Leonard Hart (September 19, 1919 – February 2, 1975) was an American drummer who owned and operated Hart Music, selling drums and musical instruments in

San Carlos, California San Carlos (Spanish language, Spanish for "St. Charles") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population is 30,722 per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Native Americans Prior to the Spain, Spanis ...

. He was the

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

Mickey Hart Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...

, one of the percussionists for 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 ...

. Lenny Hart was also the Grateful Dead's original money manager.Rolling Stone, 2 September 1971 In March, 1970, he disappeared along with approximately US$155,000 of the group's profits. Hart was located by a private detective and arrested in San Diego on July 26, 1971,McNally, Dennis. A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead. New York: Broadway, 2002. p. 407 while baptizing people and using the name "Rev. Lenny B. Hart". He was convicted of criminal embezzlement and sentenced to six months in jail. The Grateful Dead song "He's Gone" is based on Lenny Hart's embezzlement of band money and subsequent disappearance.Relix, vol. 5, #2, p. 24 As a result of the fiasco, Mickey Hart, feeling ashamed of his father's actions, left the band in February 1971, not returning to the group on a full-time basis until 1975. Lenny Hart died of natural causes on February 2, 1975.McNally, Dennis. A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead. New York: Broadway, 2002. p. 486 He had been teaching music in Mill Valley since his release from prison. According to Dennis McNally, "Mickey went to the funeral home, cleared the room, took out the snakewood sticks that had been his inheritance, played a traditional rudimental drum piece, "

The Downfall of Paris "The Downfall of Paris" is a British traditional tune. It dates back to the Napoleonic Wars, and became a popular marching song amongst British troops fighting in the Peninsular War. Its tune is partly a reworking of the French song " Ça Ira". I ...

" on Lenny's coffin, and split."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Lenny Grateful Dead 1919 births 1975 deaths American percussionists American people convicted of money laundering People convicted of embezzlement 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians