"Grateful Dead" is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead, released on September 24, 1971, on Warner Bros. Records. It is their second live double album and their seventh overall. Although published without a title, it is commonly known as Skull and Roses due to its iconic cover art, as well as Skull Fuck, the original title the band wanted, which was rejected by the record company. This was the group's first album certified gold by the RIAA and remained their best seller until it was surpassed by Skeletons from the Closet.
Unlike Live/Dead, this album features several lead and background vocal overdubs. For the three new original compositions—"Bertha," "Playing in the Band," and "Wharf Rat"—the band invited Jerry Garcia associate Merl Saunders to overdub organ parts, making his contributions more prominent than those of Pigpen. "Playing in the Band" received considerable airplay and became one of the Dead's most frequently performed songs. The closing segue of "Not Fade Away" into "Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad" also gained airplay and became a fan favorite.
The album's cover art, created by Alton Kelly and Stanley Mouse, is based on an illustration by Edmund Joseph Sullivan for an old edition of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. The original vertical gatefold cover unfolds to reveal the entire skeleton, which has become one of the band's most recognizable images.
The opening track "Bertha" fades in, simulating entry into a performance space, while CD/digital versions use a longer, full opening. More tracks from the same concerts were later released on Ladies and Gentlemen... the Grateful Dead.
A 7" single of "Johnny B. Goode," a split single with Elvin Bishop, featured a version from the album Fillmore: The Last Days, while the version from this album was later used as a B-side on the re-release of the "Truckin'" single.
The album was remastered and expanded for the 2001 box set The Golden Road. This version, which includes three bonus tracks and the extended "Bertha," was released separately in 2003. The 50th Anniversary Edition of Skull and Roses was released on June 25, 2021, in CD, LP, and digital formats, including a bonus disc of songs recorded live at the Fillmore West on July 2, 1971.
When the band submitted "Skull Fuck" as the album title, it was rejected by the record label. Ultimately, the album was published without a title on the record labels or cover artwork. Although the band refers to it by that title, the alternate title "Skull & Roses" emerged among distributors, music buyers, and reviewers due to the graphic design on the cover.
Drummer Bill Kreutzmann explained that the original title was deemed too offensive for the time, leading to concerns that stores would boycott it. Inside the gatefold of the original LP, the band connected directly with their growing fan base, inviting fans to share their information for updates.
