New Riders of the Purple Sage

New Riders of the Purple Sage was an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco in 1969 and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. The band is sometimes referred to as the New Riders or as NRPS.

History

Origins: early 1960s–1969

The roots of the New Riders can be traced back to the early 1960s Peninsula folk/beatnik scene centered on Stanford University's now-defunct Perry Lane housing complex in Menlo Park, California where future Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia often played gigs with like-minded guitarist David Nelson. The young John Dawson (also known as "Marmaduke") also played some concerts with Garcia, Nelson, and their compatriots while visiting relatives on summer vacation. Enamored of the sounds of Bakersfield-style country music, Dawson would turn his older friends on to the work of Merle Haggard and Buck Owens and provided a vital link between Timothy Leary's International Federation for Internal Freedom in Millbrook, New York (Dawson having boarded at the Millbrook School), and the Menlo Park bohemian coterie nurtured by Ken Kesey.

Inspired by American folk music, rock and roll, and blues, Garcia formed the Grateful Dead (initially known as The Warlocks) with blues singer Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, while Nelson joined the similarly inclined New Delhi River Band (which would eventually come to include bassist Dave Torbert) shortly thereafter. Although they lacked the managerial acumen and cultural cachet of the Grateful Dead and elected to remain in East Palo Alto, California, unlike the former group, which soon relocated to the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, the New Delhi River Band were considered by late 1966 to be the house band of The Barn (one of the region's few viable concert venues outside of San Francisco) in Scotts Valley, California. The group continued to enjoy a cult following in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties through the Summer of Love until their dissolution in early 1968.

After a period of inactivity Nelson contributed to the Grateful Dead's Aoxomoxoa (1969) sessions and served as the caretaker of Big Brother and the Holding Company's rehearsal space while guitarist Peter Albin and drummer David Getz undertook a European tour with Country Joe & the Fish following the schismatic departure of Janis Joplin and Sam Andrew from the former band in December 1968. During this period Nelson and Garcia played intermittently in an early iteration of High Country, a traditional bluegrass ensemble formed by the remnants of the Peninsula folk scene. Nelson was set to serve as lead guitarist in the reconstituted lineup of Big Brother that coalesced later in 1969 and thus may have contributed to some of the recordings on Be a Brother (1970) during this transitional period.

Dawson—who dropped out of Occidental College in December 1965 and remained in Los Angeles for several years thereafter, "hanging out with musicians and weirdos"—had returned to Los Altos Hills by early 1969, allowing him to contribute to the Aoxomoxoa sessions and briefly enroll at Foothill College. After a mescaline experience at Pinnacles National Park with Torbert and Matthew Kelly, he began to compose songs on a regular basis. The most commercially successful configuration of the New Riders would come to encompass Dawson, Nelson, Torbert, Spencer Dryden, and Buddy Cage.

Vintage NRPS: 1969–1982

thumb|"New Riders of the Purple Sage" Armadillo World Headquarters poster by Michael E. Arth 1974

After a few warmup gigs throughout the Bay Area in 1969, Dawson, Nelson, and Torbert began to tour in May 1970 as part of a tripartite bill advertised as "An Evening with the Grateful Dead". An acoustic Grateful Dead set that often included contributions from Dawson and Nelson would then segue into New Riders and electric Dead sets, obviating the need to hire external opening acts.

By the time the New Riders recorded their first album, there were several personnel changes. Hart temporarily left the Grateful Dead in February 1971. Although Hart contributed to two tracks on the album, former Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden replaced him in the New Riders prior to his departure from the parent group. Dryden would remain with the group for ten years, ultimately serving as the band's manager.

Their first album, eponymously titled was released on Columbia Records (under a contract informed by Clive Davis's long-term aspiration to sign the Grateful Dead) in late 1971. It proved to be a moderate success comparable to the Dead's releases of the era, peaking at No. 39 on the Billboard 200 chart.

In 1982, Nelson and Cage left the band, leaving Dawson as the sole remaining member from the classic lineup.

New New Riders: 1982–1997

From the early 1980s to the late 1990s Dawson continued as leader of the New Riders of the Purple Sage. He was joined by bluegrass-oriented multi-instrumentalist Rusty Gauthier, who sang and played acoustic guitar, slide guitar, mandolin, banjo, and fiddle. During this fifteen-year period, an evolving lineup of musicians played with Dawson and Gauthier in the New Riders. These included among others, guitarists Allen Kemp, Gary Vogensen, and Evan Morgan; bass players Fred Campbell, Bill Laymon, and Michael White; and drummers Val Fuentes, and Greg Lagardo.

Some projects had the current line-up performing new material and others reworked older material. On some albums, such as Midnight Moonlight, the band's sound was less influenced by electric country rock and more by acoustic bluegrass music.

