Jerry Garcia – Comin' Up For Air (2xLP Color)

Unoff. release.

Title: Jerry Garcia - Comin' Up for Air
Year/Genre/Sub-Genre/City: 1985, Rock, Psychedelic Rock Jam Rock, San Francisco, California 8/26
Condition: New (BC) | Members: Jerry G (42' - 95')
Cultural Facts:

1. Personal Struggle: By the mid-1980s, Garcia's heroin use, heavy smoking and diabetes had seriously damaged his health. In 1986, only about a year after these recordings, he fell into a diabetic coma and nearly died. When he awoke, he had temporarily lost basic motor skills and had to relearn how to play guitar, an astonishing recovery for someone whose hands had defined his entire career.

2. Unexpected Childhood: Garcia lost most of his right middle finger at age four in a wood-chopping accident while his older brother was splitting firewood. Less than a year later, his father drowned during a fishing trip. Despite two traumatic childhood events involving his family and his hands, Garcia eventually developed one of rock's most recognizable guitar styles.

3. Community Ties: Garcia and the Grateful Dead helped establish the Rex Foundation in 1983, using concert proceeds to quietly fund grassroots arts, environmental and community organizations that often struggled to receive conventional grants. Rather than attaching Garcia's name to a giant celebrity charity, the foundation became known for distributing money to small groups doing work directly in their communities.