The Ultimate Grateful Dead Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
3 min
The Ultimate Grateful Dead Quiz
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About This Quiz

They left a patchouli-scented wake across the world. How much do you know about the Grateful Dead?
How did the musicians choose a name for their band?
A dictionary
A Ouija board
A psychic
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Jerry Garcia reportedly opened the book to a random page.

Roughly how many albums has the band sold worldwide?
97 million
35 million
20 million
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

They are one of the best-selling bands from the 1960s.

Which of the band's songs is listed as a U.S. national treasure?
"Truckin"
"Friend of the Devil"
"Uncle John's Band"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It was all about life on the road.

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How many different people played in the band throughout its lifespan?
18
12
9
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

They were an eclectic group of musicians.

In which year was the band formed?
1965
1959
1957
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The band was born in California.

What was the nickname of the sound system built just for the band's tours?
Lucy
The Fortress
Wall of Sound
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It was a massive system that made their music audible for everyone.

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How many Top 10 hits did the band record?
1
4
8
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The lack of hits didn't hinder the band's upward trajectory.

The band originally went by which name?
Wandering Wizards
Magic Men
Warlocks
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

They changed it when they realized the name was already taken.

About how many different songs did the band perform live?
250
500
700
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Amazingly, they played a new setlist at nearly every show.

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On which album cover did the lightning bolt and skull graphic first appear?
"Anthem of the Sun"
"Steal Your Face"
"History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One (Bear's Choice)"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Like the so-called dancing bears, this artwork became as legendary as the band.

To what ailment did Ron "Pigpen" McKernan succumb?
Alcohol abuse
Cancer
Heart attack
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

He played his last show with the group in 1972.

What were the "dancing bears" actually doing, according to the artist that created them?
Marching
Singing
Falling down
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

He thought it was clear that the bears were marching instead of dancing.

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What was the name of the band's only Top 10 hit?
"Casey Jones"
"Truckin"
"Touch of Grey"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The music video was extremely popular on MTV.

Why did Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux leave the band?
They struggled with drug abuse.
They had family obligations.
They were injured in a car accident.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

But Keith did die in a car wreck not long after their departure.

The cover of "American Beauty" is an ambigram that also reads as what?
"American Reality"
"American Brutality"
"American Hearts"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The album has gone double platinum.

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What band inspired the Dead to pursue rock instead of jug music?
The Moody Blues
The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Like everyone else, they were drawn to The Beatles.

Tom Constanten worked in the Air Force doing what job?
Piloting
Bomb loading
Computer programming
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

He was sent to Vietnam even though he was against the war.

Sometimes the band's live version of "Dark Star" would run about how long?
19 minutes
50 minutes
90 minutes
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The studio version was less than three minutes long.

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How many AWOLs did Jerry Garcia receive during his nine-month stint in the Army?
8
4
2
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

He clearly wasn't cut out for military life.

Robert Hunter took part in a Stanford University experiment on what subject?
Psychedelic chemicals
Pain response
Smoking
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The research was secretly funded by the CIA.

Donna Jean Godchaux was a backup singer for which No. 1 song?
"Make it With You"
"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"
"When a Man Loves a Woman"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

She and her husband introduced themselves to the band after one of their concerts.

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About how many live shows did the band play?
3200
2300
1700
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

That's more than 75 shows per year for three decades.

Which of the band's albums was the first to crack the Top 40?
"Steal Your Face"'
"American Beauty"
"Workingman's Dead"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It was the band's fifth studio album.

In total, roughly how many people saw the band perform live?
25 million
43 million
82 million
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Nearly 80,000 people attended one show.

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How did Vince Welnick die?
A fan attacked him.
He cut his own throat.
He was stabbed by a serial killer.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

He'd battled depression for more than a decade.

How did Jerry Garcia lose part of one finger?
The family dog bit him.
His brother chopped it off with an ax.
He ran with scissors.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This surely resulted in some sibling resentment

Which band member died of a drug overdose?
Brent Myland
Jerry Garcia
Bob Weir
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The 1990 death was a startling event in a band that copiously used drugs.

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For how many bands did Phil Lesh play bass guitar before joining the Dead?
0
2
5
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

He essentially learned how to play on the fly.

For their 1974 tour, how many speakers did the band use for their performances?
604
290
146
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

That was more than 70 tons of speakers, man.

In what year did Jerry Garcia die?
1993
1995
1999
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It was the end of an era for an iconic band.

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You Got:
/30
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