Remembering Brent Mydland: ‘Easy To Love You’ Montage

Grateful Dead keyboardist Brent Mydland was born in Munich, Germany on this date in 1952. Mydland’s 11-year tenure with the band was the longest of any of those who held down the Grateful Dead keyboard seat between their formation in 1965 and Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995. Instrumentally, Brent brought a completely different approach to the Dead’s music upon joining the band in 1979, but also added his husky, unmistakable vocals to the band’s arsenal.

Brent was also a capable songwriter whose credits include “Hell In A Bucket,” “Tons Of Steel,” “Just A Little Light,” “Blow Away” and the tender “I Will Take You Home.” Mydland’s voice and approach was also on display for a number of covers the Dead performed during his time in the group such as “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” “Hey Pocky Way” and “Gimme Some Lovin’.” Sadly, Mydland had his demons which led to his tragic death on July 26, 1990.

In appreciation of Brent, we wanted to share a tear-jerking video montage put together by Tito Garcia that’s based around another Mydland classic – “Easy To Love You”:

[Originally Published: October 21, 2014]