New Riders of the Purple Sage
Encyclopedia
New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock
band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock
scene in San Francisco, California
in 1969, and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead
. Their best known song is "Panama Red". The band is sometimes referred to as the New Riders, or as NRPS.
/bohemian
/beatnik
scene in San Francisco, where future Grateful Dead
guitarist Jerry Garcia
, often played gigs with like-minded guitarist David Nelson
. The young John Dawson
, also known as "Marmaduke", from a well-to-do family centered in Millbrook, New York, also played some concerts with Garcia, Nelson, and their compatriots while visiting relatives on summer vacation. Enamored with the sounds of Bakersfield-style country music
, Dawson would turn his older friends on to the work of Merle Haggard
and Buck Owens
while providing a vital link between the East Coast, Timothy Leary
-dominated psychedelic scene and the West.
Dawson went on to college, Nelson moved on to Los Angeles with future Grateful Dead/New Riders lyricist Robert Hunter
and tape archivist Willy Legate, and Garcia formed the Grateful Dead, then known as the Warlocks, with an acquaintance, blues singer Ron "Pigpen" McKernan.
By the time Nelson returned to the Bay Area
in 1966, the Merry Pranksters
-led Acid Tests
were in full swing, with the Dead serving as house band. Throughout 1967 and 1968, Nelson worked as a journeyman musician in the San Francisco area, playing anything from electric psychedelic rock (he was briefly lead guitarist of Big Brother and the Holding Company
after Janis Joplin
and Sam Andrew
departed) to contemporary bluegrass
with groups such as the Mescaline Rompers.
After attending a junior college in the Los Angeles area, Dawson returned to the Bay Area, where he decided to find his fortunes as a solo folksinger. After an early 1969 mescaline
experience he began to compose songs on a regular basis. Some, such as "Glendale Train", were traditional country pastiches, while a number of others ("Last Lonely Eagle" and "Dirty Business") found him working in the milieu of a countrified Dead. Others, including the shuffle "Henry", were a combination of the two — traditional music combined with then-contemporary lyrics.
Dawson's vision was timely, as 1969 marked the emergence of country rock via the Dillard & Clark
Band, the Clarence White
-era Byrds, The Band
, Gram Parsons
' Flying Burrito Brothers, and Bob Dylan
. Around this time, Garcia was similarly inspired to take up the pedal steel guitar
, and Dawson and Garcia began playing coffeehouse concerts together when the Grateful Dead were not touring. The Dawson and Garcia repertoire included Bakersfield country standards, traditional bluegrass, Dawson originals, a few Dylan cover
s ("Lay Lady Lay
", "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
", "Mighty Quinn
"), and Joni Mitchell
's song "Big Yellow Taxi
". By the summer of 1969 it was decided that a full band would be formed and David Nelson was recruited from Big Brother to play electric lead guitar.
In addition to Nelson, Dawson (on acoustic guitar
), and Garcia (continuing to play pedal steel), the original line-up of the band that came to be known as the New Riders of the Purple Sage (a nod to the Zane Grey
classic and the western swing
combo from the 1940s led by Foy Willing
) consisted of Robert Hunter on electric bass and Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart
. Hunter was soon replaced by Bob Matthews, before Phil Lesh
of the Grateful Dead was named bassist.
After a few warmup gigs throughout the Bay Area in 1969, the New Riders (for all intents and purposes Dawson and Nelson) began to tour in May 1970 as opening act with the Grateful Dead. This relationship continued on a regular basis until December 1971. Throughout much of 1970, the Dead would open with an acoustic set that often included Dawson and Nelson before segueing into the New Riders and then the electric Dead.
By the time the New Riders recorded their first album in late 1970, change was in the air. Dave Torbert
then replaced Lesh. After Hart went on sabbatical from music in early 1971, Spencer Dryden
(from Jefferson Airplane
) began a ten-year relationship with the group as their drummer, and eventually manager. The first album
, eponymously titled, was released on Columbia Records in late 1971 and was a moderate success. Featuring all Dawson songs, the record was driven by Garcia's pedal-steel playing.
