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‘Music Saved Me:’ Listen to Phil Lesh Narrate His Life Story In a Resurfaced 2005 Audiobook
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The late Phil Lesh will always be known for the contributions he brought to the Grateful Dead, but in his 2005 memoir, “Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead,” the songwriter and musician wrote openly about how the band actually contributed to his musical upbringing too.
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It’s been well-documented that Lesh grew up playing violin and trumpet — and he writes in the book about his love for jazz and “big bands” — but the Grateful Dead founding member says it was Jerry Garcia who convinced him to pick up the electric bass, while introducing him to the blend of country, blues, folk and rock that would go on to form the Dead’s signature sound.
A national bestseller was it was first released, Lesh’s memoir has returned to the bestsellers charts following the musician’s passing last week. The artist also narrated the audiobook version of “Searching for the Sound,” which is moving up the Audible charts.
OFFICIAL AUDIOBOOK
Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead
$13.12 $14.99 12% off
Released by Simon & Schuster Audio, Lesh’s audiobook memoir is narrated by the musician himself, with a run time of five hours and 33 minutes. You can listen to the audiobook for free with a 30-day free trial to Audible here. Or take advantage of the current Audible deal, which gets you three months of access for just $0.99 a month.
Per the publisher notes, Lesh “offers the first behind-the-scenes history of the Dead,” with the bassist revealing “the stories behind the songs, tours, and jams in the Grateful Dead’s long, strange trip, from the 1960s to the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995 and beyond.”
While much has been written about Grateful Dead over the years, fans will want to hear about the band’s experiences from Lesh’s own words — and his own point of view. As the bassist wrote in the book intro, “I was born an only child, but found my true brothers through the art of music,” adding that the bond the band members shared was “thicker than blood.”
Lesh also used his book to detail stories of meeting his personal heroes, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, and he wrote about sharing the stage with Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, and the Rolling Stones. Of course, the memoir also offered an honest reflection on the tumoil that has plagued Lesh and the band over the years, from bad management, to addiction issues, to the death of Garcia in 1995.
Still, Lesh concluded, “Music saved me,” adding that it “soothed and transported me during life-threatening illness and surgery, and brought me illimitable joy as I watched thousands of dancers surge and spin to the music flowing through my band.”
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Searching for the Sound
$11.99 $19.99 40% off
Originally released to coincide with the Grateful Dead’s 40th anniversary in 2005, Lesh’s memoir is seeing renewed interest following his passing.
In addition to the audiobook, you can pick up a paperback version of “Searching for the Sound” on sale for just $11.99 now on Amazon.com. Amazon also has the book available for Kindle here.
Lesh died last Friday at the age of 84. No cause of death was immediately given.
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