After Godchauxs departure from the Grateful Dead, he cleaned up and remained in the bands extended orbit, performing alongside Kreutzmann in the Healy-Treece Band (a venture for Dan Healy, the bands longtime live audio engineer) and on at least one occasion with lyricist Robert Hunter. July 12: Together again: The Dead perform their first official Bay Area show following the hiatus at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco. But when they asked me to come in and do their thing to join them I didnt really want to join the band. Relearning all his old songs and solos definitely took some time, but one of his longtime collaborators, keyboardist Merl Saunders, was willing to step in and coach him. http://www.tonibrownband.com/donnajg24-4.html. A Dead Musician Directory Celebrity Page. Mydland had succeeded Keith Godchaux, who died in a car crash shortly after leaving the band. Concert in Golden Gate Park with Grateful Dead and Jefferson Starship 9/28/1975 "Truckin," their second most successful song, only got as far as No. Pin. Throughout this period, Godchauxs rented pianos were outfitted with a state-of-the-art pickup system designed by Carl Countryman. August: Garcia cancels tour: Garcia cancels an 18-date East Coast tour scheduled to start in August after he collapses. More on Keith. Keith Godchaux replaced him at keys until 1979, when drug use forced his departure. Car crash; How old was Keith Godchaux when died? He was involved in an automobile accident, colliding with another car, and was ejected from the vehicle (he wasn't wearing a seatbelt). I played with Miles Davis for about a year. Throughout the late 1970s, he was frequently embroiled in violent domestic scuffles with Donna, who also developed an alcohol use disorder. He identifies the Deads rehearsal space as a warehouse off Francisco Boulevard in San Rafael. (The tapes of Keiths rehearsals are labeled as being from an unknown location in Santa Venetia but Santa Venetia is basically a neighborhood of San Rafael, so it is likely the same place. Keith: It had to happen. The band would not last long, as Keith died tragically in a car accident soon after the band's first show. Keyboards, Vocals, Co-producer - Keith Godchaux. I never had the pleasure of meeting him -although I came very close to it- met his wife, and had many occasions to be in close proximity during concerts by both the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Band. He met and married Donna Jean Godchaux in 1970; their son Zion, of the band BoomBox, was born in 1974. . Watch the Dead live in '77 at Winterland on 12/31/78 Video unavailable Watch on YouTube Watch on Much of what he played in his last year was basic, blocky, chordal stuff. The 1969 Woodstock festival is known for a series of iconic performances that have stood the test of time. (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.) Donna Jean had served as a studio vocalist prior to that and had performed with the likes of Elvis Presley, Dionne Warwick, and Neil Diamond. Aug. 17: Woodstock shock: The Dead give a famously poor performance at Woodstock. ), 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. All were placed on probation for a year. Both Keith Godchaux and Brent Mydland died after being fired from the band, Mydland from an overdose, and Godchaux from a car crash injury. Ron "Pigpen" McKernan was the first member of the Grateful Dead to pass away. The word is that the first gig was sensational, and a few days later they went into the Deads Front Street Studio. The Heart of Gold Band was organized by Keith and Donna Godchaux after their departure from the Grateful Dead in 1979. 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. Where are you? McKernan returned to the band in late 1971 and managed to stick around through their 1972 European tour. Aug. 13: Deadheads pay respect: Garcia is celebrated by family and thousands of friends in Golden Gate Park. 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. They played a total of 29 shows, and recorded two live albums Vintage Dead and Historic Dead there. Eventually, according to Donna Jean Godchaux, Keith and I decided we wanted to get out and start our own group or something else anything else. Then Jerry called Kreutzmann and got him to come down, and the three of them played some. He began piano lessons at age five at . 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. 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. Keyboardist Keith Godchaux joined the band with his wife, singer Donna Jean Godchaux, in late 1971 following a fortuitous encounter with Garcia at San Francisco's Keystone Club. 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. In 1994, he was inducted, posthumously, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead. The incident landed on the cover of The Chronicle and both Weir and founding member Ron "Pigpen" McKernan were arrested. 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. I want to play it. And it was like, Yeahhh! Pretty speedy, for the Dead! A rumor went around claiming that it was simulated and had cost $50,000 to slap up in the sky during a 17-minute version of "Viola Lee Blues." On this date in 1980, former keyboardist Keith Godchaux tragically died in a car accident just days after his 32nd birthday. 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. Want to end the touring life of the Grateful Dead? an Internet message board post from the band read. Keith Godchaux, Self: Beat-Club. One wonders, though. 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. 42 comments 458 Posted by 3 days ago Just got to Hilton Head for a beach getaway. 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. 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. Then the next day the Dead practiced, and by the end of that day Keith was on the payroll. His gift was the keyboard, the piano itself. Bassist Phil Lesh lauded his ability to fit perfectly in the spaces between our parts, while drummer Bill Kreutzmann was inspired by his heart of music.. Amazingly enough, the band was back to performing live by December 15, 1986, five months after he emerged from the coma. People like Jerry Garcia arent supposed to die. Left to right, Bill Kreutzmann, Bob Weir, Ron 'Pigpen' McKernan (1946 - 1973), Jerry Garcia (1942 - 1995) and Phil Lesh. He first performed publicly with the Dead on October 19, 1971 at the University of Minnesotas Northrup Auditorium. 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. 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. Some came in their 20th century teepees, old school buses, caravans and VW buses, and lined the embankment, overlooking the field. 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. Mydland also managed to perform in several other bands throughout the '80s including Go Ahead, a short-lived side project with members of Santana. When he regained consciousness, he'd lost the ability to play the guitar. Jan. 19: Hall of Famers: The Grateful Dead are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the institutions ninth annual induction dinner. It no longer had that sparkle and imagination that marked his best work ('72-'74). 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. I kept thinking, What did they do? It was the direction our lives had to go in. 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. Greta Kaul is a Hearst fellow, covering investment and tech culture on The Chronicle's business desk. Keith Godchaux, pianist of the Grateful Dead from 1971 through early 1979, would have been 65 years old today. He was 77. 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). Interestingly enough, the relationship. Keith godchaux. Just 32 years old. By all accounts, Lenny Hart was a weird guy. Godchaux's father was a musician, and Godchaux himself showed an early interest in music and began playing at various venues in his teens. It wouldve become obvious pretty soon, though, that Keith was born to play with the Dead. Keith Richard Godchaux was a pianist best known for his tenure in the rock group the Grateful Dead from 1971 to 1979. 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. While the rest of the players explored their inner consciousnesses with the help of LSD in the late '60s, McKernan opted to stick with alcohol lots and lots of it. (Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns), Historic Chronicle page August 10, 1995 Front page of Datebook covering the death of Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia. Garcia made it all the way through basic training at Fort Ord in California, but he was given the boot that December. The Grateful Dead had a fair number of run-ins with the law back in the '60s and '70s. Beginning in 1992, his works make an unlikely appearance on a line of neckties. Very few songs even stumble or break down. The sports car he was riding in struck a parked car. 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. A year later, Keith died as the result of a car accident. (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.) Pigpen and Bob Weir were fined $100 each. Donna remembered the Dead rehearsal being scheduled for the following Sunday, but the Dead canceled and only Jerry came. He died at the age of 32 on July 23, 1980, four days after his birthday. A fan also tried to sell the alleged finger on Craigslist to attend a 2015 reunion show, but it was quickly ruled a hoax by Ultimate Classic Rock (and everyone else who came across it, no doubt). 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