John Perry Barlow

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Barlow's journey to the Grateful Dead began in 1971 after a backstage feud over lyrics. Robert Hunter, the band's primary lyricist, grew frustrated with Bob Weir's desire to rearrange words, famously summoning Barlow at a Capitol Theatre show and declaring, "take [Weir]—he's yours." This marked the start of a prolific partnership that produced hits like "Black-Throated Wind" and later songs with keyboardist Brent Mydland. Before fully committing to the band, Barlow spent nearly two decades managing the family's Bar Cross Land and Livestock Company in Cora, Wyoming, following his father's stroke in 1966 and death in 1972. This era required him to recruit unconventional ranch hands from both mainstream society and the counterculture while writing spec scripts to support the business. His deep connection to the band was rooted in a friendship with Weir that began when Barlow was just 15 years old at the Fountain Valley School.

In Their Own Story

In late 1971, with a solo album deal in hand but only two songs finished, Barlow and Weir began writing together for the first time. Their collaboration yielded three permanent staples of the Dead's repertoire: "Cassidy," "Mexicali Blues," and "Black-Throated Wind." The dynamic shifted when Barlow, initially traveling to California to rejoin the band, stopped at his family ranch to find it burdened by $700,000 in debt. Dismayed, he stayed to practice animal husbandry for almost two decades. During this period, he lived beside Needle Park on New York's Upper West Side and dealt cocaine in Spanish Harlem before returning to Wyoming. His writing life flourished alongside his ranching; he wrote extensively for Wired magazine and The New York Times, describing the Internet as an "electronic frontier" where goods could be stolen infinite times yet remain with owners. In 1996, responding to the Communications Decency Act, he penned "A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace," arguing that online identities have no bodies and thus cannot be governed by physical coercion.

Reader's Guide

Barlow's role evolved from a pragmatic rancher managing family debt to a visionary digital rights activist. He joined The WELL in 1986, serving on its board, before founding the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in 1990 with John Gilmore and Mitch Kapor. His legal activism included publicizing the Secret Service raid on Steve Jackson Games, leading to the landmark 1993 victory in Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service. He was an early fellow at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center and a key figure in Brazilian digital policy after meeting Minister Gilberto Gil in 2003. His legacy is defined by translating the Grateful Dead's ethos of freedom into the digital realm.

Did You Know?

• Barlow was raised as a devout Mormon and prohibited from watching television until the sixth grade.
• He claimed to have consumed LSD over 1,000 times after being introduced to it at Timothy Leary's facility in Millbrook, New York.
• In 1971, Robert Hunter told Bob Weir 'take [Weir]—he's yours' during a backstage feud over lyrics for 'Sugar Magnolia'.
• Barlow sent all 100 of his initial Orkut invitations to friends in Brazil, contributing to the platform reaching 11 million users there within two years.
• He co-wrote four songs on the Grateful Dead's 1989 album 'Built to Last' with keyboardist Brent Mydland.