
Phil Lesh
Actor · 1940 – 2024 · Berkeley, California, USA
Philip Chapman Lesh (March 15, 1940 – October 25, 2024) was an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career. After the band's disbanding in 1995, Lesh continued the tradition of Grateful Dead family music with side project Phil Lesh and Friends, which paid homage to the Dead's music by playing their originals, common covers, and the songs of the members of his band. Lesh operated a music venue called Terrapin Crossroads. He scaled back his touring regimen in 2014 but continues to perform with Phil Lesh & Friends at select venues. From 2009 to 2014, he performed in Furthur alongside former Grateful Dead bandmate Bob Weir. Lesh was born in Berkeley, California, United States, and started out as a violin player. While enrolled at Berkeley High School he switched to trumpet and participated in all of the school's music-related extracurricular activities. Studying the instrument under Bob Hansen, conductor of the symphonic Golden Gate Park Band, he developed a keen interest in avant-garde classical music and free jazz. After attending San Francisco State University for a semester, Lesh was unable to secure a favorable position in the school's band or orchestra and determined that he was not ready to pursue a higher education. Upon dropping out, he successfully auditioned for the renowned Sixth Army Band (then stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco) with the assistance of Hansen, but was ultimately determined to be unfit for military service. Shortly thereafter, he enrolled at the College of San Mateo, where he wrote charts for the community college's well-regarded big band and ascended to the first trumpet chair. (A snippet of tape of Lesh on trumpet at CSM can be heard on "Born Cross-Eyed" from the Grateful Dead's 1968 release Anthem of the Sun.) After transferring with sophomore standing to the University of California, Berkeley in 1961, he befriended future Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten before dropping out again after less than a semester. At the behest of Constanten, he studied under the Italian modernist Luciano Berio in a graduate-level course at Mills College in the spring of 1962; their classmates included Steve Reich and Stanford University cross-registrant John Chowning. While volunteering for KPFA as a recording engineer during this period, he met bluegrass banjo player Jerry Garcia. Despite seemingly opposite musical interests, they soon formed a friendship. Following a brief period as a Post Office Department employee and keno marker in Las Vegas (initially rooming with Constanten, who soon departed to study under Berio and other members of the Darmstadt School in Europe); a second stint with the Post Office in San Francisco; and a collaboration with the likes of Reich, Jon Gibson and Constanten upon the latter's return from Europe under the auspices of the San Francisco Mime Troupe, Lesh was talked into becoming the bassist for Garcia's new rock band (then known as The Warlocks) in the fall of 1964. This was a peculiar turn of events, as Lesh had never before played bass. According to Lesh, the first song he rehearsed with the band was "I Know You Rider". He joined them for their third or fourth gig (memories vary) and stayed until the end. ...
Movies17
Movie7.4DocumentaryMusicA detailed chronicle of the famous 1969 tour of the United States by the British rock band The Rolling Stones, which culminated with the disastrous and tragic concert held on December 6 at the Altamont Speedway Free Festival, an event of historical significance, as it marked the end of an era: the generation of peace and love suddenly became the generation of disillusionment.
Gimme Shelter
1970 · 201 votes
Movie7.2DocumentaryHistoryThe filmed account of a large Canadian rock festival train tour boasting major acts. In the summer of 1970, a chartered train crossed Canada carrying some of the world's greatest rock bands. The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy, and others lived (and partied) together for five days, stopping in major cities along the way to play live concerts. Their journey was filmed.
Festival Express
2003 · 26 votes
Movie7.1MusicDocumentaryThe Grateful Dead performs live at Winterland in San Francisco in October 1974.
The Grateful Dead Movie
1977 · 26 votes
Movie8.1MusicDocumentaryThe tale of the Grateful Dead is inspiring, complicated, and downright messy. A tribe of contrarians, they made art out of open-ended chaos and inadvertently achieved success on their own terms. Never-before-seen footage and interviews offer this unprecedented and unvarnished look at the life of the Dead.