With the New Riders desiring to become more of a self-sufficient group and Garcia needing to focus on his other responsibilities, the musician parted ways with the group in November 1971. Buddy Cage
, a seasoned pedal steel player who had contributed to the latter-day recordings by Ian and Sylvia
and the Great Speckled Bird
, replaced Garcia. The band's second album, Powerglide
, was the first to feature this lineup. The Powerglide album art included a caricature of the band members, drawn by Lore Shoberg.
The band peaked in popularity in 1973 with The Adventures of Panama Red
and the accompanying single, "Panama Red", an FM radio staple. The Adventures of Panama Red was the group's lone gold album
.
In the mid-1970s Radio Caroline
adopted the song "On My Way Back Home" from the Gypsy Cowboy
album as the station's theme tune. The song was well-suited to the station's album-oriented format of the time, and included the lyric "Flying to the sun, sweet Caroline".
The New Riders of the Purple Sage continued touring and releasing albums throughout the mid to late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1974, Torbert left NRPS, and he and Matthew Kelly
co-founded the band Kingfish
. Skip Battin
, formerly of the Byrds
, took over on bass guitar, followed in 1976 by Stephen A. Love
of Rick Nelson
's Stone Canyon Band and the Roger McGuinn
Band. Spencer Dryden left the drummer's chair to manage the group in 1978. His musical replacement was Patrick Shanahan. Allen Kemp joined in 1976, originally on bass, but later on guitar and vocals, contributing to the song writing for the 1981 album, Feelin' All Right
. Then, in 1982, both Nelson and Cage departed from the band.
, 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 lineup 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.
In 1997, the New Riders of the Purple Sage split up. Dawson moved to Mexico and became an English
teacher. In 2002, The New Riders accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award from the High Times magazine. On hand were a frail Dawson (suffering from emphysema
), Nelson, Cage, Dryden and Torbert's widow Patti.
Allen Kemp died on June 25, 2009, and John "Marmaduke" Dawson died on July 21, 2009 at the age of 64 in Mexico. This statement was posted on the band's official website: "John Collins Dawson IV (June 16, 1945 – July 21, 2009). John passed away peacefully on July 21, 2009 at the age of 64 in Mexico, where he had retired several years ago. It is with great sadness that we relay this news, and extend our deepest condolences to his family and all his many fans out there. His songs inspired us in so many ways. His energy, passion and commitment to the New Riders brought us all so much joy over the years. We can all be thankful that his music and legacy will live on forever."
, bassist Ronnie Penque
, and drummer Johnny Markowski. They have released a live album, Wanted: Live at Turkey Trot
, and a studio album, Where I Come From
.
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...
band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
scene in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
in 1969, and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
. Their best known song is "Panama Red". The band is sometimes referred to as the New Riders, or as NRPS.
Origins: early 1960s–1969
The roots of the New Riders can be traced back to the early 1960s folkAmerican folk music revival
The American folk music revival was a phenomenon in the United States that began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Richard Dyer-Bennett, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, John Jacob...
/bohemian
Bohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
/beatnik
Beatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
scene in San Francisco, where future Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
guitarist Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
, often played gigs with like-minded guitarist David Nelson
David Nelson (musician)
David Nelson is an American guitarist and musician.Although he started his musical career playing folk and bluegrass music Nelson is probably best known as one of the original members of psychedelic country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage...
. The young John Dawson
John Dawson (musician)
John Collins Dawson IV, nicknamed "Marmaduke" , was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the leader and co-founder of the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage.-Musical career:...
