Grateful Dead Tattoos

Fare thee Well, Merle!

2016-04-06T13:15:00.001-05:00

Hall of Fame country musician Merle Haggard lost his battle with pneumonia today, on his 79th birthday. A sad day for deadheads, country music fans, and the music world in general. So long, Merle. Thank you for the years of music.

Lets take a moment to sing him home...

Merle Haggard live 2009

And of course, Mama Tried...

Rest in Peace Merle Haggard 4/6/1937- 4/6/2016

poster available at http://fineartamerica.com/featured/merle-haggard-pop-art-jim-zahniser.html

Grateful Dead tattoo #123 Dancing Bears Chest Piece

2016-04-01T13:42:00.003-05:00

Only the truly Deadicated will go so far as a full on chest piece. Here's a proud Dancing Bears tattoo submitted by TJ from Canton, IL.

The work was done by Jason Falsetti. Looks like Jason is with Tormented Tattoo, in Havana, IL.

Let's take a closer look...

Now, tell me, who gets a chest sized dancing bear tattoo? A guy who's been at it since, at least, the third grade... that's who.

"Favorite dead tune (as of now): Reuben And Cherise (JGB) love the 93 versions with strong Melvin keys. Also have been jamming the professional shot version of How Sweet It Is A LOT lately. Favorite ACTUAL Dead tune is probably... High Time, Row Jimmy, or Terrapin. But I love them all. Favorite dead member is Brent Mydland, he has touched my heart many times, may he rest in peace."

Grateful Dead tattoo # 122 Family of Dancing Bears

2014-05-04T22:04:00.000-05:00

Mark Starr of Old Skool Ink did these sweet dancing bears submitted by Tamara.

Check out his work, hes got great color! If you are looking for a tattoo in Yreka, CA, check him out.

I'm Uncle Sam, That's Who I Am

2012-07-04T10:11:00.000-05:00

Been hiding out in a rock n roll band!

Here's an excellent U.S. Blues Encore from 4-12-1978

"U.S. Blues"

Words by Robert Hunter; music by Jerry Garcia
Copyright Ice Nine Publishing; copied from The Annotated GD - go check em out!

Red and white/blue suede shoes
I'm Uncle Sam /how do you do?
Gimme five/I'm still alive
Ain't no luck/I learned to duck Check my pulse/it don't change
Stay seventy two/come shine or rain
Wave the flag/pop the bag
Rock the boat/skin the goat
Wave that flag
Wave it wide and high
Summertime
Done come and gone
My oh my
I'm Uncle Sam /that's who I am
Been hidin' out/in a rock and roll band
Shake the hand that shook the hand
Of P.T. Barnum/and Charlie Chan
Shine your shoes/light your fuse
Can you use/them ol' U.S. Blues?
I'll drink your health/share your wealth
Run your life/steal your wife
Wave that flag
Wave it wide and high
Summertime done
Come and gone
My oh my
Back to back/chicken shack
Son of a gun/better change your act
We're all confused/what's to lose?
You can call this song/the United States Blues
Wave that flag
Wave it wide and high
Summertime done come and gone
My oh My
Summertime done come and gone
My oh My

Take it a little FURTHUR?

Not the best sound, but it has FIREWORKS!

GD Tattoo #121 Gigi's Painted Dancing Bear

2010-12-07T00:57:00.007-06:00

Gigi sent us this beautiful Painted Dancing Bear Tattoo . She had it done By Chris at Headlight Tattoo II in Deptford, NJ. It's a cool dancing bear, but then again I've never met a dancing bear I didn't like... Listen to this. Full screen. Turn it up a notch. Thanks Gigi !!

List of Tattoo Artists and Shops

2010-11-24T12:09:00.005-06:00

The following is a list of tattoo artists and shops as of (11/24/2010) that have their work displayed on gratefuldeadtattoos.com. People use these links to find artists in their area to do their Grateful Dead tattoos. The site is averaging over 100 unique visitors a day from all corners of the world.

If you would like to send your Grateful Dead tattoos to gratefuldeadtattoos@gmail.com, I will post a link to your shop as well.

I am also putting together another tattoo blog for general interest tattoos, so send those as well, if you are so inclined. http://www.tattooblogguy.com/

Have a Grateful Day!

GD Tattoo #120 Grateful Dead Pin Up Girl

2010-11-24T11:22:00.003-06:00

Deadhead Johnny shared a couple of his tattoos with us. This one was inspired by Bobby's Ace album cover, and is the first Grateful Dead pin up girl I've seen. This one was also done by James Marlowe at Marlowe Ink in Fairfax, Virginia.

GD Tattoo #119 Eyes of the World

2010-11-23T04:20:00.000-06:00

Deadhead Johnny shared some of his tattoos with us. Here's a great Jerry's Eyes over glasses. This one was also inked by James Marlowe from Marlowe Ink in Fairfax, Virginia.