Long Strange Trip
2017 · 17 votes
Movie8.0MusicDocumentary"Move Me Brightly" is a film based around a musical gathering at Bob Weir's TRI Studios in San Rafael, California to mark what would have been Jerry Garcia's 70th birthday on 3rd August, 2012. The revolving line-up of performers included fellow Grateful Dead members along with many guest artists who joined together to celebrate Jerry Garcia's life and work. Grateful Dead bandmates and other musicians who played with or were inspired by him. It is fitting tribute to one of rock music's most creative and imaginative composers and performers. Features contributions from fellow Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart and Donna Jean Godchaux along with Garcia family members and guests including Carlos Santana, Furthur's Joe Russo & Jeff Chimenti, Phish's Mike Gordon, Black Crowes' Adam MacDougall, Vampire Weekend's Chris Tomson, Yellowbirds' Sam Cohen & Josh Kaufman and many more.
Movie7.0MusicDocumentaryLegendary rock impresario Bill Graham closed the Fillmore West in early summer 1971 with five nights of all-star concerts, the last curtain going down on July 4. The storied San Francisco venue had become an institution, an integral part of the West Coast music scene of the '60s and, now, an essential element of the mythology of rock 'n' roll. Always the showman, Graham made sure the Fillmore West was sent off in a blaze of glory, spotlighting bands - including the Grateful Dead and Santana-that rose to fame at the hall. The madness leading up to the shows and the concerts themselves were filmed for FILLMORE: THE LAST DAYS, a gritty, behind-the-scenes look at a fascinating moment in rock history and a showcase for great performances by iconic artists who epitomized 'the San Francisco Sound.' Originally released in 1972 and long out-of-print, the documentary film makes its DVD debut with Rhino's landmark reissue.
Last Days at the Fillmore
1972 · 3 votes
Movie6.8MusicDocumentaryThis installment of the Classic Albums series follows the making of two Grateful Dead albums, the fiercely experimental Anthem of the Sun and the understated masterwork American Beauty, which spawned melodic gems like "Sugar Magnolia" and "Ripple." Between the archival scenes and contemporary interviews with band members, the DVD shows a band making seismic inroads in pop music--and five young guys coming to terms with artistry, mortality, and, yes, the pursuit of happiness. There is priceless footage of Neal Cassady driving Ken Kesey's bus and of the Dead, surrounded by martini-sipping hipsters, on Playboy After Dark. The best scenes involve band members talking about specific songs (you will never hear Phil Lesh's "Box of Rain" again without thinking of it as a gift to his dying father) or deconstructing a tune by playing each track separately. Intimate and surprisingly cohesive, Anthem to Beauty is a rare glimpse into how the Dead's magic was made.
Grateful Dead: Anthem to Beauty
1997 · 8 votes
MovieDocumentaryMusicInside Scofield is a feature documentary about master guitarist and touring musician John Scofield.
Inside Scofield
2022
Movie8.0A series of still photographs taken by Linda McCartney of the Grateful Dead at the Dead's house in Haight-Ashbury and at a concert in Central Park, both in the early days of the band. Panning, morphing, and other techniques are used to impart some motion. Excerpts from three Dead songs are played in the background.
Grateful Dead
1995 · 1 votes
Movie7.5MusicDocumentaryAdditional musical performances from the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival in California, shot for the film Monterey Pop (1968) and released on the Criterion Blu-ray The Complete Monterey Pop Festival.
Monterey Pop - The Outtake Performances
2002 · 2 votes
Movie10.0MusicThe Grateful Dead perform two live concerts in Oakland and Anaheim in 1987. Featuring the entire sets from both shows, View from the Vault 4 is a must-rent for the legions of Deadheads. Songs include "When Push Comes to Shove," "Funiculi Funicula," "Terrapin Station," "Throwing Stones" and many more.
Grateful Dead: View from the Vault IV
2003 · 1 votes
Movie7.0MusicVolume two in the Grateful Dead's View From the Vault series of mixed media releases comes from a pair of Washington, D.C., R.F.K. Stadium shows from the summers of 1990 and 1991, respectively. The feature presentation is both sets from June 14, 1991, with copious filler or "bonus" material from July 12, 1990. As well, the DVD includes a previously unissued music video for "Liberty" -- one of the final collaborative efforts between lyricist Robert Hunter and guitarist and vocalist Jerry Garcia.
Grateful Dead: View from the Vault II
2001 · 1 votes
MovieMusicDocumentaryThis year we're celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the legendary Europe '72 Album, by bringing the previously unreleased Tivoli Concert Hall, 4/17/72 performance to the big screen.
