Wake of the Flood is the sixth studio album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. Released on October 15, 1973, it was the first album on the band's own Grateful Dead Records label. Their first studio album in nearly three years, it was also the first without founding member Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, who had recently died. His absence and keyboardist Keith Godchaux's penchants for bebop and modal jazz contributed to the band's musical evolution. Godchaux's wife, vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux, also joined the group and appears on the album.
Wake of the Flood
Wake of the Flood
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