The Dead may have been considering a new keyboard player even before Pigpen succumbed, and if Keith had already been playing with Garcia informally, their next candidate was right in front of them. 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. During his first few years with the band, Mydland played in the shadow of the other more famous band members, but in recent years, he had come on as a stronger presence, Kevin Leary wrote in The Chronicle. The sports car he was riding in struck. Killed in a car accident July 23rd, 1980. 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. One wonders, though. Pretty speedy, for the Dead! (Some were thrilled, others dismayed.) Not that he did! Interestingly enough, the relationship. (Possibly the first instrument he played with Garcia was the organ, though I dont think Keith had any experience with it; at any rate, organ was the Deads first choice for many of the new songs.) Like. As of 2014, they'd sold over 35 million albums, according to theNew York Times. He is the fourth Grateful Dead keyboardist to die. This destructive trio began to get the better of him in the mid-'80s. According to Rolling Stone, Hart filled the role for around a year and a half between 1968 and 1969. 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. As the band's sound took a psychedelic turn, his role was continually reduced. News of Mydlands death spread quickly through the close-knit Deadhead community, which follows the bands every move. The group becomes a staple at author Ken Keseys Acid Test parties. When he regained consciousness, he'd lost the ability to play the guitar. When he was asked why he hadnt joined the band in 1990, he said, Ive always done my own thing. Bikers, blow and Belushi: As usual when the Grateful Dead took Manhattan, the band's five-night stand at . Mydland succeeded Keith Godchaux, who died in a car crash shortly after leaving the band. January: Garcia neckties: In addition to slinging a guitar, Garcia, who briefly studied at San Francisco Art Institute, painted abstract works of art. ~Gone but never forgotten~ RIP, Keith. The truth about the Trips Festival is that it was a three-night, weekend-long rock n roll dance with light effects. The Deads spring 72 newsletter recounted: He was very strong but he couldnt handle that sort of thing. Getting connected with the Dead took a little longer, but surprisingly, in hindsight neither of them had any doubt it would happen. Watch Keith and Donna Godchaux Perform in 1975 at Winterland Keith and Donna regrouped and started the Heart of Gold Band, featuring a hot-shot Bay Area guitarist named Steve Kimock. In fact, in one interview with Lemieux it was speculated that Keith never even took the reels out of their box. He remained that way until he died of cardiac arrest in 2013. We had no doubt. It was the direction our lives had to go in. From then on I was super turned-on that such a thing existed. 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. July 27: Terrapin Station: After 15 albums on Warner Bros., their own Round label and United Artists, the Grateful Dead release their first album for Arista Records, Terrapin Station. Arista remained their label for the rest of their recording career. He was also a deft songwriter and wrote several tunes for the Dead throughout the decade that appeared on their studio albums. During his tenure with the Dead, his only lead vocal was Let Me Sing Your Blues Away, from Wake of the Flood (1973). Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann doesn't mince words or pull any punches. When the good rock music wailed, it was great, wrote Chronicle Music Critic Ralph J. Gleason, who went on to become a founding editor of Rolling Stone. 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. The first surprise is to read that Keith had jammed with Jerry & Bill at the Keystone. He met and married Donna Jean Godchaux in 1970; their son Zion, of the band BoomBox, was born in 1974. . Keith was brilliant for the first three years or so he was in the band, but he was sensitive and prone to depression, and the road ate him alive. Is it possible there was a lost Jerry & Keith jam at the Keystone sometime in September 71? Share tweet Related Articles Roy Evans 13 mins ago Gator Creek 33 mins ago Blvd 53 mins ago Check Also Everfound Sept. 15: Hornsby helps: Bruce Hornsby joins the band as a regular guest on keyboards. July 19 Horoscope More Rock Singers Arnel Pineda Jon Bon Jovi David Byrne Robert Smith From then on I was super turned-on that such a thing existed. Keith Richard Godchaux (July 19, 1948-July 23, 1980) . We may never know. Local narcotic officers found a pound of marijuana and hash inside. Over the course of the tour, though, he gradually dropped the organ altogether, and played it only rarely thereafter. Hed played piano in club bands since he was 14: 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 Area[playing] 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. (Getting a job was out of the question: I could never see working during the day, and nobody would hire me for anything, anyway.) ), 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. Send us your name and address, and well keep you informed. (On the other hand, Keith is not mentioned in the album credits, so its a mystery where Jackson got this info. After two weeks there, he would continue his treatment at the Serenity Knolls clinic. 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. For faster navigation, this Iframe is preloading the Wikiwand page for Keith Godchaux . It made it as far as No. 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. 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. They formed a new act called the Heart of Gold Band and even managed to cut a record. In 1994, he was inducted, posthumously, into The Rock . Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. It was performed live six times, all in 1973. Would they go on without a keyboard player? Cheng was the bassist for the Grammy-winning Deftones. 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. Keith Godchaux (1971 - 1979) . Oct. 19: Keith on the keys: Keith Godchaux plays his first show with the Dead as keyboardist. June 18: Monterey Pop: The Grateful Dead play the Monterey Pop Festival, in between the Who and Jimi Hendrix (who famously sets his guitar on fire during his performance). Six Feet of Snow, a collaboration with Lowell George of Little Feat, was featured on the latter groups Down on the Farm (1979); George had recently produced the Grateful Deads Shakedown Street (1978). 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. . Where are you? How much is Jerry Garcia worth now? He was known for being a Rock Singer. So every opportunity, every rumor that we heard that they might be playing, there we were Wed all go see the Dead together, or at the very least get together and listen to Dead records. 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. Those arrested include Owsley Stanley (who identifies himself to police as the King of Acid), Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir. Although the band took the predictable long breaks between songs, many of the tunes were stitched together end-to-end, as the Dead played as tightly as a soul band, Joel Selvin wrote in The Chronicle. In later interviews, he sounds like he preferred the independence & freedom to work on his own projects. Until he met Donna, who turned him on to rock & roll. Pin. Photography By [Front Cover] - Andy Leonard (2) Vocals, Co-producer - Donna Godchaux. The Deads song Alice D. Millionaire was inspired by newspaper accounts that described him as the LSD millionaire.. 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. A year later, Keith died as the result of a car accident. So we played that benefit concert at Oakland [2/17/79], and then a few days later there was a meeting at our house and it was brought up whether we should stay in the band anymoreand we mutually decided wed leave. The Godchauxes were replaced by keyboardist/vocalist Brent Mydland. http://www.tonibrownband.com/donnajg24-4.html. Map & Directions. Enough to shut down every resort. Keyboards, Vocals, Co-producer - Keith Godchaux. The hardships of the never-ending grueling tour and travel schedule (that had always been for The Dead) had taken its toll on Keith and his wife Donna Jean Godchaux, a talented Muscle Sholes-alum vocalist. I kept thinking, What did they do? 19 July 1948; d. 23 July 1980) After years of ill-health through alcohol abuse, Pigpen died in 1973. The Deads music is absolutely 100% positive influence. 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. Includes Obituary, Biography, Discography, Photo, and Links. (It also may explain why Donna had a hard time reaching Jerry on the phone that week, though there doesnt seem enough time for multiple phone calls.) Their devoted legions of "Deadhead" fans kept them on the road for decades, and countless T-shirts, stickers, posters, and other ephemera made the band widely successful from a financial standpoint. Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Pollock was forced to swerve to avoid a group of children who were playing. The next two in line: "Uncle John's Band" (No. Before coming to San Francisco, Kaul was an intern at the Dallas Morning News, the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. (And though no one knew it, Pigpen was likely beyond recovery by that point anyway.) Meanwhile, his alcoholism increased and his doctor told him to stop touring with the Dead in 1970 to fight his addiction. They had several other keyboard players they had been working with, who could have joined: Police believe his caretaker did not realize Allen was behind the car when she began to back it up, police spokeswoman Judy Altieri said. The 2015 Fare Thee Well tour includes shows in Santa Clara and Chicago, with with Phish singer-guitarist Trey Anastasio and keyboardist Bruce Hornsby along for the bands final ride. 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. The following Sunday the Dead were having a rehearsal and Jerry told us to come on down, so we did. Garcia and Weir have said that their microphones kept shocking them. Some tried to sell them online for thousands, with one ambitious seller asking an astronomical $116,000 for a three-day pass. Surviving members of the band gathered for a series of farewell concerts in 2015 that were dubbed "Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead." The pair become known as the Rhythm Devils. All were placed on probation for a year. Allow bottle-throwing gate-crashers to keep on thinking theyre cool anarchists instead of the creeps they are. In St. Louis that summer, the deck at a campground where many fans were staying for a Dead show collapsed, sending 108 people to the hospital. In July 1986, an abscessed tooth resulted in an infection. Keith's tragic death in an automobile accident on July 23, 1980 put a pall over his departure. The band would not last long, as Keith died tragically in a car accident soon after the band's first show. They played a total of 29 shows, and recorded two live albums Vintage Dead and Historic Dead there. The Grateful Dead's set wasn't one of them. http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2011/03/gd19710903-4-harding-theater-sf-ca.html, Its not known whether this benefit actually happened (probably not). He gave me his number. We said to Pete & Carol, Hey guys, were going to play with the Grateful Dead! And we really believed it. In 1994, he was inducted, posthumously, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead. And I remember thinking, "Wow, this is really . Brother of Brian Godchaux. http://archive.org/details/gd71-09-30.sbd.cousinit.18109.sbeok.shnf Keith mostly on piano Keith died in July 1980. On his thirty-second birthday in July 1980, he was severely injured in a car accident and died from those injuries four days later. Former pianist of the Grateful Dead died here on 7/26/1990. July 6: In the Dark LP: The Dead release In the Dark, a comeback album featuring Touch of Grey, Hell in a Bucket, West L.A. Fadeaway and Throwing Stones.. 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