Grateful Dead Archive Launched at UC Santa Cruz

Deadheads and music aficionados now have a new resource for all things Grateful Dead with Friday's launch of an online archive.

Former band members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart announced in 2008 that the band would donate its archives to the University of California at Santa Cruz and university officials Friday announced the launch of the Grateful Dead Archive Online at www.gdao.org.

"This is a significant contribution to the Deadhead and Grateful Dead scholarly community," university librarian Ginny Steel said in a statement.

The website features thousands of images and materials, including a timeline marking milestones in the band's 30-year career. The band formed in 1965 and disbanded after the death of band member Jerry Garcia in 1995.

The Grateful Dead performed at in Mountain View in 1987 and 1990, from where they recorded the live album, View from the Vault, Volume Three.

The site features an interactive map that highlights the venues where the band performed and a gallery of concert posters and photos by renowned rock photographers including Herb Greene, Stanley Mouse, Susana Millman and Wes Wilson, university officials said.

The archives also include videos, audio recordings and interviews with band members. Fan art is featured on the website and archivists are encouraging the public to contribute their photographs and memories of the Grateful Dead to the collection.

Reported by Claudia Cruz and Bay City News