concert promoter Chet Helms, who produced shows at the Avalon, he was tasked with setting up what would be a historic psychedelic rock rendezvous between Hendrix, the Dead, and Quicksilver Messenger Service.
“So I called Hendrix back and told him to meet us at the ferry boat in Sausalito at 2 am, and we would jam all night,” Helms said, according to an account published in Far Out Magazine and multiple other online forums. “We go out to this place [October 12], and the Dead are beat and dead tired because they had just played the Avalon, but after all, it’s a jam with Hendrix. We sit there from 2 am until morning, and Hendrix never shows.”
The next evening, the Grateful Dead were back at the Avalon to finish their three-night run, and who should show up that night but Jimi Hendrix. Pressed for an explanation as to why he stood everyone up, Helms said Hendrix told him, “‘Oh, I met this broad, and we dropped acid and we f–d all night’…. Hendrix said, ‘Can I jam with the Grateful Dead tonight on the stage?’ and I said, ‘It’s OK with me, but it’s their gig. If they want that to happen, it’s fine with me.’”
As Helms’ legend goes, Hendrix went backstage and talked to the Grateful Dead and all seemed forgiven. The Avalon had a strict curfew—something the Dead were well aware of at that point as frequent performers at the club—and so Helms told Hendrix, “’No matter what, I’m pulling the plug at midnight.’ What happened was the Dead kept telling him to wait, and played out their set…. So, Hendrix never jammed with the Grateful Dead, and the bottom line is they were pissed at him.”
The Dead had a few other opportunities where they could have encountered Hendrix, most notably at Woodstock in 1969. Given the scheduling, however, it’s unlikely that the two parties crossed paths given that the Dead played late in the evening on August 16th and Hendrix didn’t close out the festival until 9 a.m. on August 18th. Just like at Monterey, the Grateful Dead’s less-than-memorable performance was overshadowed by Hendrix executing not only the most iconic performance of the most iconic festival in U.S. history, but a set that came to define the decade with his revolutionary interpretation of the “Star Spangled Banner”.
Finally, the Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix shared the bill on May 16th, 1970 at Temple University Stadium in Philadelphia, though no sit-in occurred. Jimi Hendrix died four months later on September 18th, 1970 at 27.
While the Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix never performed together onstage, the story of their near-encounter has tantalized Dead fans for decades. It exemplifies both the anarchistic freedoms of the counterculture and the astounding well of talent that defined the decade. While we cannot hear Hendrix play with the Dead, we can listen to the same show he heard while waiting in vain for the Dead to call him onstage.
Grateful Dead — Avalon Ballroom — San Francisco, CA — 10/13/68 — Full Audio
[Audio: Matthew Vernon]
On Friday, April 26th, decorated guitarist and bandleader Eric Krasno will spearhead a hybrid tribute to Jimi Hendrix and The Grateful Dead with a special Jimi’s Dead performance at New Orleans’ Toulouse Theatre during the first weekend of Jazz Fest 2024 [get tickets]. In addition to Krasno, the New Orleans Jazz Fest late-night edition of Jimi’s Dead: A Mashup of Jimi Hendrix & The Grateful Dead will feature Ross James (Phil Lesh & The Terrapin Family Band) on bass, Nikki Glaspie (The Nth Power) on drums, and Peter Levin (Gregg Allman, Trouble No More) on keys with talented young guitarist Brandon “Taz” Niederauer set to join in as a special guest.
