Entertainment

Trackin’ the Truckin’: How Billboard Covered the Grateful Dead for 60 Years

Published

8 months ago

September 5, 2025

Vicky

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

Which New Music Release Is Your Favorite This Week? Vote!

Published

3 weeks ago

April 25, 2026

Vicky

It’s the final new music Friday (April 24) of the month, and everyone from Noah Kahan to Kehlani and Suki Waterhouse have put forth some of their best work as May waits just around the corner.

This week, Vermont’s favorite folk-rock singer-songwriter finally returned with a new album after four years of Stick Season, his breakout album that reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The Great Divide is 17 tracks of Kahan reexamining his worldview after struggling with his mental health in the years since he found fame.

And, as if taking cues from the success of first-ever Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit “Folded” (which reached No. 6 on the chart in January), Kehlani leans fully into classic R&B flavors in an intentional push to recenter the genre’s traditions. “All the R&B artists, we want R&B to be back,” the artist told Billboard ahead of being named Billboard Women in Music’s Impact honoree. “We want good, long songs. We want three verses and bridges and modulations and all the things – we want that too. We just didn’t think anybody else wanted it. I have an allegiance to the genre, and I’ll keep it there.”

On top of the bounty of new albums, several artists have released fresh singles — including Suki Waterhouse, who returns with “Tiny Raisin” shortly after announcing her next album, Loveland, as well as Hayley Kiyoko and Gigi Perez, who teamed up for heartfelt duet “Collide.” Plus, Dylan Gossett adds “My Boy” to the mix, written as a letter to his son.

But which release is your favorite this week? Let Billboard know by voting in the poll below.

Entertainment

Celeb-Loved Juicy Couture T-Shirts Are On Sale for $8 Right Now (If You Hurry)

Published

3 weeks ago

April 25, 2026

Vicky

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

It’s been almost three decades since the LA-based casual wear brand Juicy Couture first hit store shelves, and the Hollywood-loved label has made its way back into the spotlight in recent years thanks to the Y2K trend resurgence and newfound love from influencers online.

Best known for its T-shirts, handbags and yes, those velour tracksuits (reportedly designed exclusively for Madonna at first), Juicy Couture pieces were seen on practically every major celebrity in the 2000s, from Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, to Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian. Musicians like Miley Cyrus, Nicole Scherzinger and even Beyoncé have also been spotted wearing Juicy Couture, and now, a new Amazon deal makes it easy for you to get into some JC as well.

LIMITED TIME DEAL

Table of Contents

Juicy Couture Cap Sleeve T-Shirt (Five-Pack)

$38.24 $44.99 15% off

Buy Now On Amazon

Amazon is selling a five-pack of Juicy Couture T-shirts right now for just $39. Part of the “Juicy Sport” line, the cropped T-shirts are made from a super soft and breathable “performance” fabric that features a touch of spandex for easy movement and stretch.

That makes the T-shirts as ideal for a workout or yoga session as they are for pairing with your everyday ‘fits. The crop top look leans into the Y2K aesthetic and Amazon’s website shows the shirts styled with shorts, leggings and mini skirts alike.

This Amazon deal gets you five Juicy Couture T-shirts for under $40. That brings the price of each tee down to less than $8 — a virtually unheard of deal for generic T-shirts, let alone a brand name pick.

We like the five-pack above, which gets you a T-shirt in two shades of pink (including a light pink with the signature Juicy Couture cherries), plus navy blue, gray and black. You can choose from other color combinations online. The tees are available in sizes small to XXL.

ALSO AVAILABLE

Juicy Couture T-Shirts (Three-Pack)

$29.74

Buy Now On Amazon

Don’t need five T-shirts? Amazon also sells a three-pack of Juicy Couture tees for just $30, bringing the price of each individual shirt to under $10.

ALSO CONSIDER

Juicy Couture Queen of Everything Mini Duffle Bag

$45.09 $79.00 43% off

Buy Now On Amazon

And if you need a bag to take to the gym (or for an overnight stay), we like this mini barrel-style duffle bag, on sale for 43% off. The two-tone bag measures approximate 8.2 x 4.9 inches in size, which is enough room for your wallet, keys, change of clothes and toiletries. Choose to carry the bag via the top handle or with the detachable shoulder straps.

All of the above picks are officially-licensed products sold through Amazon’s Juicy Couture storefront. As with all Amazon deals, the sale prices could end at anytime, so we recommend adding the deals to cart while they are still live.

Entertainment

Head Back to Hawkins With New ‘Stranger Things: Tales From ’85’ Soundtrack

Published

3 weeks ago

April 25, 2026

Vicky

Netflix is bringing us back to the ’80s, and it’s making sure we have the right music for the occasion.

On Wednesday (April 22), Billboard can exclusively reveal that an original soundtrack is coming this week for the brand-new animated spin-off series Stranger Things: Tales From ’85. The score album, composed by Brad Breeck (Gravity Falls, We Bare Bears), will be released globally Thursday (April 23) at midnight ET.

Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 also arrives Thursday on Netflix, bringing viewers back to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, in the ’80s and reuniting us with some of the original show’s main characters. And much like Stranger Things, music plays a large role in the new show.

“This collection bridges the gap between the eerie depths of the Upside Down and the vibrant, neon energy of the mid-’80s,” Netflix said in a statement.

Tales From ’85 will feature not only a brand-new version of the original Stranger Things theme song, but the first episodes also include a selection of ’80s hits from artists like Black Sabbath, Billy Idol, Cyndi Lauper and more. Needle drops throughout the series include “We Got the Beat” by The Go-Go’s, “A Forest” by The Cure and “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn, “Rebel Yell” by Idol, and Lauper’s Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Time After Time.”

If it’s anything like the original show, artists with songs played in the new series could see a bump in streams and chart placements in the aftermath of the show’s premiere. After featuring the songs in pivotal moments, Stranger Things brought Kate Bush‘s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” to a new peak of No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 2022, 37 years after its initial release, while Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” made its debut on the chart the same year, 36 years after it came out.

Fans can pre-save Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) by Brad Breeck here, and find the full score track list below.

Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) by Brad Breeck track list

Flamethrower (artists: Brad Breeck feat. Brian Parkhurst)
Kids Riding Bikes
Big Snowstorm Coming
Someone In There
HIC Theme
I Just Saved Your Life
Strange Stones
Gotta Go Dark
How Long Is Detention
Sewer Chase (artists: Brad Breeck feat. Brian Parkhurst)
Towns
Clean Up
Investigating Pumpkins
Heaven Eleven
Nice Time Tonight
Storm the Gates
What Were These Things
Ground Rules
seluR dnuorG
Her Royal Nastiness
We Have To Try
Tales from ’85 End Titles (artists: Brad Breeck feat. Cooper Babbes)