New Riders of the Purple Sage in 2015. Left to right: Buddy Cage, Michael Falzarano, Johnny Markowski, David Nelson, Ronnie Penque.

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Background information Origin, Genres Years active 1969–97, 2005–present Labels, Relix Associated acts, Website Members Johnny Markowski Past members Patrick Shanahan Allen Kemp Bobby Black Michael White Billy Wolf Rusty Gauthier Greg Lagardo Gary Vogensen Fred Campbell Evan Morgan Bill Laymon Bob Matthews New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American band. The group emerged from the scene in, in 1969, and its original lineup included several members of the. Their best known song is 'Panama Red'. The band is sometimes referred to as the New Riders, or as NRPS. Contents.

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History Origins: early 1960s–69 The roots of the New Riders can be traced back to the early 1960s / scene centered on 's now-defunct Perry Lane housing complex in, where future guitarist often played gigs with like-minded guitarist. The young (also known as 'Marmaduke') also played some concerts with Garcia, Nelson, and their compatriots while visiting relatives on summer vacation. Enamored of the sounds of, Dawson would turn his older friends on to the work of and and provided a vital link between 's International Federation for Internal Freedom in (having boarded at the ) and the Menlo Park bohemian coterie nurtured.

Inspired by, and, Garcia formed the (initially known as The Warlocks) with blues singer, while Nelson joined the similarly inclined New Delhi River Band (which would eventually come to include bassist ) shortly thereafter. Although they lacked the managerial acumen and of the Grateful Dead and elected to remain in unlike the former group, who soon relocated to the district of San Francisco, the New Delhi River Band were considered to be the house band of The Barn (one of the region's few viable concert venues outside of San Francisco) in by late 1966. The group continued to enjoy a cult following in and through the until their dissolution in early 1968. After a period of inactivity, Nelson contributed to the Grateful Dead's (1969) sessions and served as the caretaker of 's rehearsal space while guitarist Peter Albin and drummer David Getz undertook a European tour with following the schismatic departure of and from the former band in December 1968. During this period, Nelson and Garcia played intermittently in an early iteration of High Country, a ensemble formed by the remnants of the Peninsula folk scene.

It is believed that Nelson would have been lead guitarist in the reconstituted lineup of Big Brother that coalesced later in 1969 and thus may have contributed to some of the recordings on (1970) during this transitional period. Dawson—who dropped out of in December 1965 and remained in for several years thereafter, 'hanging out with musicians and weirdos'—had returned to Los Altos Hills by early 1969, allowing him to contribute to the Aoxomoxoa sessions and briefly enroll.

After a experience at with Torbert and, he began to compose songs on a regular basis. Some (such as 'Glendale Train' and 'I Don't Know You') were traditional country pastiches; a number of others ('Last Lonely Eagle', 'Garden of Eden', and 'Dirty Business') found him working in a 'psychedelic country' fusion milieu redolent of ' nascent. 'Henry', a traditional shuffle with contemporary lyrics about marijuana smuggling, also dates from this period.

Dawson's vision was prescient, as 1969 marked the emergence of country rock via, the Band, and the -era. Around this time, Garcia was similarly inspired to take up the, and an informal line-up including Dawson, Garcia, and Peninsula folk veteran Peter Grant (on banjo) began playing coffeehouse and concerts together when the Grateful Dead were not touring.

Their repertoire included country standards, traditional bluegrass, Dawson originals, and a few Dylan (', ', '). By the summer of 1969 it was decided that a full band would be formed and David Nelson was recruited to play lead guitar.

In addition to Nelson, Dawson (on ), and Garcia (continuing to play pedal steel), the original line-up of the band that came to be known as the New Riders of the Purple Sage (a nod to the classic and the combo from the 1940s led by ) consisted of Studios engineer Bob Matthews on electric bass and of the Grateful Dead; bassist also played sporadically with the ensemble in lieu of Matthews through the end of the year, as documented by the late 1969 demos later included on the archival release. Lyricist briefly rehearsed with the band on bass in early 1970 before the permanent hiring of Torbert in April of that year. The most commercially successful configuration of the New Riders would come to encompass Dawson, Nelson, Torbert, and.

Vintage NRPS: 1969–82 After a few warmup gigs throughout the Bay Area in 1969, the New Riders (for all intents and purposes Dawson, Nelson, and Torbert) began to tour in May 1970 as part of a tripartite bill advertised as 'An Evening with the Grateful Dead'. An acoustic Grateful Dead set that often included contributions from Dawson and Nelson would then segue into New Riders and electric Dead sets, obviating the need to hire external opening acts. By the time the New Riders recorded their first album in late 1970, change was in the air.

After Hart went on sabbatical from active touring in February 1971, former drummer Spencer Dryden began a ten-year relationship with the group, eventually serving as the band's manager., eponymously titled, was released on (likely stemming from 's long-term aspiration to sign the Grateful Dead) in late 1971. It proved to be a moderate success comparable to the Dead's releases of the era, peaking at No. 39 on the chart.

