![]() ![]() Last year on the anniversary of Pigpen’s death, Mickey Hart shared a touching remembrance of his former bandmate, saying, “When I first met the Grateful Dead, it was Pigpen and the boys. Pigpen’s last show with the Dead, in which they shared a bill with New Riders of the Purple Sage at the Hollywood Bowl on June 17, 1972, saw the band dig into many of the favorites that remain classics today, including “Sugaree,” “Tennessee Jed,” “Casey Jones,” “Truckin’,” “Sugar Magnolia,” “Not Fade Away” and of course a run of “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider.” The show also featured the debut of “Stella Blue.” ![]() The singer, keyboardist and noted blues enthusiast, who served as the first de facto frontman of the Dead, would be forced to retire from touring later in 1972 and passed away after a long battle with liver damage on Maat the age of 27. 45 years ago today, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan took the stage with the Grateful Dead for the final time.
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