350 replies, but eventually grew to over 150,000. (Greenfield “secret life”.42).Most of the 1980's Deadheads were not baby boomers, but the baby boomers children, wearing tied-died t-shirts looking for the spirit of the 1960's. Grateful Dead concerts became a tribal phenomenon. Deadheads would arrive early in the parking lots selling t-shirts, illicit drugs, home cooked food, and a giant selection of old concert tapes. Deadheads would travel like gypsies, from city to city, state to state to see the Grateful Dead. Taking long leaves of absences from work or school, the Deadheads would pile into a van and travel across the country. To the fans, the Dead was something to depend on, a rock institution, the Grateful Dead had created their own world. Deadheads thought as if it was one great big family, and that’s exactly what it was, a family ( Hochman 34).Misfortune struck Garcia and The Grateful Dead once again. On July 10, 1986 Garcia lapsed on stage into a near fatal diabetic coma. It lasted for five days. As a result of his coma, Garcia was forced to re-learn the Guitar. On the positive side, when Garcia awakened he experienced a new depth of affection from the deadhead community. Although Garcia lost his guitar skills, he did not loose his passion for music. Practicing for nearly six months, Garcia was finally ready to tour once again. On December 15, 1986 The Grateful Dead was back on the concert scene. When Garcia pp 10appeared back on stage the deadheads greeted him with an energizing standing ovation, giving Garcia the second wind he needed (Willman 12).After Garcia’s coma The Grateful Dead needed something to put them back on track. Returning back to the studio for the first time in over ten years, The Dead worked long and hard to produce a hit record. During the summer of 1987 the Dead went to the top of the charts with their recording titled “In The Dark”. In The Dark was...
