They were asked to leave at the end of 1979. July 23: Keith Godchaux dies in car crash: Keith Godchaux dies in a car accident in Marin County, at age 32, about a year after leaving the band. 19 July 1948; d. 23 July 1980) After years of ill-health through alcohol abuse, Pigpen died in 1973. 10 and No. Dec. 31: Working for the man: Grateful Dead signs with Warner Bros. Records. Musically, the band sounded as fresh and inventive as ever, if not more so. Feb. 11: Stanley amplifies the Dead: Owsley Stanley, an early financier of the band, becomes the Grateful Deads sound engineer. Pigpen was extremely ill, and unable to travel. She had a son with Keith named Zion who was born in 1974. The Heart of Gold Band was formed in early 1980, shortly after Keith and Donna Godchaux had left the Grateful Dead in 1979. Welnick had replaced Brent Mydland, who died of a drug overdose in 1990. Then, according to his official website, he fell ill in August 1992 due to exhaustion, forcing the band to cancel an upcoming fall tour. Donna Godchaux married her first husband and fellow Grateful Dead member Keith Godchaux in 1970. 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. Rock radio was never too kind to them, either. There were allegations of marital abuse as Keith's drug use increased, and they were both booted in 1979. Saunders helped him regain not only his musical skills, but hisstrength and confidence as well. It was during this time that Donna took a break from music. June 14: Workingmans Dead: Workingmans Dead, recorded at Pacific High Recording Studio in San Francisco, marks a turn from psychedelia to a more country-rock sound, influenced by lyricist Hunter and the bands friendship with Crosby, Stills and Nash at the time. I cant talk to you right now. He was just too shy. He mentions in his interview with Gans, That fall I went back to Boston for graduate school. And there does seem to have been a spiritual tie this moment prefigures not just Keiths time with the Dead, but the later Keith & Donna band with Garcia sitting in, and the Garcia Band circa 76 with Keith & Donna, bringing gospel music into the shows. How much snow did Tahoe get? Serendipity in action, A closer listen may reveal more, but for now it sounds to me like there is not one attempt to teach Keith a single new song in these rehearsal tapes, only practiced run-throughs of already-learned songs. Throughout the late 1970s, he was frequently embroiled in violent domestic scuffles with Donna, who also developed an alcohol use disorder. She and Keith fared much better during the band's studio sessions. 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. Stephen, China Cat Sunflower and Cosmic Charlie.. After years of ill-health through alcohol abuse, Pigpen died in 1973. These offer a less detailed, but slightly different course of events. Blair Jackson observes that Keith had also played on a James & the Good Brothers record (a band the Dead were friends with) Kreutzmann played drums on one track, and the album was recorded by Betty Cantor, so Keith may not have been a complete unknown to Garcia. (On the other hand, Keith is not mentioned in the album credits, so its a mystery where Jackson got this info. People like Jerry Garcia arent supposed to die. This destructive trio began to get the better of him in the mid-'80s. 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. Box 1065, San Rafael, California, 94901. It was the beginning of perhaps the best-known fan club in music history. Want to end the touring life of the Grateful Dead? an Internet message board post from the band read. Keith Richard Godchaux (July 19, 1948 July 23, 1980) was a pianist best known for his tenure in the rock group the Grateful Dead from 1971 to 1979. (Not only that, it would mean they lost no time in taping rehearsals with the new guy, in fact starting immediately. Aug 2, 2018 - Explore Michal Strickland's board "Donna and Keith Godchaux" on Pinterest. They were finally given the "all-clear" around 10:30 p.m. after a delay of several hours and being assured by the stage crew they wouldn't be electrocuted. So those are the things that if I was with the Grateful Dead, I couldnt do. Considering what he would play later, its surprising that when his jazz trio went in the Chick Corea direction, Keith decided I didnt really have any feeling for that type of music, and instead listened to big-band jazz, Bill Evans, and bebop: the musicians the guys I was playing with were emulating After gigs wed go to somebodys house and listen to jazz until the sun came up. During his tenure with the Dead, his only lead vocal was Let Me Sing Your Blues Away, from Wake of the Flood (1973). Its notable that Keith plays both piano and organ equally during the rehearsals. 