Although Jerry Garcia never published a memoir, in 1999 Blair Jackson published a well received biography of the legendary guitarist and songwriter. Here are the names appearing in that book - a proxy for Jerry's social network of friends and influences. Here
The Social Network of Jerry Garcia (from "Garcia-An American Life, 2000, published by Penguin Books; since the original post I have tightened the list by only including names that appear in main text; in other words, those names that appear in endnotes and references have been removed.)
| Carolyn Adams |
| Lee Adams |
| Eddie Adcock |
| Lou Adler |
| Peter Albin |
| Rodney Albin |
| Oscar Aleman |
| Sandy Alexander |
| Duane Allman |
| Gregg Allman |
| Richard Alpert |
| Robert Altman |
| Eric Anderson |
| Thomas Aquinas |
| Louis Armstrong |
| Dick Arnold |
| Jerome Arnold |
| Ken Babbs |
| Randy Baker |
| Don Baldwin |
| Marty Balin |
| Hank Ballard |
| John Barlow |
| Steve Barncard |
| Danny Barnett |
| Bob Barsotti |
| Travis Bean |
| Archie Bell |
| John Belushi |
| Tony Bennett |
| Randy Berge |
| Irving Berlin |
| Chuck Berry |
| Ron Bevirt |
| William Blake |
| Jay Blakesberg |
| Michael Bloomfield |
| Dick Bogert |
| Ron Boise |
| James Bond |
| Connie Bonner |
| Carlos Bookstall |
| Pat Boone |
| Michael Bowen |
| Sonny Boy |
| Patricia Boyle |
| Ray Bradbury |
| Bob Bralove |
| Stewart Brand |
| Bill Broonzy |
| Ben Brown |
| James Brown |
| John Brown |
| Steve Brown |
| Page Browning |
| Lenny Bruce |
| Anita Bryant |
| Lord Buckley |
| Paul Buckmaster |
| Harold Budd |
| Sandy Bull |
| Eric Burdon |
| Dave Burgin |
| James Burton |
| Richard Burton |
| Roger Bush |
| Paul Butterfield |
| Brendan Byrne |
| John Cage |
| Clayton Call |
| Ellen Callahan |
| Paul Camera |
| Charlie Campaign |
| Marcel Camus |
| Curtis Candy |
| Gus Cannon |
| Betty Cantor |
| Jim Capaldi |
| Larry Carlton |
| Lewis Carroll |
| Dick Carter |
| Ron Carter |
| Jack Casady |
| Neal Cassady |
| Ellen Cavanaugh |
| Charlie Chan |
| Ray Charles |
| Sam Charters |
| Jeff Chimenti |
| Jesus Christ |
| John Cipollina |
| Eric Clapton |
| Clarence Clemons |
| Jimmy Cliff |
| Bill Clifford |
| Dennis Clifford |
| Patrick Clifford |
| Ruth Marie Clifford |
| William Henry Clifford |
| Bill Clinton |
| Lowell Clukas |
| Eddie Cochran |
| Bruce Cockburn |
| Jean Cocteau |
| Allen Cohen |
| Louis Collins |
| John Coltrane |
| Brian Connors |
| Tom Constanten |
| Michael Cooney |
| Roger Corman |
| Elvis Costello |
| Jonathan Cott |
| Elizabeth Cotten |
| James Cotton |
| Audrey Court |
| Emily Craig |
| Floyd Cramer |
| Joe Craven |
| Max Creek |
| David Crosby |
| Susan Crutcher |
| John Curl |
| John Cutler |
| Sam Cutler |
| Richard Daley |
| Antonio Dalmau |
| Roger Daltrey |
| Rick Danko |
| Gary Davis |
| Jesse Davis |
| Miles Davis |
| Tom Davis |
| John Dawson |
| Leon Day |
