Jerry Garcia would have turned 74 today

Jerry Garcia of American psychedelic rock band The Grateful Dead 1969 Jerry Garcia of American psychedelic rock band The Grateful Dead 1969 Photo: Baron Wolman Photo: Baron Wolman Image 1 of / 39 Caption Close Jerry Garcia would have turned 74 today 1 / 39 Back to Gallery

Jerry Garcia, guitarist and founder of the legendary San Francisco and Marin-area band Grateful Dead, would have turned 74 years old on August 1.

The musician was lauded as one of the greatest guitar players of all time. Rolling Stone magazine, who placed the psychedelic rocker at #46 in their list of the 100 best guitarists ever, asked fellow San Franciscan Carlos Santana to explain Garcia's artistic prowess in a short article.

Saying that Garcia had a "tremendous sense of purpose," Santana relayed how much he enjoyed playing with and watching the late Grateful Dead musician. "Jerry was the sun of the Grateful Dead," he said, "the music they played was like planets orbiting around him."

See photos from Garcia's life through the years in the gallery above.