Merl Saunders

Merl Saunders
Born February 14, 1934(1934-02-14)
Origin San Mateo, California, USA
Died October 24, 2008(2008-10-24) (aged 74)
Instruments Hammond organ, piano
Years active 1970s–2006
Associated acts The Dinosaurs, Legion of Mary

Merl Saunders, (February 14, 1934 – October 24, 2008) was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ.

Contents

Biography

Born in San Mateo, California, Saunders attended Polytechnic High School with singer Johnny Mathis.[1] He served in the Army from 1953 to 1957. He worked as musical director of the Billy Williams Revue and served in a similar capacity in Oscar Brown Jr.'s off-Broadway show, Big Time Buck White.

He gained notice in the 1970s when he began collaborating with Jerry Garcia, with whom he had begun playing in 1971 at a small Fillmore Street nightclub called the Matrix.[1] He sat in with the Grateful Dead, and co-founded the Saunders/Garcia Band which produced three albums, and which became The Legion of Mary with the addition of Martin Fierro (sax) in 1974. It disbanded the following year, but he and Garcia continued to collaborate in the band Reconstruction during 1979, collaborating with Ed Neumeister (Trombone), Gaylord Birch (drums) and John Khan (Bass).

He led his own band as Merl Saunders and Friends, playing live dates with Garcia, as well as Mike Bloomfield, David Grisman, Michael Hinton, Tom Fogerty, Vassar Clements, Kenneth Nash, John Kahn and Sheila E.. He also collaborated with Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart in the band High Noon.

Merl Saunders took the lead in reintroducing Jerry Garcia to his guitar after Jerry suffered a diabetic coma in the summer of 1986.

In 1990 he released the world music and New Age classic album Blues From the Rainforest, a collaboration with Jerry Garcia and Muruga Booker. This led to the release of a video which chronicled Saunders' journey to the Amazon, and the subsequent albums Fiesta Amazonica, It's in the Air, and Save the Planet so We'll Have Someplace to Boogie. One of the songs from Blues From the Rainforest was used as part of the soundtrack for the TV series Baywatch. Saunders continued to perform with the Rainforest Band for the next ten years.

He has worked with musicians Paul Pena, Bonnie Raitt, Phish, Widespread Panic, Miles Davis, and B. B. King. Merl also recorded with The Dinosaurs, a "supergroup" of first-generation Bay Area rock musicians.

He had his own record label, Summertone Records, and had also recorded on Fantasy Records, Galaxy Records and Relix Records as well as the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia labels. He worked with the Grateful Dead on the theme music for the 1985 TV show The New Twilight Zone, and as musical director he worked with Mickey Hart on the score for the show. He also worked on the TV series Nash Bridges, and worked on several soundtracks for movies, including Fritz the Cat and Steelyard Blues. He was production co-ordinator for the Grammy Awards for two years, and for the Grammy's Greatest Moments TV special. He also supplied the music for the computer animation video Headcandy: Sidney's Psychedelic Adventure.

He worked with several charitable organizations such as the Seva Foundation, the Rex Foundation, the Rainforest Action Network, and the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic, and headlined the Haight Street Music Fair for 24 consecutive years. He has been granted a Doctorate of Music by Unity College, in Unity, Maine.

In 2002, Merl suffered from a stroke that paralyzed one side of his body and curtailed his musical career. Merl Saunders died in San Francisco, California on the morning of October 24, 2008, after fighting infections as a result of complications related to the stroke which he suffered in 2002.[2] He is survived by his two sons, Tony Saunders (bassist) and Merl Saunders Jr. (a senior executive director of National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences), and his daughter Susan Mora.

In December 2008, TMZ reported the estate of Merl Saunders had filed a lawsuit against the estate of Jerry Garcia, disputing royalties for a 2004 live album. Saunders’ estate claims they were not aware of the album’s release and claim they have equal rights to the royalties. They want compensation for over $100,000.[3]

Tributes

Discography

Main studio, live and compilation releases

Solo, group leader or co-leader - singles

Various artist compilations that include previously unreleased Merl Saunders music

Various artist compilations that include previously released Merl Saunders tracks

Playing contributions to other major albums with others

Playing contributions to singles with others

Playing contributions to compilations

Non-performing references on albums

Filmography

Movies/DVDs

Television

Interview

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b Dead Net Website
  2. ^ Simon, Richard B. "Organist Merl Saunders Passes Away at 74", Relix, October 24, 2008
  3. ^ "Ungrateful Dead -- Garcia Sued by Dead Pal". http://www.tmz.com/2008/12/30/ungrateful-dead-garcia-sued-by-dead-pal/. 
  4. ^ Great American Music Hall Website
  5. ^ Modern Drummer Magazine Website