KUDOS

The Grateful Dead took top honors Saturday night at the 11th Bay Area Music Awards, picking up five “Bammie” statuettes. One of rock’s longest continuously performing bands, the Dead walked off with best album of the year, best guitarist, best bassist and best drummer-percussionist. In addition, Jerry Garcia was named Bay Area musician of the year. Other 1960s survivors to pick up awards: Neil Young (best blues-ethnic artist); Starship, the 1980s mutant of the Jefferson Airplane (best song), and the Doobie Brothers (a special award for raising $1 million for charity during a 1987 reunion tour). Percussion legend Pete Escovedo won for jazz album of the year. Winners were selected by Bay Area music fans from a list of five nominees in each category chosen by a panel of critics. The Musician of the Year category is strictly write-in.