Retirement: 1997–2005

In 1997, the New Riders of the Purple Sage split up. Dawson retired from music and moved to Mexico to become an English teacher. By this time, Nelson had started his own David Nelson Band. There was a reunion performance in 2001. In 2002, the New Riders accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award from High Times magazine. On hand were a frail Dawson (suffering from emphysema), Nelson, Cage, Dryden and Torbert's widow Patti. The band performed "Panama Red" and "Lonesome LA Cowboy" with Peter Rowan as part of the celebration. In the spring of 2004, Cage sat in at several gigs with the David Nelson Band.

NRPS revival: 2005–2017

Shortly after the death of Spencer Dryden, a reconstituted line-up of the New Riders began touring in late 2005. It features David Nelson and Buddy Cage, alongside guitarist Michael Falzarano, bassist Ronnie Penque, and drummer Johnny Markowski. John "Marmaduke" Dawson died in Mexico on July 21, 2009, at the age of 64.

Pedal steel guitarist Buddy Cage died on February 5, 2020, at age 73. Prior to Cage's passing, the band had not performed for over two years and it has not been active since.

Discography

Studio and live albums

{|class="wikitable"

! Release date

! Title

! US Chart

! Label

! Notes

| 1971

| New Riders of the Purple Sage

|39

| Columbia

| 1972

| Powerglide

|33

| Columbia

| 1972

| Gypsy Cowboy

|85

| Columbia

| 1973

| The Adventures of Panama Red

|55

| Columbia

| US: Gold

| 1974

| Home, Home on the Road

|68

| Columbia

| 1974

| Brujo

|68

| Columbia

| 1975

| Oh, What a Mighty Time

|144

| Columbia

| 1976

| New Riders

|145

| MCA

| 1977

| Who Are Those Guys?

| MCA

| 1977

| Marin County Line

| MCA

| 1981

| Feelin' All Right

| A&M

| 1986

| Before Time Began

| Relix

| 1986

| Vintage NRPS

| Relix

| 1989

| Keep On Keepin' On

| Mu

| 1992

| Midnight Moonlight

| Relix

| 1993

| Live on Stage

| Relix

| 1994

| Live in Japan

| Relix

| 1995

| Live

| Avenue

| 2003

| Worcester, MA, 4/4/73

| Kufala

| 2003

| Boston Music Hall, 12/5/72

| Kufala

| 2004

| Veneta, Oregon, 8/27/72

| Kufala

| Re-issued in 2020 as Field Trip

| 2005

| Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, TX, 6/13/75

| Kufala

| 2007

| S.U.N.Y., Stonybrook, NY, 3/17/73

| Kufala

| 2007

| Wanted: Live at Turkey Trot

| Fa-Ka-Wee

| 2009

| Winterland, San Francisco, CA, 12/31/77

| Kufala

| 2009

| Where I Come From

| Woodstock

| 2012

| 17 Pine Avenue

| Woodstock

| 2013

| Glendale Train

| Smokin'

| 2019

| Thanksgiving in New York City

| Omnivore

| 2020

| Bear's Sonic Journals: Dawn of the New Riders of the Purple Sage

| Owsley Stanley Foundation

| 2022

| Lyceum '72

| Omnivore

| 2024

| Hempsteader

| Omnivore

Compilation albums

{|class="wikitable"

! Release date

! Title

! Label

| 1976

| The Best of New Riders of the Purple Sage

| Columbia

| 1987

| Take a Red

| MCA

| 1991

| L.A. Lady

| Sony

| 1992

| The Relix Bay Rock Shop, No. 1

| Relix

| 1994

| Wasted Tasters

| Raven

| 1995

| Relix's Best of the Early New Riders of the Purple Sage

| Relix

| 1997

| Relix's Best of the New New Riders of the Purple Sage

| Relix

| 2000

| Ridin' with Panama Red

| Sony

| 2006

| Cactus Juice

| Arcadia

| 2009

| Very Best of the Relix Years

| Retro World

| 2011

| Setlist: The Very Best of New Riders of the Purple Sage Live

| Legacy

| 2011

| Instant Armadillo Blues

| Raven

| 2017

| Original Album Classics

| Sony

Singles

Seven-inch singles released by the New Riders of the Purple Sage are:

{| class="wikitable"

! Release date

! Title

! Album

! Label

| 1971

| "Louisiana Lady" / "Last Lonely Eagle"

| New Riders of the Purple Sage

| Columbia

| 1971

| "I Don't Know You" / "Garden of Eden"

| New Riders of the Purple Sage

| Columbia

| 1972

| "I Don't Need No Doctor" / "Runnin' Back to You"

| Powerglide

| Columbia

| 1972

| "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music)" / "Rainbow"

| Powerglide

| Columbia

| 1973

| "Groupie" / "She's No Angel"

| Gypsy Cowboy

| Columbia

| 1973

| "Panama Red" / "Cement, Clay and Glass"

| The Adventures of Panama Red

| Columbia

| 1974

| "You Angel You" / "Parson Brown"

| Brujo

| Columbia

| 1976

| "Fifteen Days Under the Hood" / "Don't Put Her Down"

| New Riders

| MCA

| 1976

| "Dead Flowers" / "She's Looking Better Every Beer"

| New Riders

| MCA

| 1977

| "Love Has Strange Ways" / "Red Hot Women and Ice Cold Beer"

| Who Are Those Guys?

