About Rosie McGee

Author, photographer, storyteller, and self-publisher Rosie McGee came to San Francisco in 1951 as a five-year-old French immigrant who spoke no English. By the time she moved in with Phil Lesh and the Grateful Dead in early 1966, she’d already been photographing her life for years – her life with the Dead was now in the mix. After she and Phil parted, she stayed within the core family as the band’s friend, travel agent, and French interpreter; and when moved to do so, she danced onstage.

In her first book, Dancing with the Dead—A Photographic Memoir, Rosie tells ten years’ worth of stories—illustrated by 200 of her photos—of living, traveling, and working with the Dead during their first decade as a band. The book is available in print, as an e-book, and as a downloadable audiobook on Amazon.com.

Rosie’s second book, My Grateful Dead Photos and How I Came to Take Them, 1966-1991, expands the timespan from 10 years to 25 years; and features the photos themselves, with only enough text to introduce the chapters. The book includes many photos that have never been published, making up 40% of the book’s nearly 400 photos. The book, if available, can be found via www.rosiemcgee.com.

While Rosie's photographs of the Grateful Dead are her best-known, she also enjoys photographing landscapes and flowers, among other subjects. High-quality prints of her range of photos can be ordered from her custom lab at  www.rosiemcgee.smugmug.com.

These days Rosie manages her business from her home near Portland, Oregon, and continues to document her life in photos—whether of people, scenic wonders, or anything else that happens to catch her eye.