As artificial intelligence is increasingly integrated into various parts of society, the voice of the late leader Grateful Dead, Jerry Garciawas recreated using technology. This development is part of a collaboration between his family and ElevenLabs.
It has been revealed that the famous musician’s voice can now read ElevenReader users articles, audiobooks, PDFs and other content as part of their ‘Iconic Listening Experience’. Additionally, the hippie icon’s voice is available in 32 different languages.
In addition to being available in ElevenReader, Garcia’s voice model will be used in future projects Jerry Garcia Foundationco-founded by his daughter, Keelin Garcia. They plan to use it to narrate documentaries and audio art exhibitions.
ElevenLabs already has experience working on the voices of celebrities. They added the voice models of James Dean, Judy Garland, Burt Reynolds and Sir Laurence Olivier to their lineup.
They are not the only ones in this segment of the market. Last year, Warner Music and the estate of French singer Edith Piaf collaborated with an AI company to recreate her voice for a biopic. In October, Universal Music and Brenda Lee used AI to translate her holiday classic ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ into Spanish, bringing her 1958 voice back to life.
“My father was a pioneering artist who embraced innovative audio and visual technologies,” Keelin told Billboard about new developments related to the voice of her father who died in 1995. She pointed out how her father first introduced her to the world of computers, digital art and video games, stressing how much he enjoyed technology.
“By bringing voices like Jerry Garcia to our platform, we’re not only enhancing our app—we’re creating new ways for people to experience content,” said ElevenLabs’ Dustin Blank. “The project was a labor of love, and we’re thrilled to see Jerry’s voice brought to life. It’s great to reawaken his sound for old fans and a new generation of listeners.”
Unfortunately, Jerry Garcia, one of the most influential musicians of his generation known for his combination of Americana and psychedelic rock, had health problems near the end of his life, which ultimately led to his death on August 9, 1995 from a heart attack. His funeral, held on August 12, was attended by family members, surviving members of the Grateful Dead, as well as the likes of Bill Walton and Bob Dylan.
Source: balkanrock.com
