The Grateful Dead are among the artists honoured by The Kennedy Center in 2024

Back in 1965 when The Grateful Dead started out as part of Ken Kesey’s and his Pranksters Acid Tests, they were true counterculture, and official prizes were surely never on the minds of original five members.

Yet, in the meantime, they recorded quite a few seminal rock albums, had a shifting cast of official members (13 by an semi-official count) and countless temporary ones (like Bruce Hornsby), played a world record of live shows (2,318 to be precise), celebrated their 59th Top 40 album on the Billboard chart in 2024, and earned official honors to boot.

The band had only one chart hit (“Touch of Grey”), and never actually received a Grammy nomination.

First, they were inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and received a Grammy® Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. Now, in 2024, they became honorees as part of the 47th Kennedy Center Honors.

The Grateful Dead honored

As The Kennedy Center stated in their statement, “Emerging as a vessel for a vibrant global counterculture, the Grateful Dead created an artistic ecosystem all their own, transforming American music and arguably even America itself. Their influence on music and culture has been profound, and even after Jerry Garcia's death in 1995, the band's legacy has endured.”

Three original members were around (Ron McKernan, Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh passed) and were able to receive the honours - Bob Weir Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann.

According to Kreutzman, early on "We've had people come up to us, say, 'You guys are never gonna make it. You play too long. You play too loud.’”

Reflecting on The Kennedy Center honors, band’s co-founder Bob Weir sad that this “is nothing short of the Medal of Honor. It puts us in pretty distinguished company here and around the world for the Grateful Dead and for our fans—those kindred spirits who were right there with us with what we were trying to do over the decades. It’s always been the storytelling that leads us on, gives us direction and fulfillment. It’s been about reaching something deeper that connects us all.”

This prize is the recognition not only for The Grateful Dead but also for all the “Deadheads,” and rock music as an art form and all its fans.