The Dead, and particularly Jerry Garcia, get little credit from the uninitiated for the depth of their folk roots. But it's a fact that Jerry started as a banjo player (which he was very good at, and the bluegrass fingerpicking technique carried over into his unique electric guitar style to a great extent) and the Dead began as a jug band (Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions).

Jerry always had a great love for traditional ballads and recorded quite a few on his duo CDs with David Grisman, as well as keeping some in the Dead's huge, revolving repertoire for 30 years.

I miss ol' Jer...

Cheers,
Michael