Member-only story
How Many Gold Records Do the Grateful Dead Have?
The Dead have had 21 of their albums certified for Gold Record Awards from the RIAA
THE UNDERDOGS OF ROCK & ROLL. That’s how I often think of the Grateful Dead. Creative, eclectic, subversive, and — in some respects, the ultimate “party band” — they were, nonetheless, regularly derided by critics and never really embraced by large numbers of record buyers. So I rarely think in terms of Grateful Dead Gold Records despite their having quite a few.
Many Dead fans were caught off guard in 1987 when the group released an upbeat, groovy single that shot up the charts and became the group’s first and only Top 10 pop hit. Touch Of Grey was a masterful single: catchy melody with hooks (!), a great bridge, cool harmonies, a commercial arrangement, and a full but uncluttered production. Hell’s Belles, man — you can sing along with it!
Part of the Grateful Dead’s allure was not being a part of the normal pop music world — they created their own world where everyone was welcome.
It was so masterful, so natural-sounding that one wonders why they didn’t do it more often — make Top 10 hits, that is. Of course, a part of their allure was not being a…
