The Very Best of the Grateful Dead is a single-CD

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 chronicling all the years of the San Francisco psychedelic band

Psychedelic music

Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...

 the Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...

. It is the first release to document every label the band has played on; Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...

, Arista Records

Arista Records

Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...

 and Grateful Dead Records

Grateful Dead Records

In 1973, the Grateful Dead established their own record label, Grateful Dead Records. The band released several vinyl record LPs on this label in the mid-1970s, including Wake of the Flood in 1973, From the Mars Hotel in 1974, Blues for Allah in 1975, and a live double album, Steal Your Face, in...

/United Artists Records

United Artists Records

United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...

. It was released on September 16, 2003.

A songbook under the same name was released alongside this album which provides lyrics and musical tablature

Tablature

Tablature is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering rather than musical pitches....

.

Track listing

1. "Truckin'
   Truckin'
   "Truckin'" is a song by the Grateful Dead, which first appeared on their 1970 album American Beauty. It was recognized by the United States Library of Congress in 1997 as a national treasure....
   
   " (Garcia
   Jerry Garcia
   Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
   
   , Hunter
   Robert Hunter (lyricist)
   Robert C. Hunter is an American lyricist, singer-songwriter, translator, and poet, best known for his association with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead.-Biography:He was born Robert Burns in San Luis Obispo, California...
   
   , Lesh
   Phil Lesh
   Phillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
   
   , Weir
   Bob Weir
   Bob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
   
   ) – 5:08
   • Originally released on the 1970 album American Beauty
     American Beauty (album)
     American Beauty is the fifth album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between August and September 1970 and originally released in November 1970 by Warner Bros. Records...
     
     .
2. "Touch of Grey
   Touch of Grey
   "Touch of Grey" is a 1987 single by the Grateful Dead, and is the band's biggest commercial hit. The song is known for its refrain "I will get by / I will survive". It combines non sequitur lyrics with a pop tempo. The music was written by Jerry Garcia, and the words are by Robert Hunter...
   
   " (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:50
   • Originally released on the 1987 album In the Dark.
3. "Sugar Magnolia
   Sugar Magnolia
   "Sugar Magnolia" is a song by the Grateful Dead. Written by Robert Hunter and Bob Weir, it is one of the most well-known songs by the band, alongside such hits as "Truckin'," "Casey Jones," "Uncle John's Band," and "Touch of Grey."...
   
   " (Hunter, Weir) – 3:19
   • Originally released on the 1970 album American Beauty
     American Beauty (album)
     American Beauty is the fifth album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between August and September 1970 and originally released in November 1970 by Warner Bros. Records...
     
     .
4. "Casey Jones
   Casey Jones (song)
   "Casey Jones" is a song by the American rock band the Grateful Dead. The music was written by Jerry Garcia, and the lyrics are by Robert Hunter. The song first appeared on the Dead's 1970 album Workingman's Dead. Subsequently it was included on a number of their live albums.The Grateful Dead...
   
   " (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:28
   • Originally released on the 1970 album Workingman's Dead
     Workingman's Dead
     Workingman's Dead is the fourth studio album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded in February 1970 and originally released on June 14, 1970....
     
     .
5. "Uncle John's Band
   Uncle John's Band
   "Uncle John's Band" is a song by the Grateful Dead that first appeared in their concert setlists in late 1969. The band recorded it for their 1970 album Workingman's Dead...
   
   " (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:46
   • Originally released on the 1970 album Workingman's Dead
     Workingman's Dead
     Workingman's Dead is the fourth studio album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded in February 1970 and originally released on June 14, 1970....
     
     .
6. "Friend of the Devil
   Friend of the Devil
   "Friend of the Devil" is a song recorded by the Grateful Dead. The music was written by Jerry Garcia and John Dawson and the lyrics are by Robert Hunter. It is the second track of the Dead's 1970 album American Beauty....
   
   " (Dawson, Garcia, Hunter) – 3:24
   • Originally released on the 1970 album American Beauty
     American Beauty (album)
     American Beauty is the fifth album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between August and September 1970 and originally released in November 1970 by Warner Bros. Records...
     
     .
7. "Franklin's Tower" (Garcia, Hunter, Kreutzmann
   Bill Kreutzmann
   Bill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
   
   ) – 4:33
   • Originally released on the 1975 album Blues for Allah
     Blues for Allah
     Blues for Allah is the eighth studio album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between February 27 and May 7, 1975 and originally released on September 1, 1975. It was the third release under the band's own label, Grateful Dead Records, after fulfilling their contract with Warner Bros...
     
