Deadheads rejoice! There’s yet still somehow more to be heard about the legendary Grateful Dead as CBS News radio has just released its new audio documentary “Dead Sound.”
The documentary covers The Grateful Dead’s live shows, and their focus on improving the experience of the concert-goer as well as their effect on live music as a whole.
The band emphasized getting the best sound quality possible and went to extreme measures to do so: using speakers intended for movie theaters, and eventually putting together the legendary “Wall of Sound,” a set-up featuring more than 600 speakers stacked 40 feet high and 70 feet across the stage.
“Visualize 440 yards. Being that far back from the stage, and I’m talking about just the speakers on the stage. And a quarter mile away, you could still feel that sound as a powerful and palpable thing. It was extraordinary,” said Dennis McNally, former publicist and historian for the Grateful Dead.
The Grateful Dead radically changed live music in under a decade and “Dead Sound” tells listeners how those changes came to be.
“Dead Sound” is available on to stream below via SoundCloud, the CBS News Radio app, or on your favorite podcasting app.
Concert sound today bears little resemblance to the early days of Rock N Roll — when acts like Chuck Berry and The Beatles swept the young hearts of the nation. The quality enhancement is due in large part to one band’s drive and innovation. CBS News Correspondent Jim Chenevey reports on how the Grateful Dead paved the way for modern concert sound.
Written and produced by Gauthier Giacomoni.
