The Grateful Dead Performs Live on ‘Playboy After Dark’ After Being Secretly Dosed With LSD in 1969

While in Los Angeles during January 1969, the members of the Grateful Dead performed two of their classic songs, “Mountains of the Moon” and “St. Stephen”, on the set of Playboy After Dark. Before the performance, Jerry Garcia bantered a bit with Hugh Hefner about the hippie scene in San Francisco and why the band had two drummers.

The punchline came when Hefner asked Garcia if the band would like to play.

Hugh Hefner: I wonder if we could get you to do a number for us?
Jerry: Absolutely not.

Grateful Dead at Playboy After Dark

As it turns out, the band and several Playboy After Dark employees had been surreptitiously dosed with LSD after Owsley “Bear” Stanley added it to the coffee pot on set. Drummer Bill Kreutzmann shared this interesting fact while telling the story about the performance to Conan O’Brien in 2015.

This psychedelic mishap didn’t hamper Hef’s enthusiasm for the band, however, as he sent a thoughtful letter thanking them for the performance.

Hefner Letter to Grateful Dead

Here’s an abbreviated version of the performance.

via Live For Live Music

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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