GoFundMe Launched For Former Grateful Dead Member Tom Constanten

A GoFundMe campaign was launched to support former Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten cover medical expenses. The 81-year-old musician retired from touring in 2024.

Tom “T.C.” Constanten first worked with the Grateful Dead on their 1968 album Anthem Of The Sun and became a full-time member of the group that year, also appearing on 1969’s Aoxomoxoa and Live/Dead. He was brought on in part to help the ailing Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, with whom he befriended and shared keyboard duties.

T.C.’s final performance as a member of the Dead occurred in New Orleans on January 30, 1970, the night the band notoriously got “busted down on Bourbon Street,” as retold in the lyrics to the song, “Truckin’.” T.C. avoided arrest in NOLA, but was no longer with the band for their show the following night.

Constanten, who was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with the Grateful Dead in 1994, continued to perform with numerous other musicians after his stint with the band. The keyboardist appeared with Terrapin Flyer, Jazz Is Dead, Jefferson Starship, Dose Hermanos with Bob Bralove, and others.

Constanten’s farewell tour was last fall’s run with Live Dead & Brothers, whose lineup includes actual and legacy members from the extended Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers Band families performing music from both bands’ 1969 – 1973 era. Constanten was joined by bassist Berry Duane Oakley (Allman Betts Band), guitarists Les Dudek (Allman Brothers Band) and Mark Karan (RatDog), keyboardist Scott Guberman (Phil Lesh & Friends) and drummer Pete Lavezzoli (Oteil Burbridge & Friends).

Earlier this year, T.C. participated in Relix's 50th anniversary celebration concert with Taper's Choice at New York City’s Brooklyn Bowl.

A message from T.C. explaining his current situation was posted to the GoFundMe established by Greg Martens. T.C.’s note follows:

“Unlike some of my friends and acquaintances, my participation in the Sixties parties didn’t bring me an abundance of wealth and fame . Well… maybe a couple of dollops of fame, but wealth was scarce. And my taxman adventure of a quarter century ago pretty much wiped all of that out.

“One of the literary works that influenced me profoundly in my youth was Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay on self-reliance. It made me reluctant to ask for help, even sometimes when it would’ve been justified. Like when the taxman was on my case, garnishing my wages and [attacking] my bank account.

“Circumstances this time have forced my hand. At $250 a pop, the copays are coming thick and fast. And this is before the anticipated Medicare cuts have taken hold. I’m still carrying on as usual, but I believe the X-rays, CAT scans, PET scans, MRIs, and all. Next week the radiation therapy commences.

“I count my wealth in friends, and they have been so generous over the years it boggles my mind. It makes me reluctant to ask for more.”

Visit the GoFundMe page for Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten to learn more and donate.