Died On This Date (August 9, 1995) Jerry Garcia / Grateful Dead
themusicsover Jerry Garcia
August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995
Jerry Garcia is best remembered as a co-founder of influential jam band, the Grateful Dead who will forever be linked to the San Francisco rock and hippie scenes of the late ’60s and early ’70s. Although a democratic band with multiple “lead” singers, Garcia was considered the leader of the group by most outside the band. Garcia was extremely busy outside the Dead as well, recording and playing with New Riders Of The Purple Sage (with John Dawson), Old and in the Way, Legion Of Mary, as well as his own Jerry Garcia Band. He also had numerous collaborations with David Grisman. His unique guitar playing found its way on to numerous albums as a guest artist also, likely leading to Rolling Stone magazine placing him at #13 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Players Of All Time. During the summer of 1995, Garcia checked into a rehabilitation center; he had struggled with drug addiction. On August 9, his lifeless body was discovered at the facility, dead of a heart attack. It was likely the result of his addictions as well as his heavy weight sleep apnea. Four days later, a public memorial was held in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Over 25,000 people attended.
Other members of the Grateful Dead who died too soon were Brent Mydland, Keith Godchaux, Vince Welnick, and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan.
What You Should Own
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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.
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 
Born in Ontario, Canada, Skip Spence moved with his family to the San Francisco area when he was in his teens. Although his name might not be familiar to most, he was as much a part of the San Francisco scene as 
Chuck Willis had a relatively short career as a singer and songwriter of Blues, R&B and early Rock ‘n’ Roll. He recorded for Columbia, Okeh and Atlantic Records over a career that lasted less than ten years before he unexpectedly died. But what a career he had. His hits included “It’s Too Late (She’s Gone),” covered by no less than