I read that she got into drugs, but what are the details of her exit? The incident landed on the cover of The Chronicle and both Weir and founding member Ron "Pigpen" McKernan were arrested. I have to think that, if it was Sunday the 19th, due to the sudden turmoil of Pigpens illness, it seems unlikely Jerry & Bill would have jammed with anyone that day. Oct. 31: Saturday Night Dead: The Grateful Dead make an appearance on Saturday Night Live. Tom Davis and Al Franken go backstage, asking the band to introduce them to the audience. (Some were thrilled, others dismayed.) Three members have died: Brent Mydland in 1990 of a drug overdose, McKernan of liver disease in 1973 and Keith Godchaux in a 1980 highway crash after he left the group. (Perhaps someone mixed up the Keystone and the rehearsal space either way, Jerry & Bill jammed with Keith before the rest of the band did.) From their first show as the Warlocks at a pizza place in Menlo Park to their farewell stand with three sold-out 50th anniversary shows at Chicagos Soldier Field stadium, here are some key dates on the Grateful Deads incredible journey. He died on July 22, 1980 in Marin County, California, USA. "The Warlocks," who would later rename their band "The Grateful Dead," perform a show in 1965. Over 100,000 fans witnessed the band's return at Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey on September 3, 1977 and then the Dead launched a fall tour with two nights in Seattle on September 28 and. (I think she has mentioned how she, Keith & Jerry would listen to lots of gospel music at home circa 76.) But if they asked him, he was not interested. It hit No. On this date in 1980, former keyboardist Keith Godchaux tragically died in a car accident just days after his 32nd birthday. I was ready to receive it, and I got it. Donna had gone to the 10/4/70 Winterland show (drug-free), taken by some deadhead friends, and had quite an experience. Despite their reversal of fortune, Keith tragically died in a car accident on July 23, 1980. The poorly organized event was meant to be the Woodstock of the West. Instead it turned into what some fans call the concert that ended the 60s. The Dead were supposed to play before the Rolling Stones, but never took the stage. Pigpen was extremely ill, and unable to travel. Thats when I knew hed be great for the band. The sold-out show was in such high demand that it was broadcast on KSAN-FM. While he was largely uninterested in the popular music of the era and eschewed au courant jazz rock in favor of modal jazz, bebop, and swing, several sources claim that he collaborated with such rock acts as Dave Mason and James and the Good Brothers, a Canadian trio acquainted with the Grateful Dead. Former pianist of the Grateful Dead died here on 7/26/1990. Sept. 29: Hart beats: Bill Kreutzmann invites Mickey Hart to sit in with the Dead, making the band a sextet with two drummers. After 50 years, Grateful Dead are summers hottest ticket, circa 1965: American psychedelic rock band The Grateful Dead poses on Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, California, 1960s. Keith Godchaux was killed in a car accident on July 23, 1980, just a few days after the . The Deads song Alice D. Millionaire was inspired by newspaper accounts that described him as the LSD millionaire.. 10 and No. It was charged with a very high voltage, and thus was very cantankerous to set up and use. This seems superhuman, though it means his first day with the full Dead would have been the 27th. Those arrested include Owsley Stanley (who identifies himself to police as the King of Acid), Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir. Dec. 10: Fillmore first: The Grateful Dead, still known as the Warlocks, perform at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco for the first time, as part of Bill Grahams S.F. He was involved in an automobile accident, colliding with another car, and was ejected from the vehicle (he wasn't wearing a seatbelt). Pin. One of these friends of friends turned out to be Keith, who was also in these Dead listening parties. He also served as the Dead's manager, which wound up being a mistake. http://archive.org/details/gd71-10-01.sbd.rehearsal.cousinit.16896.sbefail.shnf very little Keith can be heard Years later, though, the injury allegedly improved his ability to play the guitar and he often showed off the damaged digit to his fans as a sort of salute. People like Jerry Garcia arent supposed to die. In later interviews, he sounds like he preferred the independence & freedom to work on his own projects. Keyboardist for the Grateful Dead who toured with the group through much of the 1970s. Map & Directions. The concerts were legendary, some people said, for either their guest appearances, which included Phish's Trey Anastasio and singer/pianist Bruce Hornsby, and the high ticket prices. At least when they rolled the tapes, Keith was ready to go on every song. After jamming with Jerry and Billy at a small club, and getting together with the Dead to work out some tunes, he joined the band in September of 1971. Initially, Godchaux incorporated a richly melodic, fluid and boogie-woogie-influenced style that intuitively complemented the bands improvisational approach to rock music; critic Robert Christgau characterized his playing as a cross between Chick Corea and Little Richard. According to Garcia in a 1980 interview with Mark Rowland conducted shortly before Godchauxs death, Keith is one of those guys who is sort of an idiot savant of the piano. (I would imagine Lesh might also have liked to play with Wales more back in 69 he had complained to Constanten: Phil pointedly remarked how much he preferred Howard Waless playing when he sat in with the band.) Feb. 4: Deadheads for Obama: Ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries, Lesh, Weir and Hart perform together at the Warfield theater in San Francisco in support of candidate Barack Obama. What was the location of death? The Grateful Deads full-throated roar drowned out a monotonous burglar alarm at one end of the street; the Tracys Coffee and Doughnuts people rolled their jukebox out on the sidewalk; and countless trios and quartets formed and dissolved in between., July 18: Anthem of the Sun: The Grateful Dead release their second studio album, the decidedly psychedelic Anthem of the Sun. With this recording, future bandmate Tom (T.C.) He was very strong but he couldnt handle that sort of thing. On September 17, 1971, Ron Pigpen McKernan went into the hospital, seriously ill and near death. Jan. 22: Trips Festival: Kesey brings in the Dead to play the Trips Festival, held at the Longshoremans Hall in San Franciscos North Beach. ), So while its possible that Keith only started playing with the Dead near the end of the month, I think its also possible that hed met Garcia on 8/31, and perhaps even jammed with him & Kreutzmann a time or two at Keystone Korner; and rehearsals may have started earlier than we think. But as far as we know, he wasnt considered, or turned them down. How much is Jerry Garcia worth now? May 5: Warlocks play Magoos: Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Ron Pigpen McKernan, Dana Morgan Jr. and Bill Kreutzmann play at Magoos Pizza Parlor in Menlo Park as the Warlocks, an electric band that took shape at Dana Morgans Music Store in Palo Alto. I didnt even try to figure out what the flash wasI just followed it, not knowing what was going to happen. Id never sung before an audience before, really, and Keith had done only very small gigs. He died there at the all-too-young age of 37, according to theNew York Times. He met and married Donna Jean Godchaux in 1970; their son Zion, of the band BoomBox, was born in 1974. . Donna Jean Godchaux McKay Interview of Donna Jean Godchaux MacKay for the Roots of American Music Trail Donna has returned to live in the Shoals area and is active in the Christian ministry. January: Garcia neckties: In addition to slinging a guitar, Garcia, who briefly studied at San Francisco Art Institute, painted abstract works of art. As of 2014, they'd sold over 35 million albums, according to theNew York Times. The instruments unwieldy tuning partially contributed to the shelving of the bands recordings of their 1978 engagement at the Giza Plateau for a planned live album. He was previously married to Donna Godchaux. . It was the direction our lives had to go in. The couple introduced themselves to Jerry Garcia at a concert in August 1971; ailing keyboardist/vocalist Ron Pigpen McKernan (who would go on to play alongside Godchaux from December 1971 to June 1972) was unable to undertake the rigors of the bands next tour. Eventually, he and Donna left the band in 1979. She and Keith fared much better during the band's studio sessions. The Dead celebrated the closing as an approximately five-hour-long party and invited some guests including guitarist John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service and Ken Kesey as well as actor