Robert Hunter

Though primarily recognized for his role supplying words without taking the stage for the Grateful Dead, Robert Hunter has also issued his own recordings, published poetry, and worked as a translator. His connection to the band began when longtime friend Jerry Garcia, the Dead's guitarist, invited him to provide lyrics for the group's third album, Aoxomoxoa, which appeared in 1969. From that point he supplied many of the Dead's most enduring lines, among them the phrase "What a long, strange trip it's been" from "Truckin'" and the 1987 comeback single "Touch of Grey." Hunter launched his solo discography on the Dead's own label in 1974 and has added to it at irregular intervals ever since.