photo via GoFundMe
Longtime Grateful Dead crew member Kidd Candelario suffered three small strokes last week. His family reports, “He was traveling to work in his car when he was found mildly responsive but unable to operate the vehicle or communicate.” After nearly three decades with the Dead, Candelario currently focuses on making handmade instrument cables, at Kidds Kables.
Candelario was a roadie who began traveling with the Grateful Dead in 1966. He also took on a variety of other projects over time, for instance running point on the Dead’s backstage passes. In 1991, Jerry Garcia encouraged him to develop Grateful Dead Comix and as Candelario told Relix, “Jerry volunteered me to do a lot of stuff over the years that I wouldn’t have otherwise done. In this case, we brought in [Robert] Hunter, who was skeptical at first, but then he saw how someone like Tim Truman was interpreting his lyrics. The ‘Dire Wolf’ art is amazing.”
A GoFundMe campaign has been established to help Candelario, noting, “After spending five days in the hospital, he was transitioned to an Acute Care facility where he will participate in an intensive physical therapy process. He is working with occupational therapists, neuropsychologists and a speech therapist among a host of other doctors. Although his team is optimistic about his condition, there is still a long road ahead of us as he regains his strength. Until then he will need daily care and support as he has lost a large portion of mobility and functionality on the left side of his body. Even though his incredible sense of humor and rolodex of rockstar stories are still intact, he will not be able to return to work making cables for quite some time.”
24 Comments comments associated with this post
Grateful Dead Crew Member Kidd Candelario Launches Medical Fundraiser - news
February 24, 2022 at 6:11 pm[…] Kidd Candelario’s family launched a GoFundMe campaign to further aid in medical costs after he suffered a series of strokes last summer. The GoFundMe campaign organized by Catalina Candelario has been set up to help with the costs of […]
Pat Thiede
June 22, 2021 at 11:22 pmI would think the Dead would provide health care for their regular crew? I’m disappointed
Jim
June 27, 2021 at 10:32 amGrateful Dead ended in 95 when Phil said band was over under that name. Dead & Co is an entirely different entity with some members really having no ties to the Grateful Dead as to road crew, other workers etc. There is no Grateful Dead road crew, office help etc. Kidd Candelario is older than I am and also having been a paid employee, above board, money under his name would have gone into payroll taxes making him eligible for Medicare. They would have done this so they could deduct his pay and insurance as a business expense. Also he wasn’t just a roadie but ran the merchandising end of the DEAD business until it folded in 95. Its been 26 years, he has started his own cable business, what was he doing for health insurance during the meantime? During his run with the Grateful Dead, he did get health insurance for him and his family, there was money for kids educations etc. Better than many other workers during the same time frame. he also ran the merchandising end, so he he probably made a good penny. he has no more complaints than all the other businesses that have shut down since 95. Think they are still paying health costs on their employees? its tough enough to pay health costs on businesses still running and generating income which the GD are not as to any extent. yeah they sell some old concerts, get kickbacks on logo etc but the gravy train, playing concerts has ended. Weir, & Lesh have wives along with kids and i assume are interested in protecting them as to money along with Jerry having his wife along with Ex Mountain Girl and daughters still having a say as to where GD money goes.
Jim
June 28, 2021 at 9:54 amThere is no more road crew, office help, ticket sales or even merchandising. Everything was ended and out sourced as of 95 when Phil said no more Grateful Dead. The money train stopped when the concerts stopped. Now some dollars from old releases and some kickback from merchandising. Dead & Co. is entirely different entity with a few musicians with no ties to the old days. Former roadies, office help etc. are owed no health insurance from a job ending 26 years ago. Weird in 1995, I also retired when I sold 8 small businesses that I covered some of my employees health coverage. Think if one came to me today I would pick up the tab?
Kidd's Kid
June 22, 2021 at 12:03 pmCheapskate Weir needs to pony-up…He’s got short arms.
onenitemike
June 22, 2021 at 12:41 amTried to buy a cable to help out but the website needs some help also.
SilverSwan
June 21, 2021 at 9:00 pmGod bless Kidd and his family! I’ll gladly add him to my prayers. However, the Medicare argument aside (find another place to argue), the Dead SHOULD open their wallets to help their friend. There’s plenty of need in a medical crisis like stroke.
David Siebert
June 21, 2021 at 11:28 amEvery Deadhead should buy 1 set of Kidd’s cables.That would support him and his healing journey.Rest up @Kidd..,and #DontLetGo.
Dead Head Dan
June 21, 2021 at 10:46 amThanks for sharing, I’m so sorry to hear this. Kidd took over from Bear doing the sound in late 1972, early 1973 and did some of the best recordings in the vault. He also became President of Merch, just an all around good guy. I’ll definitely donate latter in the day.
Jack Chiefton
June 21, 2021 at 10:12 amOpen your vaults Bobby and the boys. Help a brother out.