| MCA

| 1977

| "Just Another Night in Reno" / "Home Grown"

| Who Are Those Guys?

| MCA

| 1980

| "Night for Making Love" / "Fly Right"

| Feelin' All Right

| A&M

| 1980

| "No Other Love" / "Full Moon at Midnight"

| Feelin' All Right

| A&M

Lineups

The membership of the New Riders of the Purple Sage has changed many times. The following table shows a somewhat simplified version of the history of the band's lineups.

{| class="toccolours" border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 style="float: width: 375px; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid #E2E2E2;"

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1969–1970

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
David Nelson – guitar, vocals
Jerry Garcia – pedal steel guitar
Bob Matthews, Robert Hunter, or Phil Lesh – bass guitar
Mickey Hart – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1970

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
David Nelson – guitar, vocals
Jerry Garcia – pedal steel guitar
Dave Torbert – bass guitar
Mickey Hart – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;" | 1971

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
David Nelson – guitar, vocals
Jerry Garcia – pedal steel guitar
Dave Torbert – bass guitar
Spencer Dryden – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1971–1974

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
David Nelson – guitar, vocals
Buddy Cage – pedal steel guitar
Dave Torbert – bass guitar, vocals
Spencer Dryden – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1974–1976

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
David Nelson – guitar, vocals
Buddy Cage – pedal steel guitar
Skip Battin – bass guitar
Spencer Dryden – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1976–1977

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
David Nelson – guitar, vocals
Buddy Cage – pedal steel guitar
Stephen A. Love – bass guitar
Spencer Dryden – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1977–1978

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
David Nelson – guitar, vocals
Buddy Cage – pedal steel guitar
Stephen A. Love – bass guitar
Patrick Shanahan – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1978

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
David Nelson – guitar, vocals
Buddy Cage or Pete Grant – pedal steel guitar
Allen Kemp – guitar, vocals
Patrick Shanahan – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1978–1980

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
David Nelson – guitar, vocals
Bobby Black – pedal steel guitar
Allen Kemp – guitar, vocals
Patrick Shanahan – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1980

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
David Nelson – guitar, vocals
Bobby Black – pedal steel guitar
Allen Kemp – guitar, vocals
Michael White – bass guitar
Patrick Shanahan – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1980

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
David Nelson – guitar, vocals
Buddy Cage – pedal steel guitar
Allen Kemp – guitar, vocals
Michael White – bass guitar
Patrick Shanahan – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1980–1981

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
David Nelson – guitar, vocals
Buddy Cage – pedal steel guitar
Allen Kemp – guitar, vocals
Patrick Shanahan – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1981–1982

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
David Nelson – guitar, vocals
Buddy Cage – pedal steel guitar
Allen Kemp – guitar, vocals
Billy Wolf – bass guitar
Patrick Shanahan – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1982–1984

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
Rusty Gauthier – guitar and other instruments, vocals
Allen Kemp – guitar
Billy Wolf – bass guitar
Val Fuentes – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1984–1985

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
Rusty Gauthier – guitar and other instruments, vocals
Allen Kemp – guitar, vocals
Michael White – bass guitar
Greg Lagardo – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1985–1987

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
Rusty Gauthier – guitar and other instruments, vocals
Gary Vogensen – guitar, vocals
Billy Wolf – bass guitar
Val Fuentes – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1987–1990

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
Rusty Gauthier – guitar and other instruments, vocals
Gary Vogensen – guitar, vocals
Michael White – bass guitar
Val Fuentes – drums

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1990–1993

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
Rusty Gauthier – guitar and other instruments, vocals
Gary Vogensen – guitar, vocals
Fred Campbell – bass guitar

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1993–1994

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
Rusty Gauthier – guitar and other instruments, vocals
Evan Morgan – guitar, vocals
Bill Laymon – bass guitar

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1997

John Dawson – guitar, vocals
Rusty Gauthier – guitar and other instruments, vocals
Gary Vogensen – guitar, vocals
Fred Campbell – bass guitar

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 2005–2017

David Nelson – guitar, vocals
Buddy Cage – pedal steel guitar
Michael Falzarano – guitar, vocals
Ronnie Penque – bass guitar, vocals
Johnny Markowski – drums

Timeline

References

External links

Official web site of the reunion lineup of the New Riders of the Purple Sage