Entertainment
Trackin’ the Truckin’: How Billboard Covered the Grateful Dead for 60 Years
In folklore, “grateful dead” refers to the spirit of a deceased person who is given a proper burial by the protagonist of a story, then does him a favor down the road. In rock, for six decades, it has also been the name of a restless-spirited band that has received its last rites but keeps on keeping on as a living — and jamming — part of American culture. For three days in August in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, the Dead celebrated six decades of the longest, strangest trip in pop music, which Billboard has been trackin’ since the band started truckin’.
Drinking the Electric Kool-Aid
“Can the expanding pop/hippie movement turn [San Francisco] into a major music center?” Billboard asked in its May 6, 1967, issue. The article cited Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company and the Grateful Dead (“a local favorite of the acid set”) as part of “an atmosphere of new things happening.” The piece also mentioned “Topsy’s Topless Band, a female rock quintet which swings exposingly in North Beach.”
Dark Stars
“It was a religious experience,” raved a reviewer in the Dec. 12, 1970, issue of Billboard, testifying that 6,000 Chicago fans “freaked and frolicked for four hours to music by the Warner Bros. sextet, easily the most underrated rock band in the world.” The Dec. 4, 1971, Billboard reported that the Dead — whose “Truckin’ ” would soon reach No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 — “have only just begun to receive mass recognition.” Hailing the Dead as “the best dance band in the country,” the writer backhandedly complimented the “gnome-like Jerry Garcia” for his “exhilarating enthusiasm.”
In the Charts
By 1987, the Dead was a live act known for epic performances and the devoted ’Heads who saw as many as possible — but the band didn’t have a big hit single until “Touch of Grey.” The song reached No. 9 on the Hot 100 and No. 15 on the Adult Contemporary chart, sending the In the Dark album to No. 6 on the Billboard 200. As an executive at Arista, the group’s label, noted in the July 25, 1987, issue: “It’s going way beyond the band’s customary base.”
Still Truckin’?
“The band grossed more than $32 million from January-August this year,” reported the Sept. 9, 1995, Billboard, about a month after Garcia died at the age of 53. Without him, however, “the future of the group is in question. The group has canceled its fall tour, and its plans remain uncertain.” But promotion veteran Danny Zelisko envisioned life after death. “If they didn’t continue to play,” he told Billboard, “I’d be very surprised.”
Good Company
Ain’t no grave can hold this band down, to paraphrase an old song. By 1998, the surviving band members reunited as The Other Ones, which in 2003 became the Dead, then — with the addition of John Mayer — morphed into Dead & Company in 2015. The group did a “final tour” in 2023, then a 2024 and a 2025 run of shows at Sphere, plus the Golden Gate concerts. The trip hasn’t stopped: Last year, the ongoing Dave’s Picks live series helped the Dead score a record high number of albums in the top 40 of the Billboard 200. Not bad for a former Bay Area jug band.
This story appears in the Aug. 30, 2025, issue of Billboard.
Entertainment
sombr Stops Show to Scold Venue Staff After Fan Seemingly Passes Out: ‘You Need to Pay Attention’
At his recent show in London, sombr paused the program to call out event staff after a fan appeared to faint in the audience without receiving help.
While in the midst of singing his breakout Billboard Hot 100 hit “Back to Friends” on Tuesday at O2 Academy Brixton, the Gen Z pop star suddenly waved at his band to stop playing. “Stop the show,” he said before addressing people working the concert, as captured in videos posted on social media. “Guys, there’s someone passed out over there.”
sombr Returns With New Song ‘Homewrecker,’ Navigates Love Triangle With Quenlin Blackwell & Milo Manheim in Western Music Video
“This is the most poorly managed venue I’ve ever played at in my life,” he continued. “You need to pay attention. It’s insane. I’ve played three nights here, and I’ve never played at a more poorly managed venue.”
Billboard has reached out to reps for sombr and O2 Academy Brixton.
Before proceeding with the show, the artist told the crowd, “Let me know when everyone’s good.”
sombr is currently on a run of shows in Europe, with dates planned for venues in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Dublin. This summer, he’ll play a slew of festivals, including Coachella and BottleRock Napa Valley.
