During the ’60s and ’70s, the Laurel Canyon scene in Los Angeles was home to some of the rock world’s biggest hits, including Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, The Eagles, and The Byrds. Then you had the Bay Area, the epicenter of the counterculture movement, which spawned the careers of Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane (and later, Jefferson Starship).
But no one was quite as popular as the Grateful Dead.
In addition to some of the best songwriting in rock history, the band’s free-flowing jams, Jerry Garcia’s epic guitar solos, and the cosmic drum duets from Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart earned the Dead one of the most devout fanbases of all time: the Deadheads. Unlike other bands on this list, The Dead didn’t win stacks of awards or sell a record-breaking number of albums. For Jerry and the band, it was all about the live experience; there was just this spiritual energy of seeing the Dead live that no other band has matched since.
Other major bands from California include — of course — The Eagles, Van Halen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Go-Go’s, Green Day, No Doubt, and Maroon 5.