| Jack DeJohnette |
| Billy DeLyon |
| Len Dell |
| Louis Demateis |
| James Denman |
| Vince DiBiase |
| Bonnie Dobson |
| Tom Donahue |
| Bob Drew |
| Spencer Dryden |
| Frank DuPre |
| Judge Michael Dufficy |
| Gary Duncan |
| Bob Dylan |
| Jim Edminston |
| Duke Ellington |
| Dave Ellis |
| Joe Ellis |
| Brian Eno |
| John Entwistle |
| Gary Erickson |
| John Estes |
| Bill Evans |
| Dale Evans |
| Carter Family |
| Plastic Fantastic |
| Richard Favis |
| Bob Fees |
| Lawrence Ferlinghetti |
| Gretchen Fetchin |
| Martin Fierro |
| Lester Flatt |
| Tom Fogerty |
| Norm Fontaine |
| Betty Ford |
| Ernie Ford |
| Francis Ford |
| Gerald Ford |
| Jack Ford |
| Paul Foster |
| Stephen Foster |
| Matthew Fox |
| Ken Frankel |
| Al Franken |
| Ben Franklin |
| Bobby Freeman |
| David Freiberg |
| Bob Fried |
| Sarah Fulcher |
| Bill Fuller |
| Bobby Fuller |
| Jesse Fuller |
| Cliff Gallup |
| David Gans |
| Carolyn Garcia |
| Daniel Garcia |
| Deborah Garcia |
| Jerome John Garcia |
| Jerry Garcia |
| Joe Garcia |
| Jose Garcia |
| Joseph Garcia |
| June Garcia |
| Manuel Garcia |
| Ruth Garcia |
| Ruth Clifford Garcia |
| Jimmy Garrison |
| Leon Gast |
| Marvin Gaye |
| Lowell George |
| Hunter Gets |
| Allen Ginsberg |
| Ralph Gleason |
| Donna Godchaux |
| Keith Godchaux |
| Joe Goldmark |
| Al Gore |
| Tim Gorman |
| Bill Graham |
| Herb Greene |
| Richard Greene |
| Robert Greenfield |
| Rick Griffin |
| David Grisman |
| Emmett Grogan |
| Gary Gutierrez |
| Grace Marie Haddie |
| Marie Haddie |
| John Haeny |
| Bill Haley |
| Ann Halprin |
| Scott Hambly |
| Roy Hamilton |
| Oscar Hammerstein |
| John Handy |
| John Harding |
| Ellen Harmon |
| George Harrison |
| Hank Harrison |
| Lenny Hart |
| Michael Hart |
| Mickey Hart |
| John Hartford |
| Dave Hassinger |
| David Hassinger |
| Ronnie Hawkins |
| Dan Healy |
| Marvin Hedrick |
| Hugh Hefner |
| Elaine Heise |
| Chet Helms |
| Jon Hendricks |
| Jimi Hendrix |
| James Henke |
| David Hidalgo |
| Miles High |
| Chris Hillman |
| Beverly Hills |
| Warren Hinckle |
| Bradley Hodgman |
| Albert Hoffman |
| Billie Holiday |
| Robin Hood |
| Edgar Hoover |
| Bruce Hornsby |
| Ron Howard |
| George Howell |
| Ron Hubbard |
| Paul Humphrey |
| Bob Hunter |
| George Hunter |
| Norman Hunter |
| Robert Hunter |
| Diane Huntsburger |
| John Hurt |
| Art Institute |
| Doug Irwin |
| Charles Ives |
| Blair Jackson |
| Rex Jackson |
| Henry Jacobs |
| Mick Jagger |
| James Jamerson |
| Harry James |
| Skip James |
| Rick Jarrard |
| Keith Jarrett |
| Dwight Johnson |
| Johnny Johnson |
| Casey Jones |
| George Jones |
| Janis Joplin |
| James Joyce |
| John Kahn |
| Linda Kahn |
| Hal Kant |
| Paul Kantner |
| Karen Kaplan |
| Mark Karan |
| Heather Katz |
| Jerry Kaukonen |
| Bill Keith |
| David Kemper |
| Mike Kennedy |
| Stan Kenton |
| Roy Kepler |
| Jerome Kern |
| Jack Kerouac |
