In 1978, Brent Mydland joined Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir on a side project called Bobby and the Midnites. Brent offered the band backing vocals along with his keyboard playing. Just a year later, Brent was invited to join the Grateful Dead as the replacement for the departing Keith Godchaux. Brent was a welcome shot-in-the-arm for the venerable jam band, bringing new life with his gravelly vocals and innovative keyboard prowess. While Keith Godchaux insisted on playing a traditional piano onstage, Brent was open to experimentation. He played a wide variety of keyboards, including Minimoogs, synthesizers, sequencers, MIDI systems and the Hammond B-3 organ, of which the band purchased three after he joined. He worked closely with sound technician Bob Bralove in crafting an electronic sound library that was unique to the band. Brent was also an accomplished songwriter and many of his compositions were added to the band’s repertoire. Some of Brent’s songs appeared on Dead studio albums with the keyboardist taking lead vocals. In concert, he was the “go-to” vocalist for the Dead’s covers of “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and “Hey Jude.” He even wrote an additional verse for Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster,” a Grateful Dead show staple.

Brent was a member of the Grateful Dead for over a decade, the longest tenure of any of the band’s keyboard players. However, he always had a feeling of being “the new guy” among fans, as well as in the eyes of his fellow band members.

Brent died on July 26, 1990 just three days after completing the Grateful Dead’s Summer Tour. A coroner’s report revealed lethal levels of morphine and cocaine in his blood, a mixture commonly referred to as a “speedball.” Brent was just 37 years old.

The Grateful Dead began their 1990 Fall Tour in Richfield, Ohio on September 7, just two months after Brent’s death. It was their first show with Vince Welnick on keyboards.

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The original Earth, Wind and Fire horn section formed out of the members of a ’70s jazz ensemble called The Pharaohs. After teaming up with the legendary R & B group, they adopted the name The Phenix Horns. Don Myrick was a founding member and maintained saxophone duties for the band, playing alto, tenor and soprano versions of the instrument. His contributions can be heard in a number of EWF songs as well as solo efforts by Phil Collins. Don supplied the iconic sax solo on Collins’ 1984 hit “One More Night.” Don also collaborated with Grover Washington Jr. and Carlos Santana. He earned a Grammy in 1978 for his instrumental work with Earth, Wind and Fire on the single “Runnin’.”

Don branched out, joining up with and appearing on albums by Bobby “Blue” Bland, The Dells, Regina Belle, the Mighty Clouds of Joy, and Heaven 17.

On June 30, 1993, Don was grilling dinner in his backyard when he was interrupted by a knock at his front door. It was a Santa Monica police officer conducting a narcotics investigation. Before a search warrant could be produced, the officer mistook a butane lighter — the kind used to light barbecue grills — in Don’s hand for a weapon. Without warning, the officer fired a single shot that hit Don in the chest. Don was taken to a hospital where he died a short time after the incident. He was 53 years old.

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Army brat Kathleen Hetzekian moved around a lot – from her birthplace of Santa Monica to Oklahoma to Texas. At 19, she headed to New York City, where she bleached her hair blond and began calling herself “Cyrinda Foxe.” In her early teens, she developed a love for rock and roll. She listened to — and fantasized about — The Rolling Stones and The Kinks and now, in the Big Apple, she was living her dream.

Cyrinda was a regular at Max’s Kansas City, the notorious nightclub near Union Square and frequent hangout of Andy Warhol and other avant-garde artists, as well as poets and musicians. Cyrinda became fast friends with the regulars, including David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. Her relationship with Bowie got serious very quickly. Bowie fancied Cyrinda his “muse,” often copying her fashion style and wearing her clothes. Bowie was inspired to write The Jean Genie about Cyrinda. Just as the west coast leg of Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” tour began, Cyrinda discovered that she was pregnant with Bowie’s child. She, however, had the pregnancy aborted.

As her relationship with Bowie was winding down, she was just starting up with New York Dolls’ front man David Johansen. Her relationship with Johansen took on the same whirlwind pace and the couple was soon inseparable. Johansen, too, was moved to write a song for Cyrinda — this one “Looking for a Kiss.” It appeared on the Dolls’ 1973 debut album.

The Dolls shared management with Boston rockers Aerosmith and Cyrinda was introduced to lead singer Steven Tyler. Although she was attracted to Tyler, Cyrinda married David Johansen in 1977. The same year, she was featured in Andy Wahrol’s experimental film BAD. By the end of ’77, she split with Johansen and married Steven Tyler in early 1978. By the close of 1978, Cyrinda gave birth to a daughter, Mia. Tyler and Cyrinda stayed together for ten years before their marriage ended in divorce in 1987.

In 2001, Cyrinda suffered a stroke which left her partially paralyzed. Nearly tapped from medical expenses, she was bailed out by her former husband Tyler and her ex-lover Bowie. As she recovered, she married again — this time to Keith Waa, a New York musician. The ceremony was paid for by Steven Tyler.

Just a month after marrying for the third time, Cyrinda died from an inoperable brain tumor at the age of 50.

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