, also known as "Marmaduke", from a well-to-do family centered in Millbrook, New York, also played some concerts with Garcia, Nelson, and their compatriots while visiting relatives on summer vacation. Enamored with the sounds of Bakersfield-style country music
Bakersfield sound
The Bakersfield sound was a genre of country music developed in the mid- to late 1950s in and around Bakersfield, California. The many hit singles were largely produced by Capitol Records country music head, Ken Nelson. Bakersfield country was a reaction against the slickly produced, string...
, Dawson would turn his older friends on to the work of Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
and Buck Owens
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
while providing a vital link between the East Coast, Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
-dominated psychedelic scene and the West.
Dawson went on to college, Nelson moved on to Los Angeles with future Grateful Dead/New Riders lyricist Robert Hunter
Robert Hunter (lyricist)
Robert C. Hunter is an American lyricist, singer-songwriter, translator, and poet, best known for his association with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead.-Biography:He was born Robert Burns in San Luis Obispo, California...
and tape archivist Willy Legate, and Garcia formed the Grateful Dead, then known as the Warlocks, with an acquaintance, blues singer Ron "Pigpen" McKernan.
By the time Nelson returned to the Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
in 1966, the Merry Pranksters
Merry Pranksters
The Merry Pranksters were a group of people who formed around American author Ken Kesey in 1964 and sometimes lived communally at his homes in California and Oregon...
-led Acid Tests
Acid Tests
The Acid Tests were a series of parties held by Ken Kesey in the San Francisco Bay Area during the mid 1960s, centered entirely around the use of, experimentation with, and advocacy of, the psychedelic drug LSD, also known as "acid."...
were in full swing, with the Dead serving as house band. Throughout 1967 and 1968, Nelson worked as a journeyman musician in the San Francisco area, playing anything from electric psychedelic rock (he was briefly lead guitarist of Big Brother and the Holding Company
Big Brother and the Holding Company
Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Airplane. They are best known as the band that featured Janis Joplin as their...
after Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
and Sam Andrew
Sam Andrew
Sam Andrew is an American musician, singer, songwriter, composer, artist and founding member and guitarist of Big Brother and the Holding Company. During his career as musician and composer, Andrew has had three platinum albums and two hit singles...
departed) to contemporary bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
with groups such as the Mescaline Rompers.
After attending a junior college in the Los Angeles area, Dawson returned to the Bay Area, where he decided to find his fortunes as a solo folksinger. After an early 1969 mescaline
Mescaline
Mescaline or 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloid of the phenethylamine class used mainly as an entheogen....
experience he began to compose songs on a regular basis. Some, such as "Glendale Train", were traditional country pastiches, while a number of others ("Last Lonely Eagle" and "Dirty Business") found him working in the milieu of a countrified Dead. Others, including the shuffle "Henry", were a combination of the two — traditional music combined with then-contemporary lyrics.
Dawson's vision was timely, as 1969 marked the emergence of country rock via the Dillard & Clark
Dillard & Clark
Dillard & Clark was a country rock duo which featured ex-Byrds member Gene Clark and bluegrass banjo player Doug Dillard. The group was formed in 1968, shortly after Clark departed The Byrds, and Dillard left The Dillards. They were backed up by, among others, Bernie Leadon, Chris Hillman, Sneaky...
Band, the Clarence White
Clarence White
Clarence White was a guitar player for Nashville West, The Byrds, Muleskinner, and the Kentucky Colonels. His parents were Acadians from New Brunswick, Canada...
-era Byrds, The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
, Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
' Flying Burrito Brothers, and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
. Around this time, Garcia was similarly inspired to take up the pedal steel guitar
Pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
, and Dawson and Garcia began playing coffeehouse concerts together when the Grateful Dead were not touring. The Dawson and Garcia repertoire included Bakersfield country standards, traditional bluegrass, Dawson originals, a few Dylan cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s ("Lay Lady Lay
Lay Lady Lay
"Lay Lady Lay" is a song written by Bob Dylan and originally released in 1969 on his Nashville Skyline album. Like many of the tracks on the album, Dylan sings the song in a low croon, rather than in the high nasal singing style associated with his earlier recordings...
