


The band began recording American Beauty only a few months after the release of Workingman's Dead. The album continued the folk rock and country music explored on Workingman's Dead and features the lyrics of Robert Hunter prominently. It was recorded between August and September 1970 and originally released in November 1970 by Warner Bros. In 1991, it was listed as 57th best albums of all times.Īmerican Beauty is the fifth album by the Grateful Dead. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine listed this as album 258 on their greatest albums of all time list. There is also a DVD Audio 5.1 surround sound version that Mickey Hart mixed that was also released in 2001. In 2001, the album was released in The Golden Road box set with bonus songs and reissued again 2003 on it's own. American Beauty's country-blues feel was enhanced by guest performances from famed mandolin player David Grisman, guitarist Dave Nelson (of New Riders Of The Purple Sage) and others. Three cuts, "Truckin'," "Box Of Rain," and "Ripple," received considerable FM radio play, while songs such as "Sugar Magnolia" and "Friend Of The Devil" became standards in the group's concert repertoire. Produced by the Grateful Dead, the album contains 10 original selections showcasing the band's songwriting skills. The trend continued with American Beauty (1970). On Workingman's Dead (1970), the band returned to its American musical roots with a selection of blues, country and folk-styled originals. The band's first four albums, Grateful Dead (1967), Anthem of the Sun (1968), Aoxomoxoa (1969) and Live Dead (1970) concentrated on capturing the band's legendary live sound on vinyl. In 1968 they added Mickey Hart to the line-up. Jerry Garcia (guitar), Phil Lesh (bass), Bob Weir (guitar), Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (keyboards) and Bill Kreutzmann (drums) made up the original band.

Formed in 1967, The Grateful Dead championed the free-form improvisational sound that defined San Francisco rock & roll in the 60's.
