Rock's Rarest Artifacts

Bob Dylan's Letter to Jerry Garcia, 1995
Value: $35,000
Current Owner: Anonymous Collector

Dylan was looking for guest artists for a Jimmie Rodgers tribute alum when he dashed off a note to his longtime friend Jerry Garcia. Dylan asked if Garcia would do some yodeling on the album. "You don't have to yodel, but if you want to yodel, that's OK too...anyway, if it's not too much to ask, think about a Jimmie song...whatever you decide is ok with me." Garcia reportedly read the letter backstage at a Dead show before giving it to a tech. With a weakened voice and ill health, Garcia did a session for the tribute album. Two weeks later he died. "Given its connection to Jerry's last recording session i would say it's a very important item," said Grateful Dead historian and author Dennis McNally. "I don't know pen-and-ink letters Dylan has written to anyone or to Jerry but I cant believe there's been many."