Business Notes Entertainment

Which rock 'n' rollers ranked as the most successful road group in the U.S. during the first half of this year, grossing more than $22 million in concert receipts? Guns N' Roses? No. New Kids on the Block? Not even close. According to Pollstar, an industry magazine, it was that indefatigably truckin' '60s band the Grateful Dead. "They have consistently been one of the top five touring acts for the last five years," says editor Gary Bongiovanni. During the first half of 1991 the Dead, whose oldest members will soon be eligible for senior-citizen discounts, claimed six out of 10 of the top-grossing gigs in the U.S.

Helping the band amass those electrifying stats is a remarkably loyal core of "Deadhead" fans. But the competition was hurt by something less remarkable: the recession. Concert business is off 25% compared with last year's first half. Some managers are reluctant to send their artists on tour in such an inhospitable climate.