In a recent Instagram post, John Mayer shared a photo of himself, Mickey Hart and NBA Hall of Fame-er/noted Deadhead Bill Walton backstage at Shoreline Amphitheatre during this summer’s Dead & Company tour. Things got interesting in the post’s comments, as Courtney Love, rockstar and widow of the late Kurt Cobain, had a deep question for Mayer regarding the Grateful Dead world.
Love asks Mayer for help clarifying a story from her father about his time working with The Warlocks, before they changed their name to The Grateful Dead:
My insane father who briefly managed the Warlocks (and apparently stole from them), after dosing me at 4, and loads of other crazy stuff. He told me Phil (Lesh) is my godfather. It may be true. Will you find out? I was too shy to ask in Albany once on tour. Maybe he’s not. I don’t know.
Love adds:
And I’ll get you a nice Rolex, John. Lol lol
Actress/singer/songwriter Rita Wilson chimes in about Love’s inquiry in the post’s comments as well, noting that she thinks it’s a “really good story.”
You can see a screenshot of the comments below:
So, what’s going on here? Various speculations online and in the Grateful Dead community seem to indicate that Love’s claims have the potential to be true. Love’s father, Hank Harrison, briefly managed the Warlocks in the late 1960’s, but signs point to a falling-out with the band after Harrison tried to profit off Dead recordings and released a Grateful Dead-related book without proper authorization in the 1970’s.
We’re hoping we hear back from John Mayer (or Phil Lesh), and when we do, we will make sure to let you know if Phil is Courtney Love’s godfather after all!