", "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
"You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1967 in Woodstock, New York, during the self-imposed exile from public appearances that followed his July 29, 1966 motorcycle accident. A recording of Dylan performing the song was first officially released on the Bob Dylan's Greatest...
", "Mighty Quinn
Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
"Quinn the Eskimo " is a folk-rock song written by Bob Dylan and first recorded during The Basement Tapes sessions in 1967. The song was first released in January 1968 as "Mighty Quinn" by the British band Manfred Mann and became a great success...
"), and Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
's song "Big Yellow Taxi
Big Yellow Taxi
"Big Yellow Taxi" is a song written and originally performed by Joni Mitchell in 1970. It was a big hit in her native Canada as well as Australia and the UK...
". By the summer of 1969 it was decided that a full band would be formed and David Nelson was recruited from Big Brother to play electric lead guitar.
In addition to Nelson, Dawson (on acoustic guitar
Steel-string acoustic guitar
A steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...
), and Garcia (continuing to play pedal steel), the original line-up of the band that came to be known as the New Riders of the Purple Sage (a nod to the Zane Grey
Zane Grey
Zane Grey was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the Old West. Riders of the Purple Sage was his bestselling book. In addition to the success of his printed works, they later had second lives and continuing influence...
classic and the western swing
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
combo from the 1940s led by Foy Willing
Foy Willing
Foy Willing was a singer, songwriter, musician, and bandleader who performed Western music and appeared in Western movies. He formed the Western band Riders Of The Purple Sage.-Early years:...
) consisted of Robert Hunter on electric bass and Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart
Mickey Hart
Mickey Hart is an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band the Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971, and from October 1974 to August 1995...
. Hunter was soon replaced by Bob Matthews, before Phil Lesh
Phil Lesh
Phillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
of the Grateful Dead was named bassist.
Vintage NRPS: 1969–1982
By the time the New Riders recorded their first album in late 1970, change was in the air. Dave Torbert
Dave Torbert
Dave Torbert was a Bay Area musician, best known for his associations with the Grateful Dead and the New Riders of the Purple Sage. He played bass for the latter group, replacing Phil Lesh during the sessions for their first album...
then replaced Lesh. After Hart went on sabbatical from music in early 1971, Spencer Dryden
Spencer Dryden
Spencer Dryden was an American musician best known as the longest-serving drummer for Jefferson Airplane. He also played with New Riders of the Purple Sage, The Dinosaurs, and The Peanut Butter Conspiracy.-Early life:...
(from Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
) began a ten-year relationship with the group as their drummer, and eventually manager. The first album
New Riders of the Purple Sage (album)
New Riders of the Purple Sage is the self-titled debut album by the American country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was released by Columbia Records in 1971, and reached number 39 on the Billboard charts....
, eponymously titled, was released on Columbia Records in late 1971 and was a moderate success. Featuring all Dawson songs, the record was driven by Garcia's pedal-steel playing.
With the New Riders desiring to become more of a self-sufficient group and Garcia needing to focus on his other responsibilities, the musician parted ways with the group in November 1971. Buddy Cage
Buddy Cage
Buddy Cage is an American pedal steel guitarist, best known as a longtime member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage....
, a seasoned pedal steel player who had contributed to the latter-day recordings by Ian and Sylvia
Ian and Sylvia
Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson, née Fricker. They began performing together in 1959, married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975.-Early lives:...
and the Great Speckled Bird
Great Speckled Bird (band)
Great Speckled Bird was a country rock group formed in 1969 by the Canadian musical duo Ian & Sylvia. Ian Tyson sang, played guitar and composed. Sylvia Tyson sang, composed and occasionally played piano...
, replaced Garcia. The band's second album, Powerglide
Powerglide (album)
Powerglide is the second album by the American band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. The music is a psychedelic hybrid of country rock, and includes guest musicians Jerry Garcia and Bill Kreutzmann from the Grateful Dead, along with noted session player Nicky Hopkins...
