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The roots of The Grateful Dead trace back to 1965, when they emerged as Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions, barely scraping by with a weekly income of $125, shared among all band members. The situation grew dire when they signed with Warner Brothers in 1966, only to find themselves entangled in a contract that exploited their creativity while offering them scant financial reward. Lead guitarist Jerry Garcia fondly recalled the struggles they faced, living off the kindness of friends and cramming into a single house in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district.