FD-82 Grateful Dead 1967 Denver, CO "The Head" Concert Poster Graded 10 Gem Mint. ...

Description

FD-82 Grateful Dead 1967 Denver, CO "The Head" Concert Poster Graded 10 Gem Mint. First-printing Denver, Colorado Family Dog concert poster for the Grateful Dead and Mother Earth playing at the FD's Denver venue on West Evans Street on Friday and Saturday nights, September 22 & 23, 1967. Known as FD-82 (D-3) in the Family Dog numbered series, this poster is nicknamed, for obvious reasons, "The Head." It's amazing the way "Grateful Dead" is spelled out in hidden fashion in the skull's teeth... check it out. Measuring 14" x 20", this poster's been graded to a perfect, bone-rattling 10 Gem Mint by CGC (the Certified Guaranty Company). COA from Heritage Auctions.

More Information: In Eric King's poster guide, this specimen is known as FD-82-OP-1. It has a clean presentation of the artwork, with no writing over the white skull or red margin. OP-2 added "Grateful Dead" over the skull's forehead and ticket-buying info in the bottom red margin; that version is much rarer than this one. But many prefer this one because you still get the Dead's name (twice, in fact) and all pertinent concert info - venue, dates, light show, opening acts - all except for the ticket details.

Many people focus on the skull's nose and try to figure out who that center man is. There's no answer; he seems like just a typical long-haired, mustachioed man of the day. They don't think to focus on the skull's teeth, and never realize that Dennis Nolan's imaginative artwork forms the words "Grateful Dead"!

Opening act Mother Earth was a San Francisco band by way of Madison, Wisconsin, fronted by singer/songwriter Tracy Nelson. They shared the Avalon and Fillmore stages with the likes of the Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix throughout the late 60's. From 1968-1973, Mother Earth released four albums on Mercury Records, two on Reprise and one on Columbia. Three of them made it onto Billboard's album chart, but not very high.


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