, was the first to feature this lineup. The Powerglide album art included a caricature of the band members, drawn by Lore Shoberg.
The band peaked in popularity in 1973 with The Adventures of Panama Red
The Adventures of Panama Red
The Adventures of Panama Red is the fourth country rock album by the New Riders of the Purple Sage, released in 1973. It is widely regarded as one of the group's best efforts, and reached number 55 on the Billboard charts....
and the accompanying single, "Panama Red", an FM radio staple. The Adventures of Panama Red was the group's lone gold album
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
.
In the mid-1970s Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly...
adopted the song "On My Way Back Home" from the Gypsy Cowboy
Gypsy Cowboy
Gypsy Cowboy is the third album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded and released in 1972.The album includes six original songs by John Dawson and three by Dave Torbert, plus cover versions of "She's No Angel" and "Long Black Veil"...
album as the station's theme tune. The song was well-suited to the station's album-oriented format of the time, and included the lyric "Flying to the sun, sweet Caroline".
The New Riders of the Purple Sage continued touring and releasing albums throughout the mid to late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1974, Torbert left NRPS, and he and Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly (musician)
Matthew Kelly, also known as Matt Kelly, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He plays guitar and harmonica. Kelly is best known for being the leader of the rock band Kingfish, and for his association with Bob Weir and the Grateful Dead....
co-founded the band Kingfish
Kingfish (band)
Kingfish is an American rock band led by Matthew Kelly, a musician, singer, and songwriter who plays guitar and harmonica. Kelly co-founded Kingfish in 1973 with New Riders of the Purple Sage bass player Dave Torbert and fellow San Francisco Bay Area musicians Robbie Hoddinott, Chris Herold, and...
. Skip Battin
Skip Battin
Clyde "Skip" Battin was an American singer–songwriter, performer and recording artist. He is best remembered as a member of The Byrds, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Flying Burrito Brothers...
, formerly of the Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
, took over on bass guitar, followed in 1976 by Stephen A. Love
Stephen A. Love
Stephen A. Love is a professional musician, singer, songwriter, producer, real estate broker, and CEO of the Vallartamex S.C. construction firm. He is also the owner of Blue Jeans Music BMI and lives in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico.Stephen A...
of Rick Nelson
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
's Stone Canyon Band and the Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
Band. Spencer Dryden left the drummer's chair to manage the group in 1978. His musical replacement was Patrick Shanahan. Allen Kemp joined in 1976, originally on bass, but later on guitar and vocals, contributing to the song writing for the 1981 album, Feelin' All Right
Feelin' All Right
Feelin' All Right is the tenth studio album and twelfth album overball by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage, released in 1981. It was their only album on the A&M Records label...
. Then, in 1982, both Nelson and Cage departed from the band.
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 multi-instrumentalist Rusty Gauthier, who sang and played acoustic guitar, slide guitarSlide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
, mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, banjo, and fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
. 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
Val Fuentes
Val Fuentes is the original and current drummer for the psychedic folk-rock band It's a Beautiful Day...
and Greg Lagardo.
Some projects had the current lineup 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.
In 1997, the New Riders of the Purple Sage split up. Dawson moved to Mexico and became an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
teacher. In 2002, The New Riders accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award from the High Times magazine. On hand were a frail Dawson (suffering from emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
), Nelson, Cage, Dryden and Torbert's widow Patti.
Allen Kemp died on June 25, 2009, and John "Marmaduke" Dawson died on July 21, 2009 at the age of 64 in Mexico. This statement was posted on the band's official website: "John Collins Dawson IV (June 16, 1945 – July 21, 2009). John passed away peacefully on July 21, 2009 at the age of 64 in Mexico, where he had retired several years ago. It is with great sadness that we relay this news, and extend our deepest condolences to his family and all his many fans out there. His songs inspired us in so many ways. His energy, passion and commitment to the New Riders brought us all so much joy over the years. We can all be thankful that his music and legacy will live on forever."