| Jim Kerwin |
| Ken Kesey |
| Steve Kimock |
| Albert King |
| Henry Kissinger |
| King Kong |
| Deborah Koons |
| Fletcher Koons |
| John Koons |
| Paul Krassner |
| Bill Kreutzmann |
| Billy Kreutzmann |
| Gene Krupa |
| Eric Kujawsky |
| Jim Kweskin |
| Ned Lagin |
| Steve Lambrecht |
| Debbie Lane |
| Perry Lane |
| Billy Ray Latham |
| Dick Latvala |
| Eileen Law |
| Timothy Leary |
| Marshall Leicester |
| John Lennon |
| Jill Lesh |
| Phil Lesh |
| David Letterman |
| Lowell Levenger |
| Mark Levinson |
| Howard Levy |
| Jerry Lee Lewis |
| Jerry Lewis |
| Lee Lewis |
| Alex Ligertwood |
| Gordon Lightfoot |
| Charles Lloyd |
| Kurt Loder |
| Alan Lomax |
| Jose Lopez |
| Richard Loren |
| Dorothy Love |
| George Lucas |
| Henry Luce |
| John Luther |
| Martin Luther |
| Billy Lyons |
| Gary Lyons |
| Shirley MacLaine |
| Joseph Magnin |
| Charlie Man |
| Harvey Mandel |
| Steve Marcus |
| David Margen |
| Grace Marie |
| Bob Marley |
| George Marsh |
| Jim Marshall |
| Mike Marshall |
| Dean Martin |
| Hugh Masakela |
| Bob Matthews |
| Dave Matthews |
| Mary Ann Mayer |
| Paul McCartney |
| Ed McClanahan |
| Michael McClure |
| Jimmy McCracklin |
| Fred McDowell |
| John McFee |
| Bobby McGee |
| Jon McIntire |
| Scott McKenzie |
| Phil McKernan |
| Ron McKernan |
| George McLean |
| Larry McMurtry |
| Clyde McPhatter |
| David McQueen |
| Barbara Meier |
| Barry Melton |
| Sally Van Meter |
| Richard Loren Mill |
| Glenn Miller |
| Jerry Miller |
| Steve Miller |
| Stephen Dorian Miner |
| Charles Mingus |
| Bobby Mitchell |
| Joni Mitchell |
| Bill Monroe |
| Charlie Monroe |
| Marilyn Monroe |
| Vaughn Monroe |
| Carl Moore |
| Michael Moore |
| Dana Morgan |
| Dean Moriarty |
| Jim Morrison |
| Van Morrison |
| Victor Moscoso |
| Stanley Mouse |
| Maria Muldaur |
| Anne Murray |
| David Murray |
| Brent Mydland |
| Mark Naftalin |
| Graham Nash |
| David Nelson |
| Ricky Nelson |
| Willie Nelson |
| Ed Neumeister |
| Paul Newman |
| Randy Newman |
| Roy Nichols |
| David Nichtern |
| Don Nix |
| Richard Nixon |
| Ken Nordine |
| Barry Olivier |
| Keith Olsen |
| Ole Opry |
| George Orwell |
| Ira Oto |
| Elaine Pagels |
| Steve Parish |
| Bonnie Parker |
| Dave Parker |
| David Parker |
| Graham Parker |
| Kenneth Patchen |
| Les Paul |
| Bill Payne |
| Sonny Payne |
| Ed Pearl |
| Herb Pederson |
| Dan Penn |
| William Penn |
| Sergeant Pepper |
| Paul Perry |
| Bobby Petersen |
| Bobby Peterson |
| Tom Petty |
| John Phillips |
| Wilson Pickett |
| Mary Pickford |
| Courtney Pollack |
| Bruce Polonksy |
| Elvis Presley |
| Lee Quarnstrom |
| Don Quixotes |
| Chuck Rainey |
| Ron Rakow |
| Clifford Ramon |
| Frederic Ramsey |
| Nancy Reagan |
| Ronald Reagan |
| Donna Reed |
| Jerry Reed |
| Jimmy Reed |
| Lou Reed |
| Del Reeves |
| Jonathan Reister |
| Deborah Remington |
| Don Reno |
| Paul Revere |
