Credit: Danny ClinchThe Grateful Dead will celebrate their 50th anniversary with a series of Fare Thee Well shows this summer in Santa Clara, California and Chicago. In honor of the legendary band's farewell, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, Dave Matthews and My Morning Jacket's Jim James have picked their favorite Dead tunes for Rolling Stone.
Auerbach choice is "My and My Uncle," from The Grateful Dead's 1971 self-titled album, more commonly known as Skull and Roses.
"The Skull and Roses album reminds me of being on the road with my dad," Auerbach writes. "He was an antiques dealer, so he'd ride around different places to do his rounds, and we wore that one out."
Matthews grew up in South Africa, so he didn't hear a lot of The Grateful Dead until he was a teenager, but as a kid, he does remember listening to "Casey Jones."
"I liked it before I knew what cocaine was, and before I knew what 'high' was," Matthews says." "So that one is sort of the nursery rhyme that sticks in my mind."
As for James, he originally resisted The Grateful Dead, but then he listened to American Beauty. He was especially affected by the song "Candyland."
"It's so dreamy," says James. "The harmonies and the guitar work so beautifully. It just takes me to this place. It's about a drug dealer, but it doesn't feel cheap."
You can read about favorite Dead picks from Bleachers' Jack Antonoff, The Black Crowes' Chris Robinson and more at RollingStone.com.
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