NRPS revival: 2005–present
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 FalzaranoMichael Falzarano
Michael Falzarano is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has been working as a professional musician since the 1970s, most notably in Hot Tuna, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Memphis Pilgrims, a Memphis-style rock and roll/blues band that he founded in 1986.Having signed...
, bassist Ronnie Penque
Ronnie Penque
Ronnie Penque is a bassist, singer and songwriter who has been working in the music industry for over 30 years. Penque is most notably recognized for his work with the current New Riders of the Purple Sage. The New Riders emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco, California in 1969...
, and drummer Johnny Markowski. They have released a live album, Wanted: Live at Turkey Trot
Wanted: Live at Turkey Trot
Wanted: Live at Turkey Trot is a concert video and an album by the American country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded in 2006 at Turkey Trot Acres, a hunting lodge in Candor, New York...
, and a studio album, Where I Come From
Where I Come From (album)
Where I Come From is an album by the American country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded in 2008, and released on June 2, 2009. Following Wanted: Live at Turkey Trot, it was the second album of new material released after the New Riders re-formed in 2005, and the band's...
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Studio and live albums
| Release date | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage (album) New Riders of the Purple Sage is the self-titled debut album by the American country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was released by Columbia Records in 1971, and reached number 39 on the Billboard charts.... |
Columbia |
| 1972 | Powerglide Powerglide (album) Powerglide is the second album by the American band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. The music is a psychedelic hybrid of country rock, and includes guest musicians Jerry Garcia and Bill Kreutzmann from the Grateful Dead, along with noted session player Nicky Hopkins... |
Columbia |
| 1972 | Gypsy Cowboy Gypsy Cowboy Gypsy Cowboy is the third album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded and released in 1972.The album includes six original songs by John Dawson and three by Dave Torbert, plus cover versions of "She's No Angel" and "Long Black Veil"... |
Columbia |
| 1973 | The Adventures of Panama Red The Adventures of Panama Red The Adventures of Panama Red is the fourth country rock album by the New Riders of the Purple Sage, released in 1973. It is widely regarded as one of the group's best efforts, and reached number 55 on the Billboard charts.... |
Columbia |
| 1974 | Home, Home on the Road Home, Home on the Road Home, Home on the Road is an album by the American country rock group the New Riders of the Purple Sage. Released by Columbia Records in 1974, it was their first live album, and their fifth album overall. The eleven songs on the album are a combination of originals and covers... |
Columbia |
| 1974 | Brujo Brujo Brujo is an album by the American country rock band New Riders of the Purple Sage. It is their fifth studio album, and their sixth album overall. It was recorded in 1974 and released that same year by Columbia Records.... |
Columbia |
| 1975 | Oh, What a Mighty Time Oh, What a Mighty Time Oh, What a Mighty Time is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. Their sixth studio album and their seventh album overall, it was released by Columbia Records in 1975.Oh, What a Mighty Time was produced by Bob Johnston... |
Columbia |
| 1976 | New Riders New Riders (album) New Riders is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. Their seventh studio album and their ninth album overall, it was recorded and released in 1976.... |
MCA |
| 1977 | Who Are Those Guys? Who Are Those Guys? Who Are Those Guys? is the eighth studio album and tenth album overall by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California in October and November, 1976... |
MCA |
| 1977 | Marin County Line Marin County Line Marin County Line is the ninth studio album and eleventh album overall by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. Released in 1977, it was their third and final album on the MCA Records label.... |
MCA |
| 1981 | Feelin' All Right Feelin' All Right Feelin' All Right is the tenth studio album and twelfth album overball by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage, released in 1981. It was their only album on the A&M Records label... |
A&M |
| 1986 | Before Time Began Before Time Began Before Time Began is the eleventh studio album and thirteenth album overall by the country rock group the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was released in 1986 on the Relix Records label.... |
Relix |
