David Edwin Torbert (June 7, 1948 – December 7, 1982) was a

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

musician, best known for his associations with the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

and the

New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco in 1969 and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. The band is sometimes referred to ...

. He played

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

for the latter group, replacing

Phil Lesh Philip Chapman Lesh (March 15, 1940 – October 25, 2024) was an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he developed a unique style of improvised six-string bass guitar. He was their bassist throughout their 30 ...

during the sessions for their first album. He also played on " Box of Rain", a song from '' American Beauty'', and on "Greatest Story Ever Told" from

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with the Other Ones, later known as the Dead ...

's solo album ''

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

''. Additionally, he was a founding member, with

Matthew Kelly Matthew Kelly (born David Allan Kelly, 9 May 1950) is an English actor and television presenter. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television sitcom actor, game-show panellist and television prese ...

, of the band Kingfish.Biography of the Grateful Dead from ''The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll'' (2001)
/ref> Torbert died of a heart attack in 1982. Among the songs that Torbert wrote and sang lead with the New Riders were "California Day", "Contract", "Gypsy Cowboy", "Groupie", "On My Way Back Home", "It's Alright with Me", "Important Exportin' Man", and "Thank the Day".

Discography

*''Horses'' – Horses (1969) *'' American Beauty'' –

(1970) *''

'' –

(1971) *''

Powerglide The Powerglide is a two-speed automatic transmission designed by General Motors. It was available primarily on Chevrolet from January 1950 through 1973, although some Pontiac models also used this automatic transmission after the fire at the H ...

'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (1972) *''

'' –

(1972) *'' Gypsy Cowboy'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (1972) *'' The Adventures of Panama Red'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (1973) *'' Home, Home on the Road'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (1974) *''Tiger Rose'' – Robert Hunter (1975) *'' Kingfish'' – Kingfish (1976) *'' Live 'n' Kickin''' – Kingfish (1977) *''

Trident A trident (), () is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will b ...

'' – Kingfish (1978) *'' Kingfish'' – Kingfish (1985) *'' Vintage NRPS'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (1986) *'' Kingfish in Concert: King Biscuit Flower Hour'' – Kingfish (1996) *'' Worcester, MA, 4/4/73'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2003) *'' Boston Music Hall, 12/5/72'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2003) *'' Veneta, Oregon, 8/27/72'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2004) *'' S.U.N.Y., Stonybrook, NY, 3/17/73'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2007) *'' Glendale Train'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2013) *'' Thanksgiving in New York City'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2019) *'' Bear's Sonic Journals: Dawn of the New Riders of the Purple Sage'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2020) *'' Lyceum '72'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torbert, Dave 1948 births 1982 deaths American rock bass guitarists 20th-century American bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Kingfish (band) members New Riders of the Purple Sage members 20th-century American male musicians