They say music never dies, and one only needs to look at the tunes created by a band called Grateful Dead to know that is true. Active between 1965 and 1995, the California rock crew is behind so many hits spreading over so many genres that its name will probably live forever.
That’s probably what an unknown guy or gal is now betting on as they are trying to sell something that belonged to the band. I’m not talking here about some piece of musical equipment or memorabilia, and not even about some bit of the infamous Wall of Sound, but about a truck that served the Grateful Dead in their early years.
It’s a truck that was used back in the 1960s to haul the crew’s equipment before the gargantuan Wall of Sound came about, one that was once owned by audio engineer Owsley Stanley. A 1949 Studebaker M5 pickup, to be more precise.
The truck was referred to as The Dread by the band’s members, and over the years it has been featured in several magazines, including Rolling Stone. People most often saw decades ago parked next to the band’s studio in Novato, California, or next to their party house at Olympia.
This is the truck that transported the equipment needed for the recording of The Grateful Dead album, and for many gigs after that. It was eventually replaced by more capable haulers, so the world kind of lost track of the Studebaker.
The pickup resurfaced this August on the lot of cars that will be sent under the hammer at the end of the month by Worldwide Auctioneers in Auburn, Indiana. There is no word as to how much the truck is expected to fetch, but given its history hopes are probably pretty high, despite the vehicle’s current state.
The “piece of rock and roll history” is not in perfect condition, as there is enough degradation to make it something you could easily ignore, if it weren’t for the Grateful Dead connection. But it is still a cool object to look at, given the fact it still wears the original livery from the 1960s, but also a decent amount of patina to make it look special.
The truck is powered by the original straight six-cylinder engine and a manual transmission. It’s it’s unclear whether the powertrain is still in running condition, but it looks horrible, just like the interior does, despite claims that the bench seat is in good condition, after neing preserved under a clear cover.
The Studebaker comes with various California registrations attached to its rear end, all of them from the 1980s, and placed there in a bid to document “where The Dred most likely spent most of its time after retiring from being the band’s equipment hauler.”
