Jerry Garcia's Amazing Grace

by Jerry Garcia, John Newton

February of 1993, Jerry Garcia met with David Grisman and Tony Rice to have an acoustic jam session. Tony's wife asked Jerry to sing Amazing Grace, and he obliged, with Grisman on mandolin and Rice on guitar. Together, the three played one of the most hauntingly poignant versions ever recorded of this classic song. Undoubtedly saved by his own "amazing grace," John Newton was a slave ship captain turned preacher who wrote the first version of this timeless hymn in the late 1760s. It went on to become one of the most beloved songs in America. Recorded hundreds of times, it resonates as strongly today as it did when it was originally written. Garcia recorded Amazing Grace for the first time while jamming with Grisman and Rice (recorded on Acoustic Disc's The Pizza Tapes ), making it a rare event -- and the inspiration for this book. Jerry Garcia was an artist, a poet, and a world-renowned musician. "Amazing Grace" is a classic song that has inspired countless generations. Here for the first time, the lyrics of this song are illustrated with a selection of Jerry Garcia's own wildly imaginative artwork, which was painstakingly chosen in cooperation with Deborah Koons Garcia from more than four hundred pieces of her late husband's works. A CD of the 1993 Garcia/Grisman/Rice recording of Amazing Grace is included in this book, making Jerry Garcia's Amazing Grace a unique keepsake for art and music lovers alike.

Genres: Music, Art

32 pages, Hardcover

Published September 24, 2002

About the author

Jerome John "Jerry" García was an American musician, songwriter, artist, and lead guitarist and vocalist of the psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead. García was viewed by many as the leader or "spokesman" of the group.

Performing with the Grateful Dead for its entire three-decade career (which spanned from 1965 to 1995), García participated in a variety of side projects, including the Jerry García Band, Old and in the Way, the Garcia/Grisman acoustic duo, and Legion of Mary. García co-founded the New Riders of the Purple Sage with John Dawson and David Nelson. He also released several solo albums, and contributed to a number of albums by other artists over the years as a session musician. He was well known by many for his distinctive guitar playing and was ranked 13th in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" cover story.

Later in life, García was sometimes ill because of his unstable weight, and in 1986 experienced a diabetic coma that nearly cost him his life. Although his overall health improved somewhat after that, he also struggled with heroin addiction, and was residing in a drug rehabilitation facility when he died of a heart attack in August 1995.