Jerry Garcia created an unparalleled legacy across the American landscape, most notably in his role as a founding member, singer, songwriter and lead guitarist of the Grateful Dead. Jerry's unmistakable guitar tone enchanted multitudes of "Deadheads" throughout the band's 30-year career and beyond. The prolific nature of Garcia is evident in the breadth of albums he released throughout his iconic musical career which in addition to the Dead included work with the Jerry Garcia Band, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Old and in the Way, Legion of Mary, Garcia/Grisman, projects with Merl Saunders and as a solo artist. Considering Jerry was the most recorded musician of all time, there's always some overlooked gem just waiting to be discovered.

The majority of the songs for Jerry Garcia's debut solo album Garcia (1972) were first recorded by Jerry and Bill Kreutzmann (drums) as simple acoustic guitar and drum tracks with Jerry then overdubbing all other parts. This was the first studio album to be released by the Grateful Dead family for over a year, the last being the Dead's American Beauty. As a result it benefited from some stellar new Garcia / Hunter compositions, six of which became regulars in the Grateful Dead repertoire: "Deal," "Bird Song," "Sugaree," "Loser," "To Lay Me Down" and "The Wheel." It reached No. 35 on Billboard's album charts – the peak of Garcia's solo career.

Jerry touched on the album in an interview with Rolling Stone: "I'm doing it to be completely self-indulgent musically. I'm just going on a trip. I have curiosity to see what I can do, and I've a desire to get into sixteen track and go on trips that are too weird for me to want to put anybody else I know through. And also I want to pay for this house."