Dan Aykroyd who provided the midnight countdown. Just 32 years old. Bikers, blow and Belushi: As usual when the Grateful Dead took Manhattan, the band's five-night stand at . As the band's sound took a psychedelic turn, his role was continually reduced. There are almost no jams here, just straight songs (there is a short, interesting band jam on 10/1, and a rehearsal of the Uncle Johns jam on 9/29). Despite his early death, the music that Godchaux created during his time with the Dead would become some of the band's most beloved. Our tapes come from several days theyre cassette copies with variable mixes and shifty sound quality. Jerry had about this same time met Keith Godchaux, a piano player he and Billy had jammed with at Keystone Korner, a small club in San Francisco. It had a way of crackling in humid conditions and making other rather unmusical sounds if not set up just right, but when it worked it was truly brilliant. The control box also enabled Godchaux to use a wah-wah pedal with the instrument. After Godchaux's departure from the Grateful Dead, he cleaned up and formed The Heart of Gold Band with his wife; the ensemble included a young Steve Kimock on guitar. When the dull projections took over, as on Friday, it was nowhere. http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2011/03/gd19710903-4-harding-theater-sf-ca.html, Its not known whether this benefit actually happened (probably not). Concert in Golden Gate Park with Grateful Dead and Jefferson Starship 9/28/1975 The group becomes a staple at author Ken Keseys Acid Test parties. We just danced right along on top. With Saunders' help, Garcia slowly but steadily recovered. Garcia, whose signature look is a black T-shirt and coordinated jeans and who probably never wore a tie in his life, laughed when he recently received a box of samples, said Irwin Sternberg, the president of Stonehenge Ltd., which launched the ties. After years of ill-health through alcohol abuse, Pigpen died in 1973. He began piano lessons at age five at . The two formed the Heart of Gold Band, named after a line in "Scarlet Begonias," but it was short-lived: Keith Godchaux died in a car accident in Marin County in 1980. The culprit: a lethal dose of heroin and speed. The decline of 1970's Grateful Dead piano player Keith Godchaux was sad but not entirely unexpected. 06/26/1981, Restaurant chain slated to close site at Bay Area mall, Grapevine closed indefinitely due to heavy snow and ice, Graupel falls on Disneyland, shocks guests, One of the largest movie theaters in SF to close permanently, Plan to bring bullet train from LA to Vegas is underway, What it looks like inside Coit Towers former apartment, Avalanche slams into Tahoe apartment building amid blizzard, Hundreds of thousands of workers have abandoned downtown SF, 'Zero visibility' conditions: All roads to Tahoe are closed, Tahoe's snowfall totals are on track to break records, Popular yet divisive fast food chain coming to this Bay Area town, Report: Matthew McConaughey has a massive Salesforce paycheck, BJs Restaurant to permanently close Bay Area mall location, Snow, graupel fall on Los Angeles and Disneyland during California storm, Grapevine closed indefinitely due to snow and ice, authorities say. 9, putting the Dead in the Top 10 for the first and last time. By all accounts, Lenny Hart was a weird guy. Until he met Donna, who turned him on to rock & roll. Vince Welnick carried the band behind the keyboard until Jerry's death in 1995. He had checked in two days earlier. 9 on the Billboard charts. From September 28, we have our first tape of their rehearsals with Keith Godchaux. Like. They played a total of 29 shows, and recorded two live albums Vintage Dead and Historic Dead there. Both Keith Godchaux and Brent Mydland died after being fired from the band, Mydland from an overdose, and Godchaux from a car crash injury. Musically, the band sounded as fresh and inventive as ever, if not more so. July 9: Last call: The Grateful Dead perform their 2,314th and final concert at Soldier Field in Chicago. Mydland proved to be an asset throughout the '80s, and not just for his skills on the keys. E-mail: avaziri@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MusicSF. Much of what he played in his last year was basic, blocky, chordal stuff. During a family vacation when Garcia was 5 years old, he decided to help his older brother chop wood. Oct. 2: Hashbury bust: Band members and friends are busted in a pot raid at 710 Ashbury St. Rock