| 1986 | Vintage NRPS Vintage NRPS Vintage NRPS is an album by the country rock group the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded live on February 21 and February 23, 1971 at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York, and released in 1986.... |
Relix |
| 1989 | Keep On Keepin' On Keep On Keepin' On Keep On Keepin' On is the twelfth studio album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was released in 1989 by Mu Records, and subsequently re-released by Relix Records.... |
Mu |
| 1992 | Midnight Moonlight Midnight Moonlight Midnight Moonlight is the thirteenth studio album by the New Riders of the Purple Sage, released in 1992 on the Relix Records label.Midnight Moonlight features studio recordings of original and cover songs, performed in a style heavily influenced by bluegrass and American folk music. The... |
Relix |
| 1993 | Live on Stage Live on Stage (New Riders of the Purple Sage album) Live on Stage is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded live in 1975 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City and at the Keystone in Berkeley, California. It was released by Relix Records in 1993.... |
Relix |
| 1994 | Live in Japan Live in Japan (New Riders of the Purple Sage album) Live in Japan is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded from August 25 to August 29, 1993 at Club Citta in Kawasaki, the Bottom Line in Nagoya, and Banana Hall in Osaka... |
Relix |
| 1995 | Live Live (New Riders of the Purple Sage album) Live is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded live at the Palomino in North Hollywood, California on September 21 and November 20, 1982. It was released on the Avenue Records label on February 14, 1995... |
Avenue |
| 2003 | Worcester, MA, 4/4/73 Worcester, MA, 4/4/73 Worcester, MA, 4/4/73 is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded live at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts on April 4, 1973. It was released on May 20, 2003... |
Kufala |
| 2003 | Boston Music Hall, 12/5/72 Boston Music Hall, 12/5/72 Boston Music Hall, 12/5/72 is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded live on December 5, 1972, at the Music Hall in Boston, Massachusetts, and released on November 11, 2003... |
Kufala |
| 2004 | Veneta, Oregon, 8/27/72 Veneta, Oregon, 8/27/72 Veneta, Oregon, 8/27/72 is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded live on August 27, 1972, at the Springfield Creamery Benefit concert, at Temple Meadow, near Veneta, Oregon. It was released on September 21, 2004... |
Kufala |
| 2005 | Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, TX, 6/13/75 Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, TX, 6/13/75 Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, TX, 6/13/75 is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded live on June 13, 1975, at the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, Texas, and released on November 1, 2005... |
Kufala |
| 2007 | S.U.N.Y., Stonybrook, NY, 3/17/73 S.U.N.Y., Stonybrook, NY, 3/17/73 S.U.N.Y., Stonybrook, NY, 3/17/73 is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded live on March 17, 1973, at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. It was released on November 13, 2007... |
Kufala |
| 2007 | Wanted: Live at Turkey Trot Wanted: Live at Turkey Trot Wanted: Live at Turkey Trot is a concert video and an album by the American country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded in 2006 at Turkey Trot Acres, a hunting lodge in Candor, New York... |
Fa-Ka-Wee |
| 2009 | Winterland, San Francisco, CA, 12/31/77 Winterland, San Francisco, CA, 12/31/77 Winterland, San Francisco, CA, 12/31/77 is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded live on December 31, 1977, at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, California. It was released on April 16, 2009... |
Kufala |
| 2009 | Where I Come From Where I Come From (album) Where I Come From is an album by the American country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded in 2008, and released on June 2, 2009. Following Wanted: Live at Turkey Trot, it was the second album of new material released after the New Riders re-formed in 2005, and the band's... |
Woodstock |
Compilation albums
| Release date | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | The Best of New Riders of the Purple Sage The Best of New Riders of the Purple Sage The Best of New Riders of the Purple Sage is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It contains a selection of songs that had previously appeared on the band's first seven albums, which were recorded between 1971 and 1975... |
Columbia |
| 1992 | The Relix Bay Rock Shop, No. 1 The Relix Bay Rock Shop, No. 1 The Relix Bay Rock Shop, No. 1 is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was originally distributed as a promotional radio program in 1992, and was also sold in record stores... |
