Their Story

Upon returning home from a Legion of Mary tour in 1975, the direction of the band began to change—marked by the departure of Merl Saunders and Martin Fierro, and the addition of British rock and roll pianist, Nicky Hopkins. The newly-formed Jerry Garcia Band remained the most important of his side-projects until his death in 1995. The band toured and recorded sporadically throughout its twenty-year existence. Over the years, the lineup changed a number of times; the one constant member, besides Jerry, was bassist John Kahn. Melvin Seals had the next longest tenure, serving as keyboardist from 1980 onward. Seals became bandleader following Garcia’s death and changed the group’s name to JGB.

Musicians

  • Jerry Garcia

    guitar, vocals

    1975 - 1995

  • John Kahn

    bass

    1975 - 1995

  • Nicky Hopkins

    keyboards

    1975 - 1975

  • Ron Tutt

    drums

    1975 - 1977
    1981 - 1981

  • James Booker

    keyboards

    1976 - 1976

  • Keith Godchaux

    keyboards

    1976 - 1978

  • Ozzie Ahlers

    keyboards

    1979 - 1980

  • Melvin Seals

    keyboards

    1980 - 1995

  • Jimmy Warren

    keyboards

    1981 - 1982

  • Buzz Buchanan

    drums

    1977 - 1978

  • Johnny de Fonseca

    drums

    1979 - 1980

  • Greg Errico

    drums

    1980 - 1980
    1982 - 1983

  • Daoud Shaw

    drums

    1981 - 1981

  • Bill Kreutzmann

    drums

    1981 - 1981
    1981 - 1982

  • David Kemper

    drums

    1983 - 1985
    1986 - 1993

  • Gaylord Birch

    drums

    1985 - 1986

  • Donny Baldwin

    drums

    1994 - 1995

  • Donna Jean Godchaux

    backing vocals

    1976 - 1978

  • Maria Muldaur

    backing vocals

    1977 - 1978

  • Liz Stires

    backing vocals

    1981 - 1982

  • Essra Mohawk

    backing vocals

    1981 - 1981

  • Julie Stafford

    backing vocals

    1981 - 1982

  • Shirley Faulkner

    backing vocals

    1982 - 1982

  • Elisecia Wright

    backing vocals

    1982 - 1982

  • DeeDee Dickerson

    backing vocals

    1983 - 1983

  • Jacklyn LaBranch

    backing vocals

    1983 - 1995

  • Gloria Jones

    backing vocals

    1983 - 1995

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