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By Collin Gallion
8-18 Media
Special to the Journal
Hi-ho, readers! Welcome back to part 4 of Collin's Guide to The Grateful Dead, where we take a look at some of rock and roll's greatest pranksters, from the psychedelic 60s to the neon-piercing 80s.
In a previous column, we took a look at the Pigpen era of the Grateful Dead. We talked about where most of the band's blues influence came from, and how Pigpen's role would play into the band's development into the 70s. Today, we'll be taking a look at the Keith Godchaux era, from 1973 to 1979. We'll also be taking a look at Keith's wife, Donna, as she also played an equally important role as the only female member of the Grateful Dead. With that out of the way, let's begin.
Keith Richard Godchaux was born on July 19, 1948 in Seattle, WA. Since he was a child, Keith was a talented pianist, but one that was pushed into the business. At age 5, his father made him take piano lessons. But despite that, he was a gifted musician. He would spend most of his time in San Francisco, playing with various jazz bands at cocktail bars and country clubs. However, this was becoming a bit of a bore for Keith, as he began to lose interest in playing in bars and clubs. It wouldn't be until he heard the Grateful Dead, and met his wife, that Keith would finally realize what his musical purpose was.
Keith's wife, Donna, was born on August 22, 1945, in Florence, Al. Before marrying Keith in November of 1970, Donna Jean Thatcher spent most of the 60s as a session singer, doing backing vocals for acts ranging from Elvis Presley to Cher to Neil Diamond. However, she too was getting burnt out from her lifestyle, and officially quit doing music in 1970. That same year, she would move out to the Bay Area in San Francisco, where she would meet Keith and Jerry Garcia at a Grateful Dead concert. Keith and Donna later married in November, and in October of 1971, Keith became a part of the Grateful Dead.
In the last column, I mentioned that the band was in need of a second keyboardist. The reason being was because of Pigpen, as for a short period before the Europe '72 tour, Pigpen went on a quick hiatus due to his deteriorating health. In fact, it was Donna who encouraged Jerry to take Keith in as their new keyboardist. From there, Jerry invited Keith over for a jam session, and later called in the rest of the band to come in and jam with them as well. By the end of the day, Keith had become an official member of the band, and just months later in March of 1972, Donna would follow as the band's background vocalist.
While technically, Keith has been around before the beginning of this era in 1973, his impact and role in the band didn't truly begin until after Pigpen's death in '73, followed by the release of Wake of the Flood. Unlike the Pigpen era, where the band had a heavier emphasis on their roots in country and blues, the Godchaux era focused more on experimentation. Specifically, the band wanted to branch out more into different genres, and wanted to infuse different genres and instrumentation into their music. For example, "Wake of the Flood" (1973) and "Blues For Allah" (1975) focused more on a jazz rock approach, while "Shakedown Street" (1978) focused more on a disco and funk feel. This era was also very heavy on studio albums rather than live performances. While there have been some killer shows during this era, such as "The Last One" at Winterland Auditorium in October of 1974, and the legendary Cornell 5/8/77, there was more of a focus on perfecting the band's sound in the studio than on the stage.
This era also contains my all time favorite Grateful Dead album, 1974's "From The Mars Hotel" Not only does this album have "Scarlet Begonias," my all time favorite Grateful Dead song, but it also blends together everything that made the Grateful Dead awesome and then some. Songs like "Pride of Cucamonga" go back to Jerry's roots as a bluegrass player, while U.S. Blues goes back to Keith's roots as a jazz pianist. Not to mention, this is Keith at his peak during his time with the band, ripping through killer piano solos in "U.S. Blues," while bringing everything to a creepy crawl in "China Doll." Overall, I would consider this to be the best album from the Godchaux era. However, despite being such an incredible era for the band, it had to come to an end.
Near the end of the era, Keith and Donna got bored once again from the lifestyle of the Grateful Dead. The constant touring; the grueling hours in the studio; not to mention Keith's growing drug addiction, another common theme of the Grateful Dead. But unlike Pigpen, who left due to his health and his alcoholism, Keith and Donna left due to just simply being burnt out. They left the band in 1979, and went on to form their own band in 1980 called the Heart of Gold Band, named after one of the lyrics in the song, "Scarlet Begonias." However, not even this band would last.
On July 23, 1980, Keith Godchaux was killed in a car accident just after finishing the Heart of Gold Band's first concert. He was 32 years old. Donna would go on to marry bassist David MacKay shortly after his death. But by the time Keith died, the band had secured a new keyboardist, and one that would help the band reach the kind of success they had never dreamed of achieving. His name was Brent Mydland.
Stay tuned for part 5, where we take a look at the biggest era of the band's history, the Brent Mydland era. Until then, stay weir'd!
EDITORS NOTE: Written by: Collin Gallion, 17, a senior at Negaunee High School. He enjoys writing, playing music, and talking about pop culture with his friends.