Merry Pranksters

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Lore & Background

The core group of 14 people who became the 'Merry Band of Pranksters' set off eastward on June 17, 1964, from Kesey's ranch in La Honda, California. The trip originally aimed to celebrate the publication of Kesey's novel Sometimes a Great Notion and visit the 1964 World's Fair in New York City, stopping to visit novelist Larry McMurtry in Houston along the way. Ken Babbs later suggested the name originated when he declared himself 'the intrepid traveller' leading his 'merry band of pranksters across the nation,' with a motto of 'the obliteration of the entire nation,' clarifying they meant to 'blow their minds' rather than blow up buildings. The group included Kesey, driver Neal Cassady, and members like John Babbs, Jane Burton, Sandy Lehmann-Haupt, Paul Foster, Mike Hagen, George Walker, Steve Lambrecht, Chuck Kesey, Dale Kesey, and Linda Breen, a 14-year-old runaway who joined in Canada.

In Their Own Story

Novelist Robert Stone, who met the bus upon its arrival in New York, described Neal Cassady as 'the world's greatest driver' capable of rolling a joint while backing a vehicle onto the lip of the Grand Canyon. He noted Ken Babbs was 'fresh from the Nam' with a command voice that could put cops to flight, and Jane Burton as a pregnant philosophy professor who declined no challenges. The bus itself carried the destination 'furthur,' representing a goal reachable only through expanding one's perception of reality. Zane Kesey and Simon Babbs later edited video and audio clips from this expedition into a 1999 DVD titled The Acid Test. In August 2014, Ken Babbs recounted on BBC World Service how he coined the name while wandering with Kesey and George Walker before returning to find the rest of the gang waiting by a fire in La Honda.

Reader's Guide

Beyond the bus trip, the group maintained relationships with the Hells Angels, whom Kesey introduced to LSD. These events were chronicled by Tom Wolfe in his 1968 book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and documented by Lee Quarnstrom in his 2014 memoir When I Was a Dynamiter. Notable associates included Stewart Brand, Wavy Gravy, Paul Krassner, Del Close, and the Warlocks (later known as the Grateful Dead). In 1969, Furthur and the Pranksters attended both the Woodstock rock festival and the Texas Pop Festival in Lewisville, Texas. The original bus was pulled from a swamp at Kesey's Oregon farm in November 2005 by Zane Kesey and family for restoration after Kesey refused to sell it to the Smithsonian Institution. Kesey died of liver cancer complications in November 2001, followed by a memorial hosted by Ken Babbs on December 10, 2003, at the McDonald Theatre in Eugene, Oregon.

Did You Know?

• Linda Breen, a 14-year-old runaway, hopped on the bus in Canada during the original 1964 cross-country trip.
• Ken Babbs suggested the group's name came from his declaration to lead his 'merry band of pranksters' with a motto to 'blow their minds.'
• The bus was pulled out of a swamp at Kesey's Oregon farm in November 2005 by Zane Kesey and original members.
• Neal Cassady was described by Robert Stone as the 'world's greatest driver' who could roll a joint while backing a Packard onto the Grand Canyon's lip.
• The Merry Pranksters introduced LSD to the Hells Angels, a relationship documented in Hunter S. Thompson's book Hell's Angels.