JOHN BRACKETT: TOUCH OF GREY AT MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB

Join us AT MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB as we welcome JOHN BRACKETT on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 at 2:00 PM to celebrate the release of his new book TOUCH OF GREY, OR HOW THE GRATEFUL DEAD BECAME POP STARS

***NOTE THIS EVENT IS AT MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB. ADDRESS: 1350 Concourse Ave suite 269***

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Touch of Grey, or How the Grateful Dead Became Pop Stars draws on extensive archival research to tell the behind-the-scenes story of how one song fundamentally transformed the legacy of one of rock's most iconic groups.

Touch of Grey, or How the Grateful Dead Became Pop Stars tells the story of how one song transformed the popular legacy of one of rock's most iconic musical groups. John Brackett traces the history of the song "Touch of Grey," beginning with songwriter Robert Hunter's lyrical sketches and the Grateful Dead's earliest live arrangements, culminating in the group's popular renaissance following the release of "Touch of Grey" and the album In the Dark in the summer of 1987. Brackett details how particular recording technologies, notable musical characteristics, modes of attending and listening, and the mechanics of the contemporary music industry shaped this defining moment in the group's career. Drawing on extensive archival research, Touch of Grey examines how the band and their label worked to produce a hit record, a dynamic music video, and an effective promotional campaign that would propel the Grateful Dead from a group with a devoted cult following to become a pop culture phenomenon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
John Brackett is a music historian and researcher. His previous books include John Zorn: Tradition and Transgression (Indiana University Press, 2008) and Live Dead: The Grateful Dead, Live Recordings, and the Ideology of Liveness (Duke University Press, 2023). He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.