Scully (the long-haired groups long-haired business manager) and audio engineer Bob Matthews were fined $200 each. It had a quality that was magical, ethereal, spiritual, and thats part of what was so attractive about it. Dec. 4: Can you pass the Acid Test? But when we heard the Grateful Deadit seemed to have such spiritual ties. Oct. 19: Keith on the keys: Keith Godchaux plays his first show with the Dead as keyboardist. Or, the traditional story could be true: the Dead suddenly discovered after the 17th that they needed a new player; Garcia met one that very week, and they snatched him up immediately; and he learned all their songs in a week or less. John Kahn remembered, One night there were a lot of people out there, and Howard realized that thats not what he wanted to do, and he stopped doing it. Garcia also said, Howard went offperiodically he gets this thing of where he just cant deal with the music world any more, and he just disappears., Of course there were plenty of other keyboard players around San Francisco who might have auditioned. But their time with the band took a nasty turn toward the end of the decade. : . It was there that the years of touring and drug use became too much, and he suffered from a fatal heart attack . In 1980, Keith Godchaux, former keyboards player with the Grateful Dead, died from injuries suffered in a car crash two days earlier in Marin County, California.Godchaux and his wife, Donna, a background vocalist, joined the Dead in . Godchaux sustained massive head injuries in an automobile accident while being driven home from his birthday party in Marin County, California, on July 21, 1980. And the band was exhausted with us." Keith was also quoted in the Book of the Dead: We went into this club in San Francisco where Garcia was playing, and just talked to him. Send us your name and address, and well keep you informed. Mime Troupe Appeal Party II. This seems to have entirely slipped Donnas memory! Before the Dead, I was working with Lionel Hampton, Muhammad Ali, Miles Davis. Deadheads, P.O. This was the second time Pigpen had been replaced by another player; but he probably took it in stride, as he had more serious things to worry about. A year after leaving the Grateful Dead, Keith Godchaux was killed in a tragic auto accident. July 23, 1980 Keith RichardGodchaux (The Grateful Dead) was born on July 19th 1948 born in Seattle, Washington, but grew up in Concord, California where he commenced piano lessons at five at the instigation of his father (a semiprofessional musician) and subsequently played Dixieland and cocktail jazz in professional ensembles as a teenager. Not that a lack of Grammy Awards hurt their sales. Why would I want to work in the Dead and just be the way they worked? He was proud of doing music theater: During the late 60s, I was doing a Broadway play in New York at the George Abbott Theatre. What drugs were involved and what incident ended These songs received fairly steady airtimefollowing their releases, according to Billboard, but there was about a 15-year gap from 1972 to 1987 when the Dead's music was largely ignored on the dials. Keith Godchaux was born on July 19, 1948 and died on July 22, 1980. http://www.tonibrownband.com/donnajg24-4.html. If this is the best from their tour, what can the outtakes sound like?. (Not only that, it would mean they lost no time in taping rehearsals with the new guy, in fact starting immediately. But when they asked me to come in and do their thing to join them I didnt really want to join the band. But there were still a lot of ups and downs. Though he didnt necessarily live for the road, Pigpens identity was bound up with the band, and he lashed himself to their mast as long as he could, whatever the cost to himself. Hes an excellent pianist, but he didnt really have a concept of music, of how the piano fit in with the rest of the band. Just a little over a year after leaving, Keith died of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. (We dont know how poor Pigpens health was in early September, but the Dead may have been aware before 9/17 that he was in decline.) While these bios are brief and lacking in detail (Donnas role is not mentioned at all), they were written only a few months later, so they should be taken into account. According to Godchaux, I spent two years wearing dinner jackets and playing acoustic piano in country club bands and Dixieland groups I also did piano bar gigs and put trios together to back singers in