Dancing Skeletons

Before becoming the Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and Bill Kreutzmann debuted as the Warlocks on Wednesday, May 5th, 1965 at Magoo’s Pizza Parlor in Menlo Park, California.

The lineup also featured bassist Dana Morgan Jr., the son of local music storeowner Dana Morgan, who lent the band the instruments for the gig. While their opening outing didn’t draw a large audience—Garcia himself remembers the band outnumbering patrons—crowds steadily grew through their month’s weekly Wednesday performances until they overfilled Magoo’s and ventured to a new venue. And by the end of the month, the group decided Dana didn’t possess the goods necessary and brought in Phil Lesh to replace him, completing the Grateful Dead’s original lineup. The rest is music history. Pay homage.