Brent Mydland was an American keyboardist and vocalist born on October 21, 1952, best known for his time in the Grateful Dead as their sitting keyboard player. Brent was born in Munich, Germany, a child of a US Army chaplain and moved to San Francisco with his parents at the age of 1. He began playing piano at age 6 and had some formal classical lessons through his junior year in high school. He was encourage to play by his mother who insite on him praticing for two hours every day. Like Phil Lesh, he played the trumpet in his youth as well the accordian. He began playing rock and roll music in high school, playing with several different local groups after school. After playing in a series of unsuccessful bands after graduating, Mydland moved to LA to try out the music scene there. He met Bob Weir through his friend John Mauceri and joined the Bob Weir Band. Soon thereafter the Grateful Dead were in need of a keyboardist, and Bob suggested that Brent fill the vacancy.
Brent joined the Grateful Dead in 1979 to replace Keith Godchaux, and after two weeks of rehearsals played his first show with them on April 22. He was quickly integrated into the band, and became an integral part of the Dead because of his haunting supporting vocals and keyboard prowess. His snappy piano fills and screaming organ leads added a much needed energy to the music, revitalizing the band and amping up their touring schedule. Brent also contributed some of his own compositions to the bands repertoire, penning tunes such as "Far From Me" and "Easy to Love You" and co-writing frequent show opener "Hell in a Bucket". His high, gravelly vocal harmonies and emotional leads became a shining example of the band's singing strength, and he combined his tenor singing with Weir and Garcia to form strong three-part harmonies on live favorites. Brent's backk-up vocals gave new life to Dead live staples and he sang lead on several covers including Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and the Beatles' "Hey Jude". Mydland also fell victim to the same vices that plagued previous Grateful Dead keyboardists, namely drug and alcohol abuse, and this in combination with his depression and fleeting health would lead to the musician's tragic death in July of 1990.
