Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde (Also from Black Label Society) gave his opinion on The Grateful Dead when asked if the was ever into guitarist Jerry Garcia in an interview with Let There Be Talk (Via UG). The musician praised the whole community created by the San Francisco band.
Guitarist Zakk Wylde said about The Grateful Dead:
“My buddy that I grew up with, Scotty, his older brothers were all huge Deadheads and stuff like that. The amazing thing with the Dead is what they created, it’s bigger than the music, it’s just this living, breathing thing. That’s where you gotta give props to the Dead.”
“You don’t have to be a fan of the music, or you’re just, ‘I know, I don’t mind a couple of songs here and there,’ but it’s just that empire that they created. It’s a community, it really brings people together. It’s bigger than a band, which is a great thing.”
The Grateful Dead
Formed back in 1965 in the San Francisco bay area. They were known for its eclectic style. Which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, gospel, and psychedelic rock.
These various influences were distilled into a diverse and psychedelic whole. So that made the Grateful Dead “the pioneering Godfathers of the jam band world”. Besides, the band was ranked 57th by Rolling Stone magazine in its The Greatest Artists of All Time issue.
The founding members were Jerry Garcia (lead guitar, vocals), Bob Weir (rhythm guitar, vocals), Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (keyboards, harmonica, vocals), Phil Lesh (bass, vocals), and Bill Kreutzmann (drums).
Members of the Grateful Dead had played together in various San Francisco bands, including Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions and the Warlocks.