Blog: Music News Net

MUSIC NEWS - Founding member of the San Fransicso area based psychedelic country-rock band, NEW RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE , John "Marmaduke" Dawson, passed away on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at the age of 64 in Mexico, where he had retired back in the 1990s. "Marmaduke", a singer-songwriter who co-founded the band with the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia , died after a long bout with stomach cancer. He was 64. Mr. Dawson formed the New Riders in 1969 with Garcia, who needed a band other than the Grateful Dead to practice his nascent pedal steel guitar [...]