Jerry Garcia lost two-thirds of his right middle finger at age four in a wood-chopping accident and later used that hand to become one of the most unconventional guitarists in history. Born in San Francisco in 1942 and named after composer Jerome Kern, he lost his father Jose to a drowning accident, spent five years with grandparents whose radio played the Grand Ole Opry, picked up banjo before guitar, and learned to harmonize by ear from his brother Tiff's R&B records. A general Army discharge, a 1961 Palo Alto car crash that killed a friend, and a 1964 LSD experience each redirected his path.

This episode follows the Warlocks becoming the Grateful Dead by way of a dictionary, how modal jazz let a three-chord song stretch into a 20-minute jam, 2,314 live shows, side work with Old & In the Way and pedal steel on "Teach Your Children ...