Rock Hall plans Grateful Dead exhibit

CLEVELAND, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland says it is planning an exhibition called "Grateful Dead: The Long, Strange Trip."

The exhibit is to open to the public April 12, as part of the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Week events. It will run through December.

The Mickey Hart Band, featuring the Grateful Dead drummer, will perform on the Rock Hall's main stage for an exhibit-opening event April 11.

"The Grateful Dead is a band that is identified with a remarkable era in American history, and, inasmuch as they embody that era, their work is timeless," Jim Henke, vice president of exhibits and curatorial affairs, said in a statement Thursday. "They've inspired many performers and bands, but none has exhibited their musical depth and cultural resonance. In a 30-year career, this group wrote their own rules and created a community unlike any band before or since."

The Grateful Dead, founded in 1965, was disbanded in 1995 when its lead singer Jerry Garcia died of a heart attack at age 53.