     .
8. "Estimated Prophet" (Barlow
   John Perry Barlow
   John Perry Barlow is an American poet and essayist, a retired Wyoming cattle rancher, and a cyberlibertarian political activist who has been associated with both the Democratic and Republican parties. He is also a former lyricist for the Grateful Dead and a founding member of the Electronic...
   
   , Weir) – 5:38
   • Originally released on the 1977 album Terrapin Station
     Terrapin Station
     Terrapin Station is the ninth studio album by the Grateful Dead, and was originally released on July 27, 1977.This album was the first time since Anthem of the Sun that the Grateful Dead used an outside producer...
     
     .
9. "Eyes of the World" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:20
   • Originally released on the 1973 album Wake of the Flood
     Wake of the Flood
     Wake of the Flood is the sixth studio album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between August 4 and September 1, 1973 and originally released on October 15, 1973. It was the first release under the band's own label, Grateful Dead Records, after fulfilling their contract with Warner Bros. Records...
     
     .
10. "Box of Rain
    Box of Rain
    "Box of Rain" is a song by the Grateful Dead, from their 1970 album American Beauty. The song was composed by bassist Phil Lesh and lyricist Robert Hunter, and sung by Lesh...
    
    " (Hunter, Lesh) – 5:20
    • Originally released on the 1970 album American Beauty
      American Beauty (album)
      American Beauty is the fifth album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between August and September 1970 and originally released in November 1970 by Warner Bros. Records...
      
      .
11. "U.S. Blues" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:40
    • Originally released on the 1974 album From the Mars Hotel.
12. "The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)" (Garcia) – 2:12
    • Originally released on the 1967 album The Grateful Dead
      The Grateful Dead (album)
      The Grateful Dead is the debut album of the Grateful Dead. It was recorded by Warner Bros. Records, and was released in March 1967. According to bassist Phil Lesh in his autobiography Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead, the album was released as San Francisco's Grateful...
      
      .
13. "One More Saturday Night
    One More Saturday Night (song)
    "One More Saturday Night" is a song written by Bob Weir and performed by the Grateful Dead. Weir is credited with writing "One More Saturday Night", although there is evidence that the song was originally written with Robert Hunter, with different lyrics...
    
    " (Weir) – 4:50
    • Originally released on the 1972 live album Europe '72
      Europe '72
      Europe '72 is a 1972 live triple album of performances by the Grateful Dead, recorded during their tour of Western Europe in early 1972.-History:...
      
      .
14. "Fire on the Mountain
    Fire on the Mountain (Grateful Dead song)
    "Fire on the Mountain" is a song by the Grateful Dead. It was written by lyricist Robert Hunter and composed by drummer Mickey Hart. It was commercially released on the album Shakedown Street in November 1978. An earlier instrumental version of this song titled "Happiness is Drumming" appeared in...
    
    " (Hart
    Mickey Hart
    Mickey Hart is an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band the Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971, and from October 1974 to August 1995...
    
    , Hunter) – 3:48
    • Originally released on the 1978 album Shakedown Street
      Shakedown Street
      Shakedown Street is the tenth studio album by the Grateful Dead. It was released on November 15, 1978 by Arista.The album was released for the first time on CD in 1990 by Arista Records before being re-released in 2000 by BMG International. It was then remastered, expanded, and released as part of...
      
      .
15. "The Music Never Stopped" (Barlow, Weir) – 4:35
    • Originally released on the 1975 album Blues for Allah
      Blues for Allah
      Blues for Allah is the eighth studio album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between February 27 and May 7, 1975 and originally released on September 1, 1975. It was the third release under the band's own label, Grateful Dead Records, after fulfilling their contract with Warner Bros...
      
      .
16. "Hell in a Bucket" (Barlow, Weir) – 5:38
    • Originally released on the 1987 album In the Dark.
17. "Ripple
    Ripple (song)
    Ripple is the sixth song on the Grateful Dead album American Beauty. It was released as the B-side to the single "Truckin'".-Background:...
    
    " (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:10
    • Originally released on the 1970 album American Beauty
      American Beauty (album)
      American Beauty is the fifth album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between August and September 1970 and originally released in November 1970 by Warner Bros. Records...
      
      .

Personnel

Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...

