Drums – Tama Starclassic Maple, Deeper Purple finish. Ulrich uses the same kit, in a green finish, in the tuning room (prior to performances) and in the studio. This is the same kit that he used from the period 2003–2007. From 2008 to 2016 he used his LU Magnetic Orange, which is the same kit in orange.

It looks like he’s using a Ludwig kick drum (14×22), Gretsch toms (8×12 and 9×13, and a 16×16 floor), and a Rogers Dynasonic snare. Check him on the twitter. It’s a beautiful thing. I’ve seen pictures of him playing everything from Ludwigs to Rogers.

For summer 2017, Tama introduces the limited edition Starclassic Lars Ulrich WorldWired Kit ($6,150 MSRP). This 6-piece double-bass drum set offers the same configuration as the Lars Ulrich drum set that he uses on tour with Metallica, and is designed to inspire the hard rock/metal drummer.

We’ve been playing for over 40 years and nothing feels quite like playing with Bill. He’s an amazing drummer. He’s the center of The Dead, the anchor. I move around in my way.

The band knew we had to be out of the band, and Keith and I had been talking about ‘How in the world do you quit the Grateful Dead?’ ” At a group meeting at the Godchaux’s house in 1979, everyone came to a mutual decision: It was time for the couple to leave. “It was sad, but it was what needed to happen,” she says.

Michael Hinton and Mickey are, like, extraordinary rudimental drummers. They actually won the national rudimental competition one year, which is no easy feat, and so I was introduced to both of them.

It was my elective to leave the band for a while for personal reasons. [Hart left the band in 1971 after his father, who briefly managed the Dead, embezzled money from the group. I left because of personal reasons, which had nothing to do with the band really.

75 years (May 7, 1946)

Bill Kreutzmann

The surviving members of the stalwart classic-rock band — Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir — have booked their final concerts together at Chicago’s Soldier Field on July 3, 4 and 5.

Why did you need two drummers? That can be a blessing and a curse. One time after a particularly difficult gig, Jerry told those guys it was like playing with a popcorn machine. Because they got busy and were going in different directions and stuff, and there wasn’t much rhyme or reason to it.

One of the reasons the Grateful Dead was so popular live is because the band just sounded so much better than any other live band. The Grateful Dead were arguably the most important, and most successful live band ever.

Similarly there is general agreement on the Dead’s peak performance periods: 1968–1974, 1977, 1981–’82, 1988–’90; you’ll find a heavy concentration of Seventies performances here. In the end, though, opinions about “best” anything are always going to be completely subjective and also probably change over time.

December: Grateful Dead born: The band changes its name after learning of another group called Warlocks. Garcia spotted the phrase “grateful dead,” which the band later discovered to be from an Egyptian prayer, in a dictionary, and it stuck.

Grateful Dead, byname the Dead, American rock band that was the incarnation of the improvisational psychedelic music that flowered in and around San Francisco in the mid-1960s. Grateful Dead was one of the most successful touring bands in rock history despite having had virtually no radio hits.

Owsley Stanley

The Warlocks

Top 10 Grateful Dead Songs

• “Casey Jones” From: ‘Workingman’s Dead’ (1970)
• “Truckin’” From: ‘American Beauty’ (1970)
• “Touch of Grey” From: ‘In the Dark’ (1987)
• “Friend of the Devil” From: ‘American Beauty’ (1970)
• “Uncle John’s Band” From: ‘Workingman’s Dead’ (1970)
• “Ripple”
• “Fire on the Mountain”
• “Sugar Magnolia”

The Best Songs Of All Time—According To Critics And Fans

• ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ — The Rolling Stones.
• ‘Yesterday’ — The Beatles.
• ‘Good Vibrations’ — The Beach Boys.
• ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ — Nirvana.
• ‘Johnny B. Goode’ — Chuck Berry.
• ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ — The Beatles.
• ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ — Bob Dylan.

Popular on Rolling Stone

• Great American Music Hall, San Francisco.
• Beacon Theatre, New York.
• Winterland, San Francisco.
• Civic Center, Augusta, Maine.
• Madison Square Garden, New York.
• Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia.
• Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York. March 29th, 1990.
• Madison Square Garden, New York. September 14th, 1991.