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Grateful Dead Shows Shatter Record For Soldier Field Ticket Sales

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The long strange trip is over for The Grateful Dead, and their farewell shows have gone down in the record books as by far the most popular concerts in Soldier Field history.

The band broke a record for ticket sales each of the three nights they played in Chicago, with 70,764 tickets sold for Friday night, 70,844 sold for Saturday night, and 71,000 sold for Sunday night.

The ticket sales shattered the previous record, when U2 sold 67,936 tickets for a 2009 concert.

The Grateful Dead have said their "Fare Thee Well" shows at Soldier Field will be their last. The stadium was also the last venue Grateful Dead co-founder and lead guitarist played with the band before his death in 1995.

The Empire State Building in New York helped pay tribute to the final Deadhead weekend. Its LED tower lights were synchronized to the Grateful Dead's performance of "U.S. Blues," and fans at Soldier Field got to watch on the stadium's video screens.

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