A box set covering Jerry Garcia's pre-Grateful Dead days will be out on May 11th.
The four-CD or five-record Before the Dead is a mix of studio and live recordings from 1961 to 1964, and was compiled by longtime Grateful Dead publicist Dennis McNally. The set includes the earliest known recording of Garcia performing -- eight songs done at his girlfriend’s 16th birthday party in 1961 alongside future Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter.