Both independently and in tandem with longtime collaborator Stanley Mouse, artist Alton Kelley created some of the most distinctive and enduring images in rock music, his sophisticated yet irreverent collages adorning countless album covers and concert posters. A native of Houlton, ME, he studied industrial design while in college, but later went to work as an aircraft mechanic in Connecticut. However, upon getting wind of a cultural revolution springing up in California, Kelley hitchhiked cross-country in 1964, landing in Los Angeles and taking a job in a motorcycle repair shop. Within months he relocated to San Francisco, quickly immersing himself in the city's nascent psychedelic community.

In late 1965, Kelley co-founded the Family Dog, a collective of likeminded hipsters and activists who regularly held dances at local venues like the Avalon Ballroom and Longshoreman's Hall. He also turned to art, creating countless collages and decorating his home with bursts of Day-Glo paint and pop art designs. He soon assumed promotional duties for the Family Dog events, designing and distributing their posters and handbills; after Kelley met kindred spirit Mouse his work reached new heights, with Kelley selecting photos and assembling the collages while Mouse handled lettering duties and other technical details.

Kelley and Mouse's collaborations succinctly captured the spontaneity and wit of both, and together they emerged among the most popular and renowned artists of the psychedelic era, their success cemented in 1968 when they were invited to exhibit their work alongside that of Wes Wilson, Rick Griffin, and Victor Moscoso in a joint show that dubbed the group "the Big Five." Many of Kelley's most memorable pieces were created for the Grateful Dead -- he and Mouse inaugurated the "Skull and Roses" emblem used by the group for years to follow, additionally designing a number of album covers and other images reprinted on countless T-shirts and posters.

After sharing a 1979 Grammy Award with Mouse for their cover of the Steve Miller Band's Greatest Hits collection, Kelley published the duo's joint biography, appropriately titled -Mouse and Kelley. He continued to produce posters and other printed graphics throughout the years to follow, shunning the emergence of digital technology to work by hand on a variety of pieces for the Fillmore and other Bay Area venues in addition to countless other showbiz clients. A resident of Petaluma, CA, in 1996 Kelley also appeared in the film documentary #The Life and Times of the Red Dog Saloon. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi