Died On This Date (July 26, 1990) Brent Mydland / Grateful Dead
themusicsover Brent Mydland
October 21, 1952 – July 26, 1990
Brent Mydland was the keyboardist for the Grateful Dead for an eleven year period that would see the band’s highest charting successes. Born a military child in Munich, Germany, Mydland moved with his family to San Francisco as an infant. As a child, Mydland learned to play the flute, accordion and piano. After graduating from high school in 1971, played in bands in and around the Bay area, ultimately landing in the Bob Weir Band in 1978. A year later he replaced Keith Godchaux in the Grateful Dead. He also played in Weir’s other side project, Bobby and the Midnites. Mydland wrote several of the Dead’s 80s period songs including such fan favorites as “Tons Of Steel,” “I Will Take You Home,” and “Hell In A Bucket.” Mydland significantly contributed to the band vocally as well, both as lead in some songs, and as a prominent harmony vocalist, adding a new flair to many of the bands older songs in concert. Brent Mydland died of a drug overdose at the age of 37 on July 26, 1990. He was replaced by Vince Welnick who committed suicide in 2006.
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John Dawson was a co-founder and leader of New Riders Of The Purple Sage, a psychedelic country rock band that made the scene during San Francisco’s scene of the ’60s. By the early ’70s, Dawson formed the New Riders with Dave Nelson, with it’s original line up including Garcia, Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart. Dawson guested on a handful of Dead albums, including Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty. He also co-wrote their classic “Friend of the Devil.” New Riders continued well into the ’90s with Dawson calling it quits in 1997. The band was resurrected by Nelson in 2005 with Dawson making guest appearances at a some shows. John Dawson died of stomach cancer at the age of 64.
Along with his wife, 
Vince Welnick first rose to fame as the keyboard player for the cult fave rock band, the Tubes during the ’70s and ’80s. With the Tubes he played on such FM staples as “Don’t Touch Me There,” “White Punks On Dope,” and the more commercially successful, “Talk To Ya Later” and “She’s A Beauty.” In the early ’90s, Welnick successfully auditioned to replace 
Not to be confused with 