ok so, heres the deal with the wings: someone decided that people going to tons of shows and traveling across the usa with the GD scene/festival scene needed some kind of badge, the way that pilots do, or cops. some deadheads felt they needed a way to show the world how super-badass-mega-heady they are thus the wings.
the thought is that once you have proven yourself on tour as a good road dog or just a kind person, a friend (an already winged kid of The Grateful Dead family or tribe) gives you your wings. and you must earn them.
when the wings first came out on the scene in the eighties, very few people had them and they came from only one source. I cant remember the dudes name who made them but the pins looked totally different then they do today, i have only ever seen one pair, and they looked as if they were forged by hand and could have been made500 years ago. really cool.
today, anyone can go and buy wings on eBay for ten bucks and they don't mean anything. When I got my first pair of wings, i thought it was very special, and i don't blame people who wear them for wearing them. However, lots of the young kids who are wearing them are doing so because they want everyone to know how cool they are, even if they bought them or were given them by some goon who's never even been on tour. wings have passed into the realm of just another piece of gd merch that ought only be rocked to show you like the band.
they tend to come with the 'headier than thou' kind of attitude common with these kids who always have better drugs, been to more shows, have bigger dreads, rock a shinier wrap, and have a bigger stack of cash than anyone else on tour.
wings are stupid, and they don't mean anything. truly kind kids who have been on tour for years and who have real true free spirits don't need some pin to prove it.
hope that helps
Grateful Dead ended in 1995.
Grateful Dead followers are known as Deadheads.
Grateful Dead Archive was created in 2008.
Grateful Dead Records ended in 1977.
The Grateful Dead Movie was created on 1977-06-01.
Grateful Dead ended in 1995.
Grateful Dead was created in 1965.
Grateful Dead followers are known as Deadheads.
Grateful Dead Archive was created in 2008.
Grateful Dead Records was created in 1973.
Grateful Dead Records ended in 1977.
The duration of The Grateful Dead Movie is 2.2 hours.
The Grateful Dead - album - was created on 1967-03-17.
The Grateful Dead Channel was created on 2007-09-07.
The Grateful Dead Movie was created on 1977-06-01.
The Grateful Dead Family Album was created in 1989.
The Rolling Stones were more well known then the Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones came from England while the Grateful Dead came from California.