David
Nelson (born June 12,
1943, in Seattle, Washington, U.S.) is an American musician, singer,
and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as a co-founder and
longtime member of the New Riders of the Purple
Sage. Nelson started his musical career playing folk and bluegrass music, most notably as a member of The Wildwood Boys
with Jerry Garcia. Shortly
after his friend and former bandmate began to play rock music with The Warlocks
(subsequently renamed the Grateful Dead), Nelson joined the similarly inclined
New Delhi River Band. Although they lacked the managerial acumen and cultural cachet of the Grateful Dead and elected to
remain in East Palo Alto, California unlike
the former group, who soon relocated to the Haight-Ashbury 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 Scotts Valley, California by
late 1966. The group continued to enjoy a cult following in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties through
the Summer of Love until
their dissolution in early 1968. While performing with various ephemeral
bluegrass groups (such as High Country, which enabled him to renew his
friendship with Garcia) in early 1969, Nelson was recruited by the remaining
rhythm section of Peter Albin and Dave Getz to serve as the lead guitarist of
the reconstituted Big Brother
and the Holding Company. Before the group began to audition
potential replacements for Janis Joplin, Garcia and fellow Palo Alto folk scene
veteran John "Marmaduke" Dawson invited
Nelson to serve as the lead guitarist for their new psychedelic country rock
venture, the New Riders of the Purple
Sage. (Big Brother ultimately reformed later in the
year by augmenting the 1968 membership save for Joplin with two singers and a
third guitarist.) After playing with the New Riders from 1969 to 1982, Nelson
left the band to pursue other musical opportunities; these included a stint on
Broadway as a member of the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band and
some time touring with Al Rapone and the Zydeco Express. In the mid 1990s,
Nelson formed his own group, the critically acclaimed David Nelson Band (aka
DNB), whose original members included Bill Laymon (New Riders, Jefferson Starship, Harmony
Grits, Gypsy Cowboy
Band) on bass, Barry Sless (Cowboy Jazz, Phil Lesh and Friends, Kingfish) on lead and pedal steel guitar, Michael
"Mookie" Siegel (Kingfish, Phil Lesh and Friends, Kettle Joe's
Psychedelic Swamp Revue) on keyboards and accordion, and Arthur Steinhorn
(Cowboy Jazz) on drums. Later on, drumming duties were shared by
Charlie Crane, Greg Anton (Zero) and Jimmy Sanchez (Flying Other Brothers).
Since 2007, working under the name David Nelson Band, the lineup now
includes Pete Sears (Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna, Rod Stewart) on bass and keyboards, and John Molo (Phil Lesh & Friends, Bruce Hornsby and the
Range, John Fogerty) on drums. Along
with noted steel player Buddy Cage and
guitarist Michael Falzarano, Nelson
re-formed The New Riders of the Purple Sage in 2005. This band is currently
experiencing a resurgence in popularity, due not only to the veteran performers
who front the band but because of the energy provided by drummer Johnny
Markowski (Stir Fried) and Ronnie Penque (Ripple, Neon Gods) on bass. In addition to
NRPS, Nelson still performs with the David Nelson Band as well as with The
Papermill Creek Rounders, a bluegrass group he co-founded with his long-time
friend, Lowell "Banana" Levenger (formerly of The Youngbloods). During the summer of 2006, Nelson was asked
to contribute to an album of Grateful Dead songs being made in Nashville by Jesse
McReynolds. While in Nashville for the recording sessions, Nelson appeared on
the Grand Ole Opry and
played "Ripple," the
first-ever Grateful Dead song to be performed on the Opry. In addition to his
work in his own bands, Nelson has performed as a guest artist on recordings by
many other artists, including three Grateful Dead albums: Aoxomoxoa, Workingman's Dead,
and American Beauty. He is
well known as the lead singer on The New Riders of the Purple Sage's 1973
countercultural anthem, "Panama Red". In 2019, following the passing
of Robert Hunter, Nelson released a previously unheard collaboration with the
lyricist.