Ron "Pigpen" McKernan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ron McKernan | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Ronald C. McKernan | |
| Also known as | Pigpen | |
| Born | September 8, 1945 San Bruno, CA, USA |
|
| Died | March 8, 1973 (aged 27) Corte Madera, CA, USA |
|
| Genre(s) | blues psychedelic rock rock |
|
| Occupation(s) | Musician Songwriter |
|
| Instrument(s) | Organ Harmonica Percussion |
|
| Years active | 1959 - 1973 | |
| Associated acts |
Grateful Dead Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions The Warlocks |
|
Ronald C. "Pigpen" McKernan (September 8, 1945 – March 8, 1973) was a founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. His musical contributions to the Grateful Dead included vocals, Hammond organ, harmonica, percussion, and a little guitar.
McKernan was born in San Bruno, California, the son of a San Francisco Bay Area R&B and blues disc jockey. He grew up with many black friends, and felt very strongly connected to black music and culture. As a youth, McKernan taught himself blues piano, and also developed a biker image that eventually led to the cessation of his school career. In his early teens, McKernan left Palo Alto High School by mutual agreement with the school's principal. He also developed a strong affinity for alcohol in his adolescence.
McKernan began hanging around coffeehouses and music stores, where he eventually met Jerry Garcia. One night Garcia had McKernan hop on-stage and play his harmonica and sing the blues. Garcia was sold; he knew he wanted this man to be the blues singer in all the local jam sessions. It is often thought that Jerry Garcia had given Ron McKernan his nickname of "Pigpen," but it was actually a high school buddy named Roger who gave him the nickname based on his "funky" approach to life.[citation needed]
Pigpen was a participant in each of the predecessor groups leading up to the formation of the Grateful Dead, beginning with the Zodiacs and then Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions. Bob Weir and Bob Matthews were added to the mix and evolved into The Warlocks. Around 1965, it was Pigpen who urged the rest of the Warlocks to go electric (around the time Phil Lesh would join and they became the Grateful Dead).
Pigpen was the high-energy bluesman of the band. He played blues organ as well as harmonica and vocals, and could rant improvised lyrics incessantly. While his buddies were experimenting with LSD, Pigpen stuck to his old favorites, Thunderbird wine and Southern Comfort. Pigpen steadily added more signature tunes to the Dead's repertoire, including some that lasted for the remainder of their live performance career such as "Turn on Your Lovelight" and "In the Midnight Hour".
In 1967 and 1968 respectively, Mickey Hart and Tom Constanten joined the Grateful Dead lineup, causing the band to take a stylistic turn from the blues towards psychedelia. Pigpen was not nearly as accomplished technically as Constanten, who often replaced him on keys. In October of 1968, McKernan and Weir were nearly fired from the band because of their immature attitude. The duty of the firing was given to Rock Scully by Garcia, and Scully commented that Pigpen "took it hard." The remaining members did a number of shows under the moniker Mickey and the Heartbeats and Jerry Garrceeah and His Friends, mainly playing Grateful Dead songs sans lyrics. However, Weir asked repeatedly to be let back into the band, promising to step up his playing, and eventually the rest of the band relented. McKernan was a bit more stubborn, missing three Dead shows; he finally vowed not to "be lazy" anymore and rejoined the band.[1] In November 1968, Constanten was hired full time for the band, having only worked in the studio up to that point. Joe McIntire, an assistant road manager under Jonthan Reister, commented that "Pigpen was relegated to the congas at that point and it was really humiliating and he was really hurt, but he couldn't show it, couldn't talk about it."[2] However, Pigpen eventually returned to his keyboard duties after Constanten's departure in January of 1970.
In 1970, Pigpen began having liver problems because of his excessive drinking. As a result, he became much less prominent in the band as an instrumentalist, although he retained his position as a vocalist, along with Garcia and Weir. By 1971, Keith Godchaux had joined the band. Instead of being a replacement for Constanten (in which he would take over Pigpen's organ duties), he added a distinctive piano, while Pigpen, vowing to quit drinking in order to remain a part of the band, continued playing harmonica, percussion, and organ. Unfortunately, after their "Europe '72" tour, Pigpen's health had degenerated to the point where he could no longer tour. His final concert appearance was June 17, 1972 at the Hollywood Bowl, in Los Angeles, California.
On March 8, 1973, he was found dead at age 27 of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage at his home in Corte Madera, California. Pigpen is buried at the Alta Mesa Memorial Park - Plot: Hillview Sec.Bb16 Lot 374 - in Palo Alto, California. His grave marker is inscribed:
1945 - 1973
PIGPEN WAS
AND IS NOW FOREVER
ONE OF THE
GRATEFUL DEAD
[edit] References
Grateful Dead Website
- ^ Garcia: An American Life by Blair Jackson, Penguin Books, 1999, pg. 156.
- ^ Garcia: An American Life by Blair Jackson, Penguin Books, 1999, pg. 157.
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since January 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | 1945 births | 1973 deaths | American rock guitarists | American harmonica players | American rock keyboardists | American male singers | American rock singers | Grateful Dead members | Hammond organ players | People from the San Francisco Bay Area | California musicians
