The famous American singer, songwriter and guitarist Jerry Garcia was a practicing Hindu through much of his adult life. He was associated with the rock band – ‘The Grateful Dead’ for its entire 30 year career. The band rose to prominence in the 60s for combining Rock & Roll with folk influences in its songs such as ‘Truckin’, ‘Casey Jones‘, ‘Sugar Magnolia‘ and ‘Friend of the Devil‘.
Jerry passed away in August 1995. On April 4, 1996 following a total lunar eclipse, Jerry’s ashes were spread in the Ganges river by his wife, Deborah and Bob Weir, a co-member of his band. The ceremony was conducted in the upper Ganges in the holy city of Rishikesh, India.
Rishikesh, also known as the “Yoga capital of the world”, has been a sacred place for Hindus for centuries. The holy Ganges flows through this city. It is also famous for the visit of the “Beatles” in 1968 in the Ashram of Maharshi Mahesh Yogi.
Some known credit’s to Jerry’s name are – “Runaway Bride”, “Foxcatchers”, and “The Dreamers”. He was ranked 13th in the “100 Greatest Guitarists of all time”, in Rolling Stone’s cover story in 2003. Let us pray that Jerry’s soul finds peace.
[Img – https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/jerry-garcia-grateful-dead-greatest-songs-1036037/]
Jerry is one of the innumerable celebrities who have embraced Hinduism such as Elizabeth Gilbert, Trevor Hall and Kelli Williams.
This article is part of the series on Global Celebrities who have been touched by Sanatan Dharma. Read more about the spiritual journey of George Harrison , Hugh Jackman, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.