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Ronald Charles McKernan (September 8, 1945 – March 8, 1973), known as Pigpen, was an American musician. He was a founding member of the San Francisco band the Grateful Dead and played in the group from 1965 to 1972.
Apr 12, 1973 · CORTE MADERA, Calif. — Ron McKernan — better known as Pigpen — was found dead in his apartment here March 8th. The organist and singer, a founding member of the Grateful Dead, was 27. The body...
Oct 12, 2023 · McKernan's landlady found his body at his home in Corte Madera, California, on March 8, 1973. Although Pigpen was no longer a member of the Dead, it's safe to say that his former bandmates were devastated.
Sep 8, 2021 · Ron ‘Pigpen’ McKernan’s 12 greatest songs: ‘Smokestack Lightning’. Pigpen’s first job within The Dead was to act as frontman for their blues covers. In the beginning, that’s all the band had, and most of their repertoire was handpicked by McKernan based on his personal tastes.
Mar 8, 2016 · On March 8, 1973, Ron McKernan died at age 27. Better known as Pigpen, he was considered by many to be the heart and soul of the Grateful Dead, especially in the band's early days. The idea...
About Ron "Pigpen" McKernan. Starting a rock band was actually Ron McKernan's idea, and he was its first front man, delivering stinging harmonica, keyboards, and beautiful blues vocals in the early years of the Warlocks/Grateful Dead. Nicknamed "Pigpen" for his funky approach to life and sanitation, he was born into a family that was generally ...
To celebrate “Operator,” the fourth song on American Beauty and the first Grateful Dead song written solely by Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, we examine his life and offer an extremely rare look into the Pigpen archives, a collection of journals, letters, and more inherited by an old family friend.
Mar 8, 2020 · Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, the influential co-founding member of the Grateful Dead, sadly died on this date in 1973. Born in California on September 8, 1945, Pigpen was just 27-years-old when a...
Jun 17, 2024 · A straight blues powerhouse, Pig was the Dead’s founding frontman, the soulful engine driving the train forward. But as they moved away from blues and toward the more complex...
Mar 8, 2017 · Co-founding member of the Grateful Dead Ron “Pigpen” McKernan sadly passed away on this date in 1973 at the young age of 27. The Bay Area native left an indelible mark on the legendary band he...
