William Kreutzmann Jr. is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued to perform with former members of the Grateful Dead in various lineups, and with his own bands BK3, 7 Walkers and Billy & the Kids.
Bill Kreutzmann, c. 1975
Bill Kreutzmann, playing a talking drum. Grateful Dead band members Brent Mydland, Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia (from left to right) are in the background. Denver, Colorado.
Kreutzmann in 2008
Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, folk, country, bluegrass, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, and world music with psychedelia, the improvisation of their live performances, and its devoted fan base, known as "Deadheads". According to the musician and writer Lenny Kaye, the band's music "touches on ground that most other groups don't even know exists." For the range of their influences and the structure of their live performances, Grateful Dead are considered "the pioneering godfathers of the jam band world".
Grateful Dead in 1980. Left to right: Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh. Not pictured: Brent Mydland.
The Mantra-Rock Dance promotional poster featuring Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead performing at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in 1987
Bob Weir playing his Modulus G3FH guitar in 2007