Entirely composed by Dawson (in comparison to the more egalitarian songwriting of later releases), the record was driven by Garcia's pedal-steel playing. With the New Riders desiring to become more of a self-sufficient group and Garcia needing to focus on his other responsibilities, the musician parted ways with the group in November 1971. Seasoned pedal steel player Buddy Cage was recruited from 's to replace Garcia. The band's second album, (1972), was the first to feature this line-up. The Powerglide album art included a notable caricature of the band members drawn by Lore Shoberg. 1973's included a Nelson-sung cover of 's ' that steadily gained traction as an enduring FM radio staple.

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The album peaked at No. 55 in Billboard and, albeit as a, marked the band's commercial zenith; in 1979, it was. In the mid-1970s adopted the song 'On My Way Back Home' from the album as the station's theme tune.

The song was well-suited to the station's album-oriented format of the time, and included the lyric 'Flying to the sun, sweet Caroline'. The New Riders of the Purple Sage continued touring and releasing albums throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s to an increasingly fallow reception; none of the albums that followed (1976) charted on the Billboard 200 in antipodal contrast to the widespread mainstream success of the movement (exemplified by and ) and such second-wave country rock groups as, and. The band continued to open several Grateful Dead and shows in 1977 and 1978, including the final concert preceding the closure of the on December 31, 1978. In 1974, Torbert left NRPS; he and Matthew Kelly had co-founded the band (best known for 's membership during the Grateful Dead's 1974–1976 touring interregnum) the year before. He was initially replaced by (formerly of and the early 1970s lineup of The Byrds), who briefly served as the dominant creative force in the band due to his longstanding songwriting collaboration with controversial Hollywood impresario.

Of 's Stone Canyon Band and the Band replaced Battin after he left the group to co-found a reconstituted lineup of The Flying Burrito Brothers in 1976. Shortly thereafter, Spencer Dryden relinquished his performance duties to manage the group in 1977. His musical replacement was Patrick Shanahan. Allen Kemp joined on bass in 1978 before emerging as a co-frontman on guitar and vocals, contributing prominently to the songwriting for the band's last major label release, 1981's.

In 1982, Nelson and Cage left the band, leaving Dawson as the sole remaining member from the classic lineup. New New Riders: 1982–97 From the early 1980s to the late 1990s, Dawson continued as leader of the New Riders of the Purple Sage. He was joined by -oriented multi-instrumentalist Rusty Gauthier, who sang and played acoustic guitar, banjo, and. During this fifteen-year period, an evolving lineup of musicians played with Dawson and Gauthier in the New Riders. These included, among others, guitarists Allen Kemp, Gary Vogensen and Evan Morgan, bass players Fred Campbell, Bill Laymon, and Michael White, and drummers and Greg Lagardo.

Some projects had the current line-up performing new material and others reworked older material. On some albums, such as, the band's sound was less influenced by electric country rock and more by acoustic bluegrass music. Retirement: 1997–2005 In 1997, the New Riders of the Purple Sage split up. Dawson retired from music and moved to Mexico to become an teacher.

By this time, had started his own David Nelson Band. There was a reunion performance in 2001. In 2002, the New Riders accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award from magazine. On hand were a frail Dawson (suffering from ), Nelson, Cage, Dryden and Torbert's widow Patti. The band performed 'Panama Red' and 'Lonesome LA Cowboy' with Peter Rowan as part of the celebration. In the spring of 2004, Cage sat in at several gigs with the David Nelson Band.

NRPS revival: 2005–present Shortly after the death of Spencer Dryden, a reconstituted line-up of the New Riders began touring in late 2005. It features David Nelson and Buddy Cage, alongside guitarist, bassist, and drummer.

They have released a live album, and two studio albums, and. Allen Kemp died on June 25, 2009. John 'Marmaduke' Dawson died in Mexico on July 21, 2009, at the age of 64. Discography Studio and live albums Release date Title Label 1971 Columbia 1972 Columbia 1972 Columbia 1973 Columbia 1974 Columbia 1974 Columbia 1975 Columbia 1976 MCA 1977 MCA 1977 MCA 1981 A&M 1986 Relix 1986 Relix 1989 Mu 1992 Relix 1993 Relix 1994 Relix 1995 Avenue 2003 Kufala 2003 Kufala 2004 Kufala 2005 Kufala 2007 Kufala 2007 Fa-Ka-Wee 2009 Kufala 2009 Woodstock 2012 Woodstock 2013 Smokin' Compilation albums Release date Title Label 1976 Columbia 1987 Take a Red MCA 1991 L.A. Lady Sony 1992 Relix 1994 Raven 1995 Relix 1997 Relix 2000 Sony 2006 Arcadia 2009 Retro World 2011 Legacy 2011 Raven Timeline of band members The membership of the New Riders of the Purple Sage has changed many times. The following table shows a somewhat simplified version of the history of the band's lineups.

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