The Grateful Dead

Their debut was a casserole of folk, rock, blues and psychedelia, but it didn't quite capture the live experience.

When the Grateful Dead announced their Fare Thee Well shows, they insisted that their July 5 concert would be their last ever. But if drummer Bill Kreutzmann had his way, they would do a few more.

Hoarse and tired, the singer's shaky visage spoke to the health problems that would soon consume him.

Now that the Grateful Dead's 50th anniversary "Fare Thee Well" shows are on the books, it's time to take a look back at — and behind the scenes of — the concert event of the season.

While the Grateful Dead were in the midst of their 50th anniversary Fare Thee Well dates at Chicago's Soldier Field, the band received a once-in-a-lifetime public tribute hundreds of miles away.

The final night of the revamped Grateful Dead’s Fare Thee Well concerts in Chicago was an emotional evening filled with the kind of surprises, hits and misses that fans have come to expect.

When dealt with one-by-one, the tracks actually stand as some of the best moments in their canon.

The Grateful Dead have announced plans to sell audio and video of their final concerts.

Even the Grateful Dead's most ardent supporters admit that making albums wasn't one the band's strengths.

They were coming to terms with the constraints, as well as the resilience, of a recording studio.

An assortment of one-of-a-kind Grateful Dead items auctioned off in April have been stolen from the auction house before they could be delivered to their new owners.

The Grateful Dead have added two additional reunion shows amid a frenzy of interest.