Top 10 Tattoos May - November 2010

2010-11-22T16:17:00.004-06:00

Based on pageviews:

GD Tattoo #34 Pink Floyd and Rosie Dead

GD Tattoo #42 Life, The Universe, and Everything

GD Tattoo #27 Purple Space Your Face

GD Tattoo #32 Steal your Face with wings

GD Tattoo #29 Melted

GD Tattoo #75 Feathered Tribal Dreamcatcher Steal...

GD Tattoo #25 Don't Tread On Me

GD Tattoo #19 Fresh Jester with Guitar

GD Tattoo #45 Cosmic Charlie how do ya do?

GD Tattoo #93 Sugar Skull Steal Your Face

GD Tattoo #118 Grateful Dead Wings

2010-11-22T04:20:00.001-06:00

Deadhead Johnny shared some of his tattoos with us. Here's a set of wings he has on his left shoulder. This one was inked by James Marlowe from Marlowe Ink in Fairfax, Virginia.

GD Tattoo #117 Let There Be Songs to Fill the Air

2010-11-21T04:20:00.003-06:00

This Dancing Bear was done by Joe at Brooklyn Ink in, well, Brooklyn.

Dancing Bears, as legend has it, are inspired by Owsley Stanley, AKA Bear. According to Wikipedia, Bear manufactured an estimated 5 MILLION hits of LSD.

Dancing Bears are probably the most common Grateful Dead tattoo, and they always bring a smile. Check out The Other Ones, (Dancing Bear tattoos I mean) ; )

I'm curious as to which there are more of, people with Dancing Bear Tattoos, or hits of Owsley Acid.

And here's a good Ripple video for you all

No man, I mean this one!!

Grateful Dead Tattoos> Spotlight> Ernie

2010-11-20T13:58:00.011-06:00

Okay folks, we're in for a treat. I was first contacted by Ernie back in May of this year (2010), and he sent in his Maxell ad inspired (lot sticker inspired) forearm piece, which was posted as:

GD Tattoo #95 It's Worth It.

So Ernie says to me, (and I paraphrase...) hey dude... I have 12 Grateful Dead related tattoos, would you like to see more of them?

I figure, sure why not, right? I mean, this is a Grateful Dead Tattoo blog.

So, lets spotlight Ernie's tattoos...

First of all, we need to know that ALL of these tattoos were done by Dez Moon (Desmond Mooney) from White Lotus Tattoo and Fine Art Gallery in Toms River NJ

Secondly, we need to know that Ernie digs Morning Dew maybe a bit more that the average Dancing Bear. So I'm going to do a few things here...

Here's a link to www.archive.org that will get you to EVERY show on the archive that has Morning Dew in it, sorted by date, most recent first. That's 1034 SHOWS folks, thats a lot of Grateful Dead spanning from 1995 back to 1967!

And some youtube...

pretty good stealth video from 1986, very good Dew. Let some of that play while you take a few minutes to check these out.

Here's a nice Blues For Allah. I've always thought this image made for a very nice tattoo. Grateful Dead Tattoos has posted two other Blues For Allah tattoos that can be seen here, or by hitting the tags on the right.

I hear that Furthur brought back Blues for Allah this year. Crazy man, crazy. That's a link to the live rendition of the original album.

I'm Uncle Sam - that's who I am... I've posted 5 Uncle Sam related tattoos, and I have to say, they kick ass.

If Uncle Sam above had a dog, I'd imagine it would look like this...

This dog reminds me of Bobby's Yellow Dog story...

or this gem...

"My dog has no nose"

"No Nose?! How does he smell?"

"Awfull!"

Here's a series of Jesters. I've posted a handful of Jester tattoos before. As far as GD tattoos go, I think the Jester, or Bard, or mandolin player, or whatever you want to call them makes a damn good one.

This tattoo I call Reddy Kilowatt because I don't know what else to call it. (suggestions appreciated). The real Reddy Kilowatt has a long history, and can be seen here...

Phil Lesh was known as Reddy Kilowatt on the Grateful Dead's first, and self titled album.

One More Saturday Night makes for a good tribute to New Years as well as the band.

Did you know that Deadheads Al Frankin and Tom Davis wrote and starred in a movie called "One More Saturday Night"?

Bertha is a classic Grateful Dead image, as easily recognized as the Steal Your Face.

Dark Star Palace has a great post about the Skull Fuck album art and the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

Playing cards are a great Grateful Dead tattoo, as gambling and cards come up quite a bit in Grateful Dead song lyrics. Here's another, a King of Roses.

"Like a surfer riding on a tidal wave" This one is still in the works, but looks pretty fun.

So, I'd like to thank Ernie for sharing his tattoos with us all. He's sporting some very original work, and hopefully you find some inspiration for your next tattoo.

