Dead.net is on a mission to make a miracle every day. As a token of their appreciation for making 2011 an epic year, we're giving away a high-quality 320Kbps MP3 download every day this month. That's 30 days of unreleased Grateful Dead tracks from the vault, selected by tape archivist David Lemieux! Intrigued? We're also going to put your knowledge to the test and give you the chance to win some sweet swag from the Dead.

Dead Letters is the fully authorized portrayal of the Grateful Dead according to the world’s most devoted fan base: Deadheads. Beginning in their earliest days, the Grateful Dead saved tens of thousands of letters sent to them by Deadheads reflecting on the spectacular concerts they’d attended and requesting tickets.

"What a long, strange trip it's been" is a lyric from one of the Grateful Dead's best known songs and pretty much tells a bunch about the long history of this band. The earliest traces of the band began in 1960 when band founder and leader Jerry Garcia met Robert Hunter who would become the band's main lyrics man. The Dead evolved in 1964 from Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions which featured Garcia on banjo and guitar along with guitarist Bob Weir and keyboardist Ron "Pigpen" McKernan.