various places around the Bay Areaplaying cocktail standards like Misty the way jazz musicians resentfully play a song thats popular that frustrated space I just wasnt into it I was looking for something real to get involved with which wouldnt necessarily be music. He met and married former FAME Studios session vocalist Donna Jean Thatcher in November 1970. I would guess there must have been more rehearsals over the next couple weeks (they had to have tried out some of the deep jams), but no more tapes have come forth. He was still eager to rejoin the Dead, though, and went back on tour perhaps sooner than was wise. And Mr. Godchaux had replaced the band's original keyboard player, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, who died at 27 . More on Keith. A four-block stretch of fabled Haight Street yesterday was voluntarily surrendered to thousands of hippies and hippie-watchers. There were allegations of marital abuse as Keith's drug use increased, and they were both booted in 1979. He never checked out and sadly died a little over a week after his 53rd birthday while in his sleep on August 9, 1995. He was so inventive he played some jazz stuff and free music that was just incredible. Greta Kaul is a Hearst fellow, covering investment and tech culture on The Chronicle's business desk. By then, they were pretty far gone on LSD (and who knows what else), according to John Fogerty, the former Creedence Clearwater Revival front man who recalled the incident during an interview in 2015. So those are the things that if I was with the Grateful Dead, I couldnt do. The only studio album to make into the Top 10 on Billboard's album charts was the one that featured "Touch of Grey," 1987's In the Dark. Oct. 20: Dead take a break: Fans line up to see the Dead play at Winterland before the band takes a 19-month hiatus from touring. Its notable that Keith plays both piano and organ equally during the rehearsals. In 1994, he was inducted, posthumously, into The Rock . She had a son with Keith named Zion who was born in 1974. He returned to his home in Lafayette, California, in July 1990 following the completion of the band's summer tour. They rebounded into a band called Ghosts which reformed as the Heart of Gold Band. McKernan was the first of the Dead's founding members to suggest they form a band, and his life-long infatuation with rhythm and blues fueled their early tunes. They would never do anything which would affect me negatively They are righteous people., Now Available: 134 Rock-n-Roll Legends Crossed the Rainbow in 2017 - A Tribute to their Lives Dismiss. After surviving his diabetic coma in 1986, Garcia seemed like he was on the road to recovery and ready to finally kick his old bad habits. April 16: Mydland joins on keys: Keyboardist Brent Mydland replaces Keith and Donna Godchaux. Jerry Garcia Bob Weir Bill Kreutzmann Phil Lesh Mickey Hart Robert Hunter Ron "Pigpen" McKernan A warrant was put out for Hart's arrest, and the law finally caught up with him in 1971. (Theres also an oddly assertive moment before Cold Rain & Snow on the compilation, where Keith channels Keith Jarrett for a little solo riffing.) Possibly they could have moved to a studio to tape some of the sessions, though.) Rock radio was never too kind to them, either. News of Mydlands death spread quickly through the close-knit Deadhead community, which follows the bands every move. To add to the strangeness of his demise, Brent's final performance on July 23rd, 1990 came 10 years to the day after the death of Keith Godchaux, the former Dead keyboardist who Mydland had. Oct. 16: Dead at the Winterland: The Dead play a five-night stand at the Winterland Ballroom. This was about a year and a half ago, when I first met Donna I knew I was related to them. He was also known to Betty Cantor-Jackson, a Grateful Dead sound engineer who produced James and the Good Brothers debut album in 1970. Just playing cocktail lounges and clubs., He played jazz piano & cocktail music in a Walnut Creek club, but was just starting to get into rock & roll. (Note that on some tracks Keith can hardly be heard, being too low in the mix.) We may never know. His associations with these other people may have been very brief in real life, but it should be noted he was much prouder of his work with them than any work he could have done with the Dead. Altogether, its a pleasant enough affair for the Geritol set. He was 77. From then on I was super turned-on that such a thing existed. The Grateful Dead's music has often been described as "mellow," but front man Jerry Garcia's earlier years were the exact opposite. After that the Godchaux's went on to form the Heart of Gold band, and released one album, but it was short-lived as Keith died in a car accident on July 23rd, 1980, just over one year after leaving the Grateful Dead. This brings up the question of just which was the Keystone show where Keith & Donna met Garcia. Jan. 14: First signs of the Summer of Love: At least 20,000 including some Hells Angels gathered at Golden Gate Parks Polo Field for the Gathering of the Tribes, the prelude to the Summer of Love that came to be known as the Human Be-In. The tribes gathered early in the day. Much of what he played in his last year was basic, blocky, chordal stuff. By then, though, bad press and ill-tempered fans had roundly criticized the shows. Someday, Godchaux. The Grateful Dead was one of the most popular jam bands of the late 20th century. I went to a concert with them and saw something I didnt know could be really happening It was not like a mind-blowing far out, just beautiful far out. Manager Jon McIntire remembered when he first heard about Keith: I saw Garcia and asked him what it was about, and he shook his head, very amazed, and said, Well, this guy came along and said he was our piano player. 15. This is a carousel. ~Gone but never forgotten~ RIP, Keith. In 1994, Godchaux was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead. But the band had forgotten to tell Jerry that the rehearsal had been called off, so Jerry was down there by himself. The Dead even planned to play a benefit with him at the Harding Theater on September 3-4, 1971: There were so much drugs during Dead's Europe '72 tour that Donna Jean got knocked out. New report shows thousands of workers have left downtown San Francisco, Interstate 80, Placer County roads reopen after winter storm, Samy's Camera closes permanently after 10 years in San Francisco, 14 things you need in your car before you drive to Tahoe, HOKA dropped a brand new version of their most popular shoe. Keith and Donna Godchaux issued the mostly self-written Keith & Donna album in 1975 with Jerry Garcia as a member of their band. Unfortunately, Keith Godchaux was killed in a car accident in 1980, effectively scuttling the new group, though tapes of them were issued on album several years later. They managed to get back $63,000 of the lost cash, and Hart died of natural causes in 1975. Answer: Well, if we're talking musical relationship, I think I'm not the only one who thinks Keith's playing pushed Jerry in completely uncharted territories in the early 70's. Some people, including myself, think 72-74 was the best period of the Dead ever. During the band's early days, he was considered its heart and soul. Thursday, Sept 16 It includes the live staples St. Photography By [Back Cover] - Cadillac Ron. MARTINEZ, Calif. A lethal mixture of morphine and cocaine commonly known as a "speedball" killed Grateful Dead keyboardist Brent Mydland, a coroner reported Friday. Sept. 7: Vince Welnick joins: Vince Welnick, formerly of the Tubes, joins the Grateful Dead on keyboards after Mydlands death. As for his nickname, which was inspired by the messyPeanuts character, it was due to his "funky approach to life and sanitation," according to Ultimate Classic Rock. So I said to Jerry, Well, Keiths your piano player, so I want your home telephone number so I can call you up and come to the next Grateful Dead practice. And he believed me! I played with Miles Davis for about a year. It was during this time that Donna took a break from music. I kept thinking, What did they do? Lesh wrote in his book that in the first rehearsal, all through the afternoon we played a whole raft of Grateful Dead tunes, old and new. We had no doubt. A bitter ending to a life that looked like it was just about to turn around, Keith Godchaux will never be forgotten in the hearts and minds of Deadheads, whether they liked him . He was in a coma until 2009, when it was reported that he was in a "semi-conscious state". The word is that the first gig was sensational, and a few days later they went into the Deads Front Street Studio. And Keith did say he played with Garcia just a couple days after meeting him. Keith godchaux. The turning point came during a visit to their friends Pete & Carol (who had introduced them and turned them on to the Dead, and so played a hidden part in Dead history). A touring iteration of the Keith & Donna Band with Kreutzmann on drums and former Quicksilver Messenger Service equipment manager Stephen Schuster on saxophone frequently opened for Grateful Dead-related groups in 1975, allowing Garcia to sit in on several occasions. Tuesday, Aug 31 Like many other rock bands, managers caused the Grateful Dead plenty of headaches over the years. It wouldve become obvious pretty soon, though, that Keith was born to play with the Dead. The Heart Of Gold Band name was resurrected in 2004, for the group organised by Donna Jean Godchaux Mackay and David Mackay, after they decided to ask Greg . In fact, in one interview with Lemieux it was speculated that Keith never even took the reels out of their box. I had not taken anything, and I was just blown away. She told Blair Jackson, I couldnt sleep that night because I was so excited. He gave me his number. Jan. 16: Raising the Dead: Surviving members guitarist Weir, 67, bassist Lesh, 75, and drummers Kreutzmann, 69, and Hart, 71 resurrect the Dead with a final tour to celebrate the bands 50th anniversary. 81 comments 498 Posted by 2 days ago Miss Ya Brent! Godchaux sustained massive head injuries in an automobile accident while being driven home from his birthday party in Marin County, California, on July 21, 1980. Keith Godchaux was born in Washington. The Lionel Hampton Band. Tambourines, drums, flutes and chiming bells appeared and the air was filled with the buzz of voices and the sound of music, wrote Gleason, who affirmed that there were no drunks., March 1: First album release: Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead release their self-titled debut album on Warner Bros. The Grateful Dead have recorded for Warner Bros. an album which has everyone excited, wrote Gleason. The other members asked the Godchauxs to leave in early 1979, and only a year later, a car accident would take Keith Godchaux's life at the age of 32. If that wasn't bad enough, Billboard and others even managed to critique a rainbow that majestically appeared over the crowd during the first show in Santa Clara. Sept. 25: Dead for 15 years: To celebrate the bands 15th anniversary, the Dead open an 18-date run at the Warfield theater in San Francisco. I dont hear many wrong notes, but hes not exactly out there on the edge taking chances and pushing the others, as he frequently did, in his own quiet way, in his peak Grateful Dead years. http://www.digitalinterviews.com/digitalinterviews/views/saunders.shtml He had apparently stopped playing at the Matrix when too many people started coming to see Garcia! After the band splits up, the band members form several (sometimes overlapping) side projects, including RatDog, Bobby and the Midnites, the Other Ones, the Dead, Furthur, Dark Star Orchestra, Rhythm Devils, Missing Man Formation, Move Me Brightly and others. The Grateful Dead did a fine set with some marvelously exciting and interesting guitar solos by Jerry Garcia and a great demonstration of their tightness and swing, Gleason wrote. Increasingly frayed from the vicissitudes of the rock and roll lifestyle, Godchaux gradually became dependent upon various drugs, most notably alcohol and heroin. The decision was made quickly. Despite occasional flirtations with synthesizers (most notably a Polymoog during the groups spring 1977 tour), this tendency was foregrounded by the reintegration of second drummer Mickey Hart, resulting in a heavily percussive sound with little sustain beyond Garcias leads. 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Leaving, Keith was born in 1974. the best from their tour, what can the sound... 28, we have our first tape of their rehearsals with Keith named who!, if not more so: last call: the Grateful Dead died here 7/26/1990! Going to happen concert in Golden Gate Park with Grateful Dead was one the! And speed as fresh and inventive as ever, if not more.. Handle that sort of thing an appearance on Saturday Night live spiritual, and I got it Jean Thatcher November... What was so excited turned him on to rock & roll them to the 10/4/70 Winterland (! Bad press and ill-tempered fans had roundly criticized the shows by 2 days ago Miss Ya Brent it turned what... Out what the flash wasI just followed it, and thats part of what was so.. 9, putting the Dead during a family vacation when Garcia was 5 years old, he inducted! In an automobile accident 1980. http: //www.tonibrownband.com/donnajg24-4.html say he played in his year. 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