A total of 250 close friends and family attended Jerry Garcia’s funeral in 1995. Including Bob Dylan and John Scher, the long-time promoter of the band The Grateful Dead. On “The Bob Lefsetz” podcast, Scher talks about the funeral and recalls something Bob Dylan said to him. They both left the funeral together as Dylan declared, “That guy lying there (Garcia) is the only one in the world who knows what it’s like to be me.” “That was pretty profound,” says Scher.
This isn’t the only moment the promoter remembers. The fact that he left the funeral with Dylan was also discussed in the media. Photos were taken of the two and ended up on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle the next day, Scher says. The accompanying headline read: “Bob Dylan leaves Jerry Garcia’s funeral with an unknown person,” Scher explains with a laugh.
John Scher meets The Grateful Dead after Jerry Garcia’s death
In the podcast in question, Scher also remembers his first meeting with The Grateful Dead after their band member Jerry Garcia died. The promoter wanted to convince the group to continue making music and not break up: “Guys, Jerry wouldn’t want you to break up. You are an extraordinary group.”
Phil Lesh then announced that the band would never call themselves “The Grateful Dead” again. This promise still holds today. Since then, the members have published the group’s material, but under different names.