In honor of the 50th anniversary of their album American Beauty in November 2020, the Grateful Dead released a beautifully animated music video for one of the album’s most popular songs “Ripple”. The video, which captured the hopeful and mystical spirit of the song so well, was animated by T. Nakayama with animation production by Robert Capria, both of Actuality Films.
The Grateful Dead’s “Ripple” became a kind of cosmic spiritual after its debut 50 years ago. Since then, the universal appeal of Robert Hunter’s serene prose and the band’s heartfelt performance have made the song a popular choice at everything from weddings to funerals. As relevant now as ever before, the enduring optimism of “Ripple” is a welcome reminder of better days ahead, when songs will, once again, fill the air.
