The Grateful Dead have made history by scoring the most Top 40 albums on the Billboard 200 chart. With the release of their archival album Dave’s Picks, Volume 49 debuting at number 25, the band now boasts an impressive 59 entries in the Top 40. This surpasses the records of Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, who were previously tied at 58 albums each.
Interestingly, the majority of the Grateful Dead’s Top 40 chartings have occurred years after the group disbanded in the wake of Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995. In fact, 41 of their 59 Top 40 entries have appeared since 2012, thanks to a series of archival releases complied by David Lemieux, also known as Dave’s Picks.
The achievement comes hot on the heels of news that Dead & Company – Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir and Mickey Hart along with John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane – will play a residency at the Las Vegas Sphere in 2024. The band is set to play at least 15 shows in the spring, although exact dates have not been confirmed.
This follows speculation that Dead & Company would follow in the footsteps of U2 and Phish with a residency at the $2billion venue. In 2022, the band announced a “final tour” in 2023, which could mark the last time they perform live together. Mayer commented in a statement, “Stay tuned for a full list of dates for what will surely be an exciting, celebratory, and heartfelt last run of shows.”
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