Grateful Dead 1978 "Blue Rose" Winterland Poster Signed by Mouse & Kelley, Graded 9.4 (AOR-4.38)....

Description

Grateful Dead 1978 "Blue Rose" Winterland Poster Signed by Mouse & Kelley, Graded 9.4 (AOR-4.38). A first-printing San Francisco concert poster for the famous Grateful Dead New Year's Eve 1978/79 show, which marked the closing of the historic Winterland ballroom on Sunday evening, December 31, 1978. The event was billed as an all-night party with "Breakfast Served at Dawn," and it delivered. Designed by Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley, this poster has been stylistically signed by Mouse in gold pen in the lower left corner, and Kelley in the lower right. It was subsequently graded a smelling-like-a-rose 9.4 Near Mint by CGC (the Certified Guaranty Company). Measures 19" x 28 ½". From the David Swartz Concert Poster Collection. COA from Heritage Auctions.

Literature: See Grushkin, Paul, The Art of Rock Posters from Presley to Punk, Abbeville Press, New York, 1987, p.343 (illus.).

More Information: This popular poster, nicknamed "Blue Rose," has always been one of the most popular & enduring of the Dead's entire career, and indeed psychedelic posters in general.

This was one of the hottest tickets to hit San Francisco in many years; Bill Graham stated that he had received as many as half-a-million ticket requests for the 5,400-capacity arena he had converted to a concert venue in 1971. It was a major event that was broadcast on local outlets KQED-TV and KSAN-FM radio.

According to Grateful Dead: The Illustrated Trip (DK Publishing, 2003, co-authored by Dennis McNally), the Dead almost didn't make the gig. A bomb scare at LAX airport in Los Angeles held up the band for several hours, as they waiting to fly home from a show at UCLA the night before. They rose to the occasion, however, including a performance of "Dark Star" for the first time in four years. A lot of S.F. guest musicians showed up to play, including John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service. At this point the Dead's two most recent albums were Terrapin Station and Shakedown Street.

Trust it from this Heritage writer (Pete Howard) who was present that night: Bill Graham continued his tradition of crazy countdown stunts at midnight, this time riding down from the ceiling in a huge paper mache joint, complete with roach clip. The crowd, including me, adored it.

The Dead performed three sets during this marathon, with two encores – the last being "We Bid You Goodnight," played around 9:00 AM.

Joining the Dead were the Blues Brothers... SNL stars John Belushi and Dan Akroyd, with a backing band that included guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn from Booker T. & the MG's. Far from just a novelty opening act, this was the year of their #1 album Briefcase Full of Blues. The New Riders of the Purple Sage (name abbreviated on the poster) were also on the bill.

Breakfast was indeed served at dawn, and Winterland was eventually torn down to make room for an apartment complex.


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