Henry Kissinger Recorded Grateful Dead Shows to Trade w World Leaders

Henry Kissinger Loved The Grateful Dead. Henry Kissinger died today at the age of 100. However, did you know that Henry was a huge fan of the Grateful Dead. Kissinger followed the band on tour and often recorded their concerts. He would trade the tapes with world leaders to get them to do what he wanted.

Henry Kissinger was a diplomat, ambassador, political scientist, geopolitical consultant, politician and a lot of fun at parties. He served as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. However his first love was the Grateful Dead.

Henry Kissinger Loves The Grateful Dead

Kissinger was a longtime Deadhead, first seeing the band in 1967. He said he has seen more than 1,000 Dead or Dead-related shows (Legion of Mary, Jerry Garcia Band, Ratdog and Dead and Co, featuring John Mayer). The music has been an important part of his life for more than seven decades. “I don’t care much for John Mayer though” said Kissinger. “He is a bit of a weeny and does not fit in or stand for the Dead values. He is a sappy pop star. Jerry is probably rolling over in his grave.”

Henry Kissinger Recorded Grateful Dead Shows to Trade w World Leaders

Henry compiled a massive catalog of bootleg Dead shows. He would then trade them to world leaders in order to sweeten deals and get things done. “Golda Meir was a big fan of the Dead as well. I gave her a tape I recorded at Winterland 1970. She flipped and agreed to anything. Same thing with Anwar Sadat, I gave him a tape from The Fillmore East and he said gimme peace, where do I sign?”

“A 10 tape set that I recorded in Europe got us out of Vietnam. It was amazing how many leaders loved the Dead. Nixon did not like The Dead and neither did Ford but they were behind me as long as I was making deals. The band members embraced me except Jerry. He thought I was a spy to set him up for a drug bust.”

Kissinger then expanded his diplomacy skills to assist rock bands. He was hired over the years to work with The Ramones, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and a host of other bands that were on the verge of breaking up. His success varied. Henry’s vast tape collection has been donated to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. However, The head of the Rock Hall rejected the tapes and asked if they had any Missy Elliott or ABBA tapes. Those we can use.