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big_macaroons OP t1_ixkdevc wrote

Reply to comment by growingsprouts in TIL the band Grateful Dead got its name in 1965 after Jerry Garcia found the term in the Britannica World Language Dictionary along with the definition "the soul of a dead person, or his angel, showing gratitude to someone who, as an act of charity, arranged their burial". by big_macaroons

You might be interested to know that a different SF band - Jefferson Airplane - was named after Blind Lemon Jefferson. According to founding guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, his nickname was "Blind Thomas Jefferson Airplane," a name given to him by his friend Richmond "Steve" Talbot, inspired by the name of one of Kaukonen's influences, bluesmen Blind Lemon Jefferson. According to Kaukonen, when the band was trying to come up with a name, they were "...coming up with all these really stupid names and I said, 'If you want something really silly, try Jefferson Airplane.'" The rest of the band liked it and it stuck. Source

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