The Grateful Dead: The Hippie Counterculture Movement

The hippie counterculture movement all began through revolutionary hipsters known as the Beat Generation. The “Beats” were a group of writers in the 1940’s and 1950’s that had a different way of thinking than of those in their own society. Their work was often inspired by their simplistic way of living and their Buddhist beliefs. “The beats were liminal figures who expressed their cultural marginality by living spontaneously, dressing like bums, sharing their property, celebrating nakedness and sexuality, seeking mystical awareness through drugs and meditation…” (Stephen Prothero, 210). Their writing inspired them often to travel and explore, living freely and doing as they please, like the poems that they wrote in their journals (Stephen

Some of the very popular psychedelic rock bands are The Beatles, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and The Grateful Dead. As stated before The Beatles and The Doors were both heavily influenced by the use of psychedelics. Jefferson Airplane was one of the most defining bands of the 1960’s era. They stood for not only the hippie psychedelic culture, but also the antiwar political movement (William Ruhlmann, 2016). The Grateful Dead however, was the most important band of the psychedelic era and were the most well known for psychedelic rock. “They broke all the rules when it came to rock and roll and steadily built a career that made them popular even in today’s society.” The Grateful Dead “raised the consciousness of the rock audience, leading them to an enhanced vision of music…” (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2016). The Grateful Dead’s music was especially enhanced by the use of LSD. The listeners often felt as if they were feeling the music throughout their body. The laid back way of thinking was what made them so popular and an inspiration to the hippie culture. When being interviewed Jerry Garcia said “What we are thinking about is a peaceful planet, we aren’t thinking about anything else, any higher powers. We aren’t thinking about revolution, war, or any of that. That’s not what we want, no body wants to get hurt. Nobody wants to hurt

This was “the West Coast equivalent to Woodstock” (The History Channel ,2016). Unlike Woodstock, Altamont was an improvised festival that took a drastic turn. The artists were scared to perform due to a violent outbreak from one of the hells angels that was supposed to be there for security (The History Channel, 2016). From this moment on the hippie counter culture began to deteriorate. Charles Manson was a serial killer in the 1960’s who believed that he was the new messiah. Him and his followers known as “the Family” were active psychedelic and hallucinogen users who committed notorious murders of people who betrayed their leader (Manson Biography). Because of Charles Manson’s heinous behavior the hippies were now seen as evil people in the American society. Ultimately, the decline of the hippie movement stemmed from the use of psychedelics for mind expansion, but once the use of the drugs took over many hippies became addicted to the