| Kenneth Rexroth |
| Don Rich |
| Keith Richards |
| Danny Rifkin |
| Johnny Rivers |
| Marty Robbins |
| Paul Robertson |
| Roy Rogers |
| Brian Rohan |
| Gregg Rolie |
| Mickey Rooney |
| Franklin Roosevelt |
| Tim Rose |
| Neil Rosenberg |
| Sandy Rothman |
| Loren Rowan |
| Peter Rowan |
| Jerry Rubin |
| Todd Rundgren |
| Leon Russell |
| Nora Sage |
| Doug Sahm |
| Ira Sandperl |
| Carlos Santana |
| Jan Sawka |
| Phil Sawyer |
| Tom Sawyer |
| John Scher |
| Charles Schulz |
| Earl Scruggs |
| Gene Sculatti |
| Pete Sears |
| Roy Seburn |
| Mike Seeger |
| Pete Seeger |
| Bob Seger |
| Aimee Semple |
| Frank Serratoni |
| Ravi Shankar |
| Mike Shapiro |
| John Shelley |
| Allen Shelton |
| Jonathan Shore |
| Michael Shrieve |
| Rick Shubb |
| John Sievert |
| Jon Sievert |
| Steve Silberman |
| Paul Simon |
| Lee Sims |
| Edith Sitwell |
| Barry Sless |
| Grace Slick |
| Harry Smith |
| Joe Smith |
| Gary Snyder |
| King Solomon |
| Phil Spector |
| Sir Speed |
| Paul Speegle |
| Owsley Stanley |
| Ralph Stanley |
| Sue Stephens |
| Stephen Stills |
| Liz Stires |
| Robert Stone |
| Scott Stoneman |
| Eric Storace |
| Don Stover |
| Chris Strachwitz |
| Jack Straw |
| Billy Strayhorn |
| Hamilton Street |
| Barbra Streisand |
| Ed Sullivan |
| Donna Summer |
| Sue Swanson |
| Will Take |
| Derek Taylor |
| Mick Taylor |
| Sonny Terry |
| Sam Tessel |
| Eric Thompson |
| Tom Thumb |
| Peter Toluzzi |
| Louis Toodleoo |
| Dave Torbert |
| David Torbert |
| Allen Toussaint |
| Pete Townshend |
| Tony Trischka |
| Alan Trist |
| Rick Turner |
| Ron Tutt |
| Mark Twain |
| Suzanne Vega |
| Gene Vincent |
| Bill Vitt |
| Kurt Vonnegut |
| Howard Wales |
| Bill Walker |
| George Walker |
| Bill Walton |
| Wayne Wang |
| Rob Wasserman |
| Gordon Wasson |
| Alan Watts |
| John Wayne |
| Troy Weidenheimer |
| Bob Weir |
| Frederick Weir |
| Roberta Weir |
| Peter Weiss |
| Eric Weissberg |
| Laurie Welnick |
| Vince Welnick |
| Jerry Wexler |
| Philip Whalen |
| Clarence White |
| Roland White |
| Ron Wickersham |
| Hank Williams |
| Robin Williams |
| Tony Williams |
| Winnie Winston |
| Steve Winwood |
| Tom Wolfe |
| Chris Wood |
| Frank Lloyd Wright |
| Bill Wyman |
| Max Yasgur |
| Jesse Colin Young |
| Neil Young |
| Frank Zappa |
| Warren Zevon |
"Life" by Keith Richards and James Fox, Little, Brown and Co., 2010.
by Patti Smith. Smith's book is a memoir about her years living with Robert Mapplethorpe in New York City, and it is filled with references to her friends and artistic influences - she is a 'name dropper' in the best sense of the term. I wrote a short script that extracted all the names of people that she referenced in her book. I will post them here, and encourage others to help build a data set that can, hopefully, be used in the future to trace the social and artistic influences of important artists like Patti Smith.