Grateful Dead Tattoo #105 Wharf Rat

2010-08-30T01:56:00.005-05:00

Mo sent in this Narcotics Anonymous and Wharf Rat inspired Steal Your Face.

I came across your blog in the weeks leading up to me getting this ink. It is a SYF with a diamond in the skull. A diamond with a circle around it is the symbol of the fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous, which has saved my life (and my face). The yellow in the bolt is a nod to the yellow balloons used by the wharf rats during shows to let recovering heads know where to go for support. Hope you like it!

Thanks for sharing Mo!

Here's a Wharf Rat from 81...

Grateful Dead Tattoo #104 Jerry's Guitars

2010-08-30T01:19:00.007-05:00

Steve sent in this back piece inspired by Jerry Garcia's guitars (Wolf, Tiger, and Rosebud) and the song Stella Blue. Nice tattoo's Steve!

The work was done by Craig Cheape at Tattoo Don's Nickel City Tattoo in Buffalo, NY.

I thought to include a youtube video of Stella Blue from Hampton '87

Grateful Dead Tattoo # 103 New York Giants Steal Your Face

2010-08-29T23:32:00.005-05:00

Bill Sent in his New York Giants Steal Your Face tattoo. The work was done at Hole in the Wall Tattoos in Conway, SC.

Grateful Dead Tattoo #102 Dancing Bear with Sun, Moon, Stars

2010-08-29T22:58:00.005-05:00

Brittany sent this nice Dancing Bear in. Tattoo was inked by Joe Rose Lions Den Studio in New Hope, PA.

Greatest Hits Top 5 GD Tattoo Posts 8/24/10

2010-08-25T12:01:00.008-05:00

Top 5 Grateful Dead Tattoo Blog posts, by page loads, as of 8/24/10

GD Tattoo #93 Sugar Skull Steal Your Face
GD Tattoo #27 Purple Space Your Face
GD Tattoo #42 Life, The Universe, and Everything
GD Tattoo #34 Pink Floyd and Rosie Dead
GD Tattoo #29 Melted
thank you

Grateful Dead Tattoo #101 He's Gone

2010-08-20T17:22:00.006-05:00

Melissa sent in this steam locomotive. The tattoo was done at Voodoo Monkey in Cleveland, Ohio. She says that

hate is not hatred for the dead, but anger at the loss of a soul mate: "like a steam locamotive rolling down the track, he's gone and nothings gonna bring him back"

rest in peace robert keenan

GD Tattoo #100 I'll Get Up and Fly Away

2010-08-16T12:51:00.003-05:00

I thought to pull out a good one for post number 100. This picture was sent in to the Facebook page. This guy was seen on tour this year (2010). If that's you, or you know this dude, tell him that's one awesome back piece, and that it is on display here.

GD Tattoo #99 Hugs are good

2010-08-16T12:24:00.007-05:00

This one is by Jenni from Dead Pirate Tattoo

Tattoos by: Elijah Tanner and his girlfriend Jenni.

Elijah and Jenni have a shop in the U.S. Virgin Islands called Dead Pirate Tattoo. Elijah first saw the Grateful Dead in 1980, and discovered he was home. Elijah has done many GD tattoos. He sent us 3 of his own and one from Jenni. You can find their work on Facebook searching Dead Pirate Tattoo, as well as other places. Thanks Elijah.

GD Tattoo #98 Jerry touched me

2010-08-16T12:15:00.005-05:00

Tattoos by: Elijah Tanner.

Other palm print tattoos... Missing Finger, Palm Print.

GD Tattoo #97 Bertha picking a tune

2010-08-16T12:05:00.005-05:00

Tattoo by: Elijah Tanner.

GD Tattoo #96 Jerry Garcia in Abstract

2010-08-16T11:43:00.005-05:00

I'd like to introduce you to Elijah Tanner and his girlfriend Jenni. Elijah and Jenni have a shop in the U.S. Virgin Islands called Dead Pirate Tattoo. Elijah first saw the Grateful Dead in 1980, and discovered he was home. Elijah has done many GD tattoos. He sent us 3 of his own and one from Jenni. You can find their work on Facebook searching Dead Pirate Tattoo, as well as other places. Thanks Elijah.

GD Tattoo #95 It's Worth It

2010-08-16T11:18:00.003-05:00

Ernie sent in this classic Maxell advertisement inspired Tattoo. Great tattoo, very original.

Who here still has their Maxell cassettes? I bet they still work, too.

(Mine do, but the quality off of the Archive surpasses all of those second, third ... tenth gen recordings)

(Source: http://reel2reeltexas.com/vinAd80.html)

GD Tattoo #94 Dancing Bear

2010-08-16T11:03:00.001-05:00

A blog reader sent this Dancing Bear Tattoo in.