Favorite Grateful Dead Keyboardist

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

Shut up Hedges - no one asked you!

[DenverDem]

1. I loved all the other guys, but Pigpen was the originator.

Man, I miss Pigpen and Jerry and Brent and Keith et al.

[No Mandate Here.]

2. I'll vote for pigpen, but...

what about Bruce Hornsby?

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

7. Do you think he qualifies?

I'll add him

[bushwakker]

3. The Keith and Donna era was the Dead at it's best

4. there probably wouldn't have been a Grateful Dead w/o Pigpen

so you know how I voted

[Emboldened Chimp]

5. Definitely Brent

Though Pig was the original, he wasn't the best musically. He had a great blues voice, but it was apparent even in '68-'69 that he couldn't keep up musically with the other guys. Keith was a brilliant player, but couldn't get down and dirty. Brent had it all--beautiful melody lines, nasty blues riffs and a soulful voice. His successor, Vince, was pretty lame.

[Beware the Beast Man]

10. Brent was by far the best as far as musical ability is concerned

And he had the best singing voice. But Pigpen was the soul of the early Dead. And yes, Pigpen was a lousy keyboard player.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

12. I think Keith was more skilled than Brent

[vi5]

6. Brett Midland because I loved his voice and songs....

I loved every single song he wrote and sang on.

As the father of a daughter, "I Will Take You Home" just causes me to lose it every time, especially thinking about the fact that he passed away.

[Magrittes Pipe]

8. The dead one.

Get it? You know, 'cause they're all dead!

Okay, okay. I'll give some grudging respect to Pigpen. After all, he was an R&B-fueled rocker at heart.

He probably woulda made some good music if he hadn't fallen in with that wuss Garcia. :P

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

13. And drank himself to death by 27

[Magrittes Pipe]

17. Hendrix made some kick-ass music by 27...

...and booze played a part in his demise as well.

I like Hendrix better than Pigpen, in part, because Noel and Mitch rocked much harder than the Jerry and Mickey and Bob and what'shisnuts and that other guy.

[Westegg]

20. You bring up a good point. How does one drink one's self...

...to death by 27? (Actually, I thought Pigpen was a little older but no, I looked it up. You're right.) I ask this as a former serious drinker now attempting a healthy lifestyle. I mean, I drank A LOT for over 20 years and I've thus far outlasted Pig by more than a decade and my health is pretty good at this point. I mean, was the guy doing a half gallon a day, or what? I don't know any details of Pigpen's life or what caused his death specifically, but my God, 27 is so fucking young. Same age as Jim Morrison, I guess, who was also a drunk. Frankly, at this stage of the game, I need to hear about the wages of "sin," as I'm attempting to survive and need all the help I can get.

Love ya.

22. actually I think he had stopped drinking

Technically he died of malnutrition.
This is something that happens to heavy drinkers after they go off the sauce, since they have been getting a lot of calories from the alcohol and their metabolisms have changed quite a bit which affects their appetite.

[Westegg]

25. Thanks for the info. Man, that's tragic! (n/t)

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

26. Jim Morisson, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Pigpen, Curt Cobain - all 27

Go figure

27. Saturn return is at 27-28 years of age

kind of makes you wonder a little about astrology.

I know 27-28 was one of my toughest years.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

28. I'll be 28 for the next few days

its been both good and bad

[Westegg]

30. It gets better, my friend. Happy early birthday!

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

32. Thanks!

:thumbsup:

[Viking12]

9. I voted for Brent

in part becuase I never saw Pigpen live. Brent had real soul and was really beginning to express himself and making his mark on the band before his unfortunate death. I saw his last show at the World Music Amptheater outside of Chicago.

Anybody going to the Alpine Show Saturday? See you there :)

33. I saw Brent about a week before he died

at Sandstone Ampitheater in Kansas City.
He was full of soul for sure, but one thing I will say, sadly, is that it's the only Grateful Dead show I ever saw where the vibe coming off the stage in the music got really evil for awhile to the point it started to freak me out. It was 100 degrees outside. Brent was dressed all in black, long sleeve shirt and jeans.
After he died, I got to thinking about it and realized that the evil vibe I had noticed at the show all happened while he was playing solos and leading the band. I think I might have been picking up on the heroin energy.
It was somewhere around Victim or the Crime and Foolish Heart.
It was this show
07-04-1990
Sandstone Amphitheatre - Bonner Springs, KS

Set 1:
Cold Rain And Snow
Walkin' Blues
Mississippi Half-Step
Queen Jane Approximately
Loose Lucy
It's All Over Now
Loser
Promised Land


Set 2:
Victim Or The Crime
Foolish Heart
Just A Little Light
Scarlet Begonias
Fire On The Mountain
Drums
The Wheel
Gimme Some Lovin'
Stella Blue
Sugar Magnolia


Encore:
U.S. Blues

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

11. I think Keith was the best 75 - 77 was my favorite period

He could PLAY!

[Old and In the Way]

14. Can you guess who I voted for?

Rumor has it that he and Janis Joplin enjoyed a bottle or 2 of Southern Comfort....

[Beware the Beast Man]

15. Hey, where's Tom Constantin???

Just want to make your poll comprehensive.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

16. Good point - give me a sec

[WilliamPitt]

18. The dead one

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

19. You sure he's not yoour favorite drummer from Spinal Tap?

[underpants]

21. How could you forget HIM?!?!?

[regularguy]

23. KIETH!

My first show was in '77 and that remains my favorite period. I went on to see many more shows in the early Brent era, but the dark funky sloooowwww stuff from the Keith era is my favorite. Cornell '77 baby!

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

24. Now you're talkin'

I like your style!

[Feanorcurufinwe]

29. Of that list Pigpen is my favorite band member

but not as a keyboardist.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

31. Fair enough -

he was a great frontman

[Old and In the Way]

34. He was the real deal......

Listen to his singing on Bear's Choice...."Smokestack Lightening", "Katie Mae", and "Hard to Handle". Of course, "Lovelight" was his signature tune.


It's really amazing to see how the Dead's sudden changes in their keyboardists have influenced the bands direction over the decades. They were just a great, in your face, psychedelic-rhthym/blues, rock and roll band band with Ron's Hell's Angels roots. But I guess I enjoyed Godsheaux's musical playing the best....I really like the direction he took them in.

[KG]

35. being a keyboardist for the dead was like being a drummer for spinal tap