:

• Jerry Garcia
  Jerry Garcia
  Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
  
   - guitar, vocals
• Bob Weir
  Bob Weir
  Bob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
  
   - guitar, vocals
• Phil Lesh
  Phil Lesh
  Phillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
  
   - bass
• Bill Kreutzmann
  Bill Kreutzmann
  Bill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
  
   - drums
• Mickey Hart
  Mickey Hart
  Mickey Hart is an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band the Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971, and from October 1974 to August 1995...
  
   - drums
• Tom Constanten
  Tom Constanten
  Tom Constanten is an American keyboardist, best known for playing with the Grateful Dead from 1968 to 1970.-Biography:...
  
   - keyboards
• Ron McKernan - organs, vocals
• Keith Godchaux - keyboards
• Donna Godchaux
  Donna Godchaux
  Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay is an American singer best known for having been a member of the Grateful Dead rock group.-Biography:...
  
   - vocals
• Brent Mydland
  Brent Mydland
  Brent Mydland was the fourth keyboardist to play for the American rock band the Grateful Dead. He was with the band for eleven years, longer than any other keyboardist.- Early life :...
  
   - keyboards

Additional performers:

• Dave Torbert
  Dave Torbert
  Dave Torbert was a Bay Area musician, best known for his associations with the Grateful Dead and the New Riders of the Purple Sage. He played bass for the latter group, replacing Phil Lesh during the sessions for their first album...
  
   - bass on "Box Of Rain"
• Dave Nelson
  Dave Nelson
  David Earl Nelson is a former Major League Baseball player and one of the current broadcasters for the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team on Fox Sports Wisconsin...
  
   - electric guitar on "Box Of Rain"
• David Grisman
  David Grisman
  David Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...
  
   - mandolin on "Friend Of The Devil" and "Ripple"
• Merl Saunders
  Merl Saunders
  Merl Saunders, was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ.-Biography:...
  
   - organ on "One More Saturday Night" (later studio overdubs)
• Steven Schuster - saxophone on "The Music Never Stopped"
• Tom Scott
  Tom Scott (musician)
  Tom Scott is an American saxophonist, composer, arranger, conductor and bandleader of the west coast jazz/jazz fusion ensemble The L.A. Express.-Biography:Scott was born in Los Angeles, California...
  
   - lyricon and saxophones on "Estimated Prophet"
• The Martyn Ford Orchestra - on "Estimated Prophet"
• The English Choral - on "Estimated Prophet"
• Jordan Amarantha - percussion on "Fire on the Mountain"
• Matthew Kelly - harp on "Fire on the Mountain"
• John Kahn
  John Kahn
  John Kahn was an American rock bass player. For a period of about twenty five years Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead.-Biography:...
  
   - horn arrangements on "Fire on the Mountain"
• Howard Wales - organ on Truckin'

Production:

• James Austin, David Lemieux - compilation producers
• Cameron Sears - album coordination
• Robin Hurley - associate producer
• Jimmy Edwards - product manager
• Joe Gastwirt - remastering
• Gary Peterson
  Gary Peterson (record producer)
  Gary Peterson is an American record producer. He is probably best known as the creator of Golden Throats. Peterson and partner Pat Sierchio produced four volumes of the series for Rhino Records, which collect bizarre examples of celebrities singing pop music classics.Peterson began as Rhino's first...
  
   - discographical annotation
• Vanessa Atkins - editorial supervision
• Stanley Mouse - cover art, lettering
• Hugh Brown - art direction
• Linda Cobb - design
• Michael Ochs Archive, Bob Seidemann
  Bob Seidemann
  Bob Seidemann is an American graphic artist and photographer best known for the creation of several album covers and portraits of musicians in the 1960s and 1970s.Seidemann first gained notoriety in 1967 for a photographic interpretation of the Pietà...
  
  , Herb Greene
  Herb Greene
  Herb Greene is an American photographer known for his photographs of 1960s San Francisco musicians.-Career:Herb Greene was part of the 1960s San Francisco art scene and a friend of many of psychedelic rock musicians of the era...
  
  , Bruce Polonsky, Fred Ordower - photography
• Hale Milgrim, Kevin Gore, Scott Pascucci, Mark Pinkus, Tim Scanlin, Steven Chean, Dennis McNally, Jeffrey Norman - project assistants

Charts

Album - Billboard

Year	Chart	Position
2003	The Billboard 200	69

• The album debuted on the Billboard 200
  Billboard 200
  The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
  
   album chart on October 4, 2003. It spent 4 weeks on the chart.

See also

• Grateful Dead discography
  Grateful Dead discography
  The discography of the rock band the Grateful Dead includes more than 130 albums, the majority of them recorded live in concert. The band has also released more than two dozen singles and a number of videos....