Relix |
| 1994 | Wasted Tasters Wasted Tasters Wasted Tasters is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It contains previously released songs selected from the first seven New Riders albums, which were recorded between 1971 and 1975... |
Raven |
| 1995 | Relix's Best of the Early New Riders of the Purple Sage Relix's Best of the Early New Riders of the Purple Sage Relix's Best of the Early New Riders of the Purple Sage is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was released on August 5, 1995... |
Relix |
| 1997 | Relix's Best of the New New Riders of the Purple Sage Relix's Best of the New New Riders of the Purple Sage Relix's Best of the New New Riders of the Purple Sage is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was released on March 11, 1997. It contains previously released songs that were recorded between 1989 and 1993 and that were selected from three albums on the Relix... |
Relix |
| 2000 | Ridin' with Panama Red Ridin' with Panama Red Ridin' with Panama Red is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It contains previously released songs selected from the New Riders' first six albums, which were recorded between 1971 and 1974... |
Sony |
| 2006 | Cactus Juice Cactus Juice Cactus Juice is a two-CD album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was released by Arcadia Records in 2006. It is a repackaging of three complete New Riders albums from the 1970s — Home, Home on the Road, Brujo, and Oh, What a Mighty Time.-Live in concert:The first disc... |
Arcadia |
| 2009 | Very Best of the Relix Years Very Best of the Relix Years Very Best of the Relix Years is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was released in England on the Retro World label on June 2, 2009... |
Retro World |
Timeline of band members
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.| 1969–1970 |
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|---|---|
| 1970 |
Dave Torbert Dave Torbert was a Bay Area musician, best known for his associations with the Grateful Dead and the New Riders of the Purple Sage. He played bass for the latter group, replacing Phil Lesh during the sessions for their first album... – bass guitar |
| 1970–1971 |
Spencer Dryden Spencer Dryden was an American musician best known as the longest-serving drummer for Jefferson Airplane. He also played with New Riders of the Purple Sage, The Dinosaurs, and The Peanut Butter Conspiracy.-Early life:... – drums |
| 1971–1974 |
Buddy Cage Buddy Cage is an American pedal steel guitarist, best known as a longtime member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage.... – pedal steel guitar |
| 1974–1976 |
Skip Battin Clyde "Skip" Battin was an American singer–songwriter, performer and recording artist. He is best remembered as a member of The Byrds, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Flying Burrito Brothers... – bass guitar |
| 1976–1977 |
Stephen A. Love Stephen A. Love is a professional musician, singer, songwriter, producer, real estate broker, and CEO of the Vallartamex S.C. construction firm. He is also the owner of Blue Jeans Music BMI and lives in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico.Stephen A... – bass guitar |
| 1977–1978 |
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| 1978 |
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| 1978–1980 |
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| 1980 |
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| 1980 |
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| 1980–1981 |
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| 1981–1982 |
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| 1982–1984 |
Val Fuentes Val Fuentes is the original and current drummer for the psychedic folk-rock band It's a Beautiful Day... – drums |
| 1984–1985 |
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| 1985–1987 |
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| 1987–1990 |
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| 1990–1993 |
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| 1993–1994 |
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| 1997 |
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| 2005–present |
Michael Falzarano Michael Falzarano is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has been working as a professional musician since the 1970s, most notably in Hot Tuna, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Memphis Pilgrims, a Memphis-style rock and roll/blues band that he founded in 1986.Having signed... – guitar, vocals Ronnie Penque Ronnie Penque is a bassist, singer and songwriter who has been working in the music industry for over 30 years. Penque is most notably recognized for his work with the current New Riders of the Purple Sage. The New Riders emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco, California in 1969... – bass guitar |