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. Hes sitting right next to you. He looked over at Jerry and looked back at me and dropped his head on the table and said, Youre going to have to talk to my wife. On September 17, 1971, Ron Pigpen McKernan went into the hospital, seriously ill and near death. Map & Directions. Sept. 15: Hornsby helps: Bruce Hornsby joins the band as a regular guest on keyboards. McKay is an instrumentalist playing the bass guitar. July 19 Horoscope More Rock Singers Arnel Pineda Jon Bon Jovi David Byrne Robert Smith 1978 is different. He was previously married to Donna Godchaux. 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. The decision was made quickly. No doubt, though it cant be measured.. A statement issued by the band said: Jerry Garcia is in a hospital receiving treatment for the sudden onset of diabetes and a general systemic infection as a result of an abscessed tooth and exhaustion following a road tour. The bands publicist denies that drugs are involved. 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. 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). Whats interesting here is that theyre playing Garcia THEIR music, in order to convince him of their rightness for the band. 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. 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. After moving to California, Thatcher married keyboardist Keith Godchaux in 1970 and then in 1972 Mr and Mrs. Godchaux (pronounced "god show") joined improvisation rock band the Grateful Dead, and . He was in a coma until 2009, when it was reported that he was in a "semi-conscious state". The couple managed to quickly bounce back. 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. 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. 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). So Garcia told us to come backstage, but we were both too scared, so we didnt. He was known for being a Rock Singer. Keith Godchaux Birthday and Date of Death. He was replaced by Keith Godchaux from Dave Mason's band, who together with his wife Donna on vocals compensated for the tragic loss. 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. Or perhaps the Dead initially saw Keith as a temporary stand-in, a Hornsby-like figure until Pigpen could be eased back in. The Deads song Alice D. Millionaire was inspired by newspaper accounts that described him as the LSD millionaire.. And Keith did say he played with Garcia just a couple days after meeting him. Note that Pigpen went into the hospital the next day. 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. http://archive.org/details/gd1971-09-29.unsurpassed-masters-vol4-vol6.116951.flac16 bootleg comp; different mixes, sometimes very trebley, but Keith comes out more (for instance Brokedown #2, where he takes over). The sports car he was riding in struck. All were placed on probation for a year. July 26: Mydland overdoses: Mydland dies of a drug overdose in Lafayette at age 37. Keith Godchaux, pianist of the Grateful Dead from 1971 through early 1979, would have been 65 years old today. Interestingly enough, the relationship. With Pigpen sick, three major United States tours facing them, and the desire to have another good musician to add to their music, Keith was asked to join., Promo bios of each of the bandmembers released at the same time include this about Keith: Jerry asked him to come down to our old studio and the two of us threw every curveball we could, but he was right on top of every improvised change. The animation and liveliness are through the roof! Left to right, Bill Kreutzmann, Bob Weir, Ron 'Pigpen' McKernan (1946 - 1973), Jerry Garcia (1942 - 1995) and Phil Lesh. On his thirty-second birthday in July 1980, he was severely injured in a car accident and died from those injuries four days later. Exactly 10 years after, on July 23, 1990, his replacement behind. Possibly they could have moved to a studio to tape some of the sessions, though.) Finally she got him at home. So it may have been a more circuitous path between the first meeting and the rehearsal, but in Donnas memory it was about a week. Tragically, after only 1 concert, Keith Godchaux was wiped out in a vehicle accident on July 23, 1980, in Marin Region, CA. 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. He played the piano and keyboards in the rock band "The Grateful Dead" from 1970 . 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. A year after she and Keith left the band, in 1980, the couple formed The Heart of Gold Band. Oct. 24: Grateful Dead: The Deads seventh album, known as Skull and Roses, includes a callout to Dead Heads. The albums sleeve included a message to fans: Dead Freaks Unite: Who are you? 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