Jerome John Garcia

 Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995)

He was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work as the lead guitarist and as a vocalist with the band Grateful Dead, which came to prominence during the counterculture era in the 1960s. Although he disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader or "spokesman" of the group. One of its founders, Garcia performed with the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career (1965–1995). Garcia also founded and participated in a variety of side projects, including the Saunders–Garcia Band (with longtime friend Merl Saunders), the Jerry Garcia Band, Old and in the Way, the Garcia/Grisman acoustic duo, Legion of Mary, and the New Riders of the Purple Sage (which Garcia co-founded 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. ater in life, Garcia was sometimes ill because of his diabetes, and in 1986, he went into a diabetic coma that nearly cost him his life. Although his overall health improved somewhat after that, he continued to struggle with obesity, smoking, and longstanding heroin and cocaine addictions. By the beginning of 1995, his playing ability had suffered to the point where he would often turn down the volume of his guitar, a problem exacerbated by carpal tunnel syndrome and the ongoing loss of feeling in his extremities from diabetes. On the band's final tours, he frequently had to be reminded of what song he was performing.

On August 9, 1995, at 4:23 am, eight days after his 53rd birthday, Garcia was found dead in his room at the Betty Ford clinic, where he had been staying since June that year. Garcia had died from a heart attack.