The New York native also had another mid-show interruption recently, this time during his performance at the BRIT Awards. While he was singing “Undressed” at the ceremony, a man wearing a “Sombr is a homewrecker” shirt ran out on stage and appeared to hit Sombr; as it turned out, it was a pre-planned stint to help promote his new single “Homewrecker,” which recently debuted at No. 26 on the Hot 100.
And despite the momentary frustration, Sombr had only kind words to say about his overall experience playing for fans in London. “I love you so much,” he wrote over a video of the crowd at O2 Academy Brixton on his Instagram Story. “Thanks so much for an unforgettable past 3 nights. I’ll be back London.”
While the K-pop world is grappling with the unexpected news that ENHYPEN is no longer seven members following member Heeseung’s seemingly out-of-nowhere announcement of his departure, the industry has certainly been blindsided by such abrupt exits many times.
While Heeseung’s situation was shocking, it unfolded fairly calmly. On March 10, announcements came from ENHYPEN’s official channels, alongside a handwritten letter from Heeseung himself and ENHYPEN’s own statement on social media. Comparatively, some of K-pop’s biggest groups have been changed forever by dramatic announcements from members, via notices of legal action or vague updates from their agencies — the latter of which can sometimes be the most heartbreaking for fans.
From one of K-pop’s most landmark member exits in Junsu, Yoochun and Jaejoong from TVXQ! in 2009 (which ultimately rid the industry of so-called “slave contracts”) to years like 2014, 2019 or even last year, where multiple popular groups saw members drop from their groups, Billboard is sharing a timeline of the 15 most shocking exits from K-pop groups.
Membership changes are never easy, even when fans suspect something may have shifted for the group or there is an internal or external issue. Members of K-pop groups have left for the sake of their mental health or sometimes due to ongoing external pressure from issues from their past arising. For the purposes of this timeline and its relation to the news surrounding ENHYPEN and Heeseung, we’re focusing on K-pop member exits that seemingly came out of nowhere, with no prior indication, hiatuses or controversy.
Read on to learn how rare it is to have Heeseung remain under the same label as his former group in BELIFT LAB to pursue his solo career and more, in this look through K-pop’s most unexpected member departures.
Entertainment
Watch Harry Styles Bust Marcello Hernandez for Impersonating Him Ahead of ‘SNL’: ‘Are Those My Clothes?’
Sorry, Marcello Hernandez — there’s only one Harry Styles. On the set of Saturday Night Live ahead of the pop star’s upcoming hosting and performing stint, the comedian got a little too comfortable impersonating that week’s guest in a promo video posted Wednesday (March 11).
The teaser opens as a spoof on Styles’ One Night in Manchester concert special trailer, with the piano intro to his new single “American Girls” playing over shots of what looks like the singer’s silhouette striking poses and dancing across the stage. A record-scratch moment happens when the real Styles walks in with SNL castmember Kenan Thompson, busting Hernandez, who’d been pretending to be the Grammy winner that whole time.
“What are you doing, Marcello? Are those my clothes?” Styles asks a visibly embarrassed Hernandez.
“Yeah, sorry,” the stand-up comic stutters, suddenly shy about wearing Styles’ pinstriped, flared slacks. “I thought you weren’t coming, so I thought I’d just go on as your understudy.”
Perplexed, Styles explains where he and Thompson had been. “I’m 15 minutes late, because Kenan and I went out for pain au chocolat. It’s a tradition when I host.”
Suffice to say, it’ll be Styles — the real Styles — helming SNL on Saturday (March 14), returning to host for the second time. He previously led an episode of the show in 2019.
The Brit will also serve as musical guest on the new episode, having just dropped his new album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. The project was led by Billboard Hot 100-topping single “Aperture” and features second single “American Girls,” both of which are strong contenders for the tracks Styles will perform at 30 Rock — although fans will have to tune in to the live show to find out.
Watch Styles’ SNL promo above.
sombr Stops Show to Scold Venue Staff After Fan Seemingly Passes Out: ‘You Need to Pay Attention’
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