Originally published in Yellowstone Valley Woman.
Grateful Dead Scholar Sue Balter-Reitz takes her love of the band to the radio airwaves
Even when the moon is not in the Seventh House and Jupiter aligned with Mars, Sue Balter-Reitz lets the sunshine in. The Grateful Dead scholar and host of Yellowstone Public Radio’s “The Dead of Night” says, “I was belting out the ‘Age of Aquarius’ at the age of 4 or 5.” She admits she never perfected her singing, but she did develop a deep love and knowledge of music.
On Friday nights at 9, Balter-Reitz cues up the music created and inspired by the Grateful Dead. The Dead, formed in 1969 in San Francisco, is synonymous with the hippie and American counter-culture movement, and founding member Jerry Garcia is considered a folk hero. The band’s logo — the lightning skull and those infamous dancing bears — live on today. In her hour-long radio show, Balter-Reitz talks to scholars, musicians, music industry insiders and fans who reflect on the band’s timeless influence.