A popular symbol of The Greatful Dead is a cartoon bear with a smile, from where did this symbol come?

coristan

In 1969 the Dead were renting a warehouse in Novato, California. I was sound man for the band at the time, and lived in Oakland. Bob Thomas, an old friend of mine had just moved from LA to the Bay area and needed a place to stay, and we needed someone to look after the warehouse, which had had a problem with break-ins. Bob was a superb graphic artist whose work is now familiar to most Deadheads in the form of the Live Dead album cover and the Bear's Choice cover, on which the popular Dancing Bears appeared Apr 06 06, 8:26 AM

coristan

In 1969 the Dead were renting a warehouse in Novato, California. I was sound man for the band at the time, and lived in Oakland. Bob Thomas, an old friend of mine had just moved from LA to the Bay area and needed a place to stay, and we needed someone to look after the warehouse, which had had a problem with break-ins. Grateful Dead From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grateful_Dead - 101k Bob was a superb graphic artist whose work is now familiar to most Deadheads in the form of the Live Dead album cover and the Bear's Choice cover, on which the popular Dancing Bears appeared Apr 06 06, 8:27 AM

Brainyblonde

In the words of Owsley Stanley: In 1969 the Dead were renting a warehouse in Novato, California. I was sound man for the band at the time, and lived in Oakland. Bob Thomas, an old friend of mine had just moved from LA to the Bay area and needed a place to stay, and we needed someone to look after the warehouse, which had had a problem with break-ins. Bob was a superb graphic artist whose work is now familiar to most Deadheads in the form of the Live Dead album cover and the Bear's Choice cover, on which the popular Dancing Bears appeared. It is a long narrative and the rest can be read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grateful_Dead Apr 06 06, 8:43 AM

gdogs

P.S. The bears were actually marching not dancing. Apr 06 06, 9:49 AM

xfacilitatorx

They maybe were marching but are referd to as dancing. Grateful Dead Dancing Bear Stickers and Decals - Grateful Dead ... Grateful Dead Dancing Bear bumper sticker on blue LBL002 Grateful Dead Dancing Bear bumper sticker on blue $3.00 Add to Cart ... Grateful Dead Dancing Bears Sunflower Grateful Dead Dancing Bear; Regular price: $12.95; On Sale price: $9.99. pad. Spinner Grateful Dead Dancing Bear · Spinner Grateful Dead Dancing ... Amazon.com: Grateful Dead - Dancing Bears Vintage Ringer T-Shirt ... Product search results for Grateful dead dancing bears Posters and Art Prints - Grateful Dead- Dancing Bears by ... - $7.60 - NEArtExpress.com Posters, Art Prints and Framing The Grateful Dead - Dancing Bears Fabric Poster - $19.99 - AllPosters.com Grateful Dead Dancing Bears Rare Hippie N Framed Poster ... - $44.99 - All of these are cut/paste from Google search Apr 06 06, 10:33 AM

gdogs

Referred to as dancing-yes. However, Stanley "Bear" Owsley himself said "The bears were actually doing a high-step march-not dancing." Dancing Bears probably sounded better-who'd want to eat Marching Bear acid? Apr 06 06, 11:36 AM

xfacilitatorx

Marching might have conjured up images of the Third Reich or some Stalinist Regim in the minds of the Day Trippers. Apr 06 06, 11:48 AM