Movie8.0MusicDocumentarySo Far is a music documentary video by the Grateful Dead. Directed by Jerry Garcia and Len Dell'Amico, it is intended to give a subjective view of the Grateful Dead experience. The soundtrack includes Dead song performances, largely from 1985. The visuals combine scenes of the band playing the songs, other Dead related material, computer animation, and found footage that has been altered and edited in various ways. So Far was released on VHS videotape and on laserdisc in 1987, and has a running time of 55 minutes.
Grateful Dead: So Far
1987 · 1 votes
Movie10.0MusicGrateful Dead - View from the Vault III Shoreline Amphitheater Mountain View CA June 16, 1990 First Set: 1 Let The Good Times Roll 2 Truckin' 3 Touch Of Grey 4 Mama Tried 5 Big River 6 Friend Of The Devil 7 Cassidy 8 Big Boss Man 9 One More Saturday Night Second Set: 10 China Cat Sunflower 11 I Know You Rider 12 We Can Run 13 Estimated Prophet 14 Terrapin Station 15 Jam 16 Space 17 Drums 18 China Doll 19 Sugar Magnolia 20 It's All Over Now, Baby Blue Bonus Footage: Shoreline Amphitheatre - Mountain View, CA - October 3, 1987 21 Hey Pocky Way 22 New Minglewood Blues 23 Candyman 24 When I Paint My Masterpiece 25 West L.A. Fadeaway 26 My Brother Esau
Grateful Dead: View from the Vault III
2002 · 1 votes
Movie10.0MusicDear Jerry: Celebrating The Music Of Jerry Garcia was recorded live at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia Maryland on Thursday, May 14, 2015. This historic one-night concert event honored the music of Jerry Garcia, one of the most influential musicians and cultural icons of our time. The two and half hour concert film and available audio recordings feature over 20 once-in-a-lifetime performances from this momentous event by Phil Lesh & Communion, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann's Billy & the Kids, Mickey Hart, Eric Church, Jimmy Cliff, The Disco Biscuits, Peter Frampton, David Grisman, Jorma Kaukonen, Los Lobos, Buddy Miller, Moe., O.A.R., Grace Potter, Allen Toussaint, Trampled By Turtles, Widespread Panic, and Yonder Mountain String Band.
Dear Jerry - Celebrating The Music of Jerry Garcia
2016 · 1 votes
Movie8.5MusicRecorded October 30th and 31st, 1980, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, Dead Ahead showcases the recently reformed Grateful Dead lineup in acoustic and electric splendor.
Grateful Dead: Dead Ahead
1981 · 2 votes
Series6
TV6.6Action & AdventureDramaFun-loving San Francisco Police Department investigator Nash Bridges is part of the elite Special Investigations Unit. He tackles crime using his keen sense of humor and charm. Joe Dominguez comes out of retirement to become Bridges' wisecracking yet more rule-abiding partner.
Nash Bridges
1996 · 115 votes
TV8.5Talk ShowApostrophes was a live, weekly, literary, prime-time, talk show on French television created and hosted by Bernard Pivot. It ran for fifteen years (724 episodes) from January 10, 1975, to June 22, 1990, and was one of the most watched shows on French television (around 6 million regular viewers). It was broadcast on Friday nights on the channel France 2 (which was called "Antenne 2" from 1975 to 1992). The hourlong show was devoted to books, authors and literature. The format varied between one-on-one interviews with a single author and open discussions between four or five authors.
Apostrophes
1975 · 4 votes
TV7.3Documentary'Basketball: A Love Story' is a series of 62 interconnected short stories that creates a vibrant mosaic of the game, featuring 165 exclusive interviews. The cast encompasses basketball's most prominent figures and explores the complex nature of love as it relates to the game.
Basketball: A Love Story
2018 · 3 votes
TV7.7DocumentaryA documentary series about pop and rock albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well-known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music.
Classic Albums
1997 · 8 votes
TV7.4The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture.
The Kennedy Center Honors
1978 · 8 votes
TV5.8DocumentaryThe long and unique tale of The Grateful Dead. The tale of the Grateful Dead is inspiring, complicated, and downright messy. A tribe of contrarians, they made art out of open-ended chaos and inadvertently achieved success on their own terms. Never-before-seen footage and interviews offer this unprecedented and unvarnished look at the life of the Dead.
Long Strange Trip
2017 · 4 votes