Eaten
June 21, 2021 at 12:39 pmThis is the obvious solution. If the Dead was really an extended family, the remaining members would take care of Kidd. But they are just capitalist scumbags who faked caring about the world just to destroy it, like their entire boomer generation. Open the wallets, let the dust out and do something with your wealth.
Sideshow Bob
June 21, 2021 at 3:25 pmSlo & Co is def a Naked Cash Grab & nothing more. The music is utterly Milquetoast & lacking in any semblance of x-factor, soul, or psychedelia (well OK Oteil singing Jerry ballads brings a little Soul but all the tallboy chugging sloppy drunks are too busy babbling to pay any attention). All that for $200 for a nosebleed seat at a stadium plus $50 parking. They must literally have money fights in their beds like Mr Burns from The Simpsons.
Eat Me
June 21, 2021 at 9:40 amGot to have Medicare at this point no? They are the most generous payer on the planet. WTF?
Eaten
June 21, 2021 at 12:36 pmMedicare makes generous payments? News to me with all the fucking bills I get for every one of my wife’s doctor visits. Fucking clown.
Jim
June 21, 2021 at 5:38 pmYOU get bills for co-pays. Medicare covers 80% of a doctor’s visit based on as et rate the doctor is suppose to charge. YOU are suppose to get Medicare supplemental which helps make up the difference. I pay 20 bucks to my primary care doctor per visit and 40 dollars to a specialist. My heart doctor usually charges me about 500 for visits with the test I get. me having to only pay 40 is a good deal. Medicare does NOT set aside what you paid in. People who are working pay for those collecting at that time. Medicare collects only 50% of what the pay out now. The rest comes from the general fund. Somebody who is on Medicare usually collects every dime of what they have paid during their life time, in the last year of life when they are really sick with with a few hospital visits and repeated doctors visits. The average cost of a hospital visit for a heat attack is about 30,000 to Medicare or your insurance company. have two or three of those before the BIG one and the cost is huge. Never mind the drugs to get to that point. Me I run about 2,000 a month as to
drugs most of which is picked up by Medicare and my supplemental insurance. I have long collected what I paid in along time ago and perhaps a long time to go. Diabetes isn’t cheap. Just my Victoza runs about 1200 a month. And I take 2 othe rinsuls also, never mind high blood pressure, cholesterol meds etc.
Eat Me
June 22, 2021 at 12:16 pmJesus Jumping Christ Jim! Please take care of yourself, we need your voice of reason on regular basis around here! Medicare ain’t perfect but certainly beats the other payers. What is re-god-damn-diculous is anyone remotely connected to Grateful Dead teat seems obligated to beg for handouts like a parking lot head with their finger in the air…
Jim
June 27, 2021 at 9:48 am400 DEAD shows, to include Woodstock and Warkins Glen along with 5 New Years shows, 74 and still keep on ticketing, along with a wife closing in on 50 years and 2 great successful kids, along with a grand kid, retired at 49, just can’t win Powerball. LOL LOL I would say my luck has been terrific. LOL LOL Just can’t find that bootleg Dead show from 71 that I must have misfiled with my 40,000 CDs. LOL LOL
Uncljhn
June 24, 2021 at 7:07 pmGood comments. Sane, non-political. Good luck.
Jim
June 27, 2021 at 9:15 am400 DEAD shows, to include Woodstock and Warkins Glen along with 5 New Years shows, 74 and still keep on ticketing, along with a wife closing in on 50 years and 2 great successful kids, along with a grand kid, retired at 49, just can’t win Powerball. LOL LOL I would say my luck has been terrific. LOL LOL Just can’t find that bootleg Dead show from 71 that I must have misfiled with my 40,000 CDs. LOL LOL
Scott Lovett
June 21, 2021 at 2:43 pmMedicare is a nightmare: if you made ANY $$$
the previous year you are out of luck.
Jim
June 21, 2021 at 5:17 pmMedicare is not based on what YOU made. It’s based on set payments formulas that is the same if 30,000 a year or 500,000 a year. Been collecting on it for 9 years. Between me and the wife we still make 80,000 a year through investments.
Eat Me
June 21, 2021 at 5:35 pmJim is correct. Social security is (ridiculously) reduced by a dollar for every 2 you earn up to age 70. Not Medicare, the most overly generous insurance payer in the world that many old people abuse by going to the doctor daily. EATEN must be getting ripped off by his doctors if you are paying more than a modest copayment.
Mark Lavine
June 21, 2021 at 4:17 pmThose with Medicare need a supplemental plan to avoid paying the 20% Medicare doesn’t cover. Mine costs $245/month but that’s all I have ever paid. I’ve had a few non-life threatening surgeries, a heart attack and a lot of Dr visits and tests and haven’t paid a dime. I agree that the Dead members are super wealthy and he shouldn’t need a gofundme page. Dead and Co’s Mexico gig grossed $17M in 2019.
Laura P Patterson
June 21, 2021 at 9:28 amSending positive healing vibes to KIDD and his family. He is/was /and will always be a legend in the Grateful dead community.