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

Hammond B-3 The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

console organ.

Biography

Born in

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ) is the most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It is part of the San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan region, and is located about south of San Francisco. San Mateo border ...

, United States, Saunders attended Polytechnic High School in San Francisco. In his first band in high school was singer

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

. He served in the U.S. Air Force 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 Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

, with whom he had begun playing in 1971 at a small Fillmore Street nightclub called

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...

. He sat in 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 co-founded the Saunders/Garcia Band which produced three albums and would become the band

Legion of Mary The Legion of Mary (, post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation L.O.M.) is an international association of members of the Catholic Church who serve on a Voluntary association, voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, as a Roman Catholic ...

, with the addition of Martin Fierro (saxophone), in 1974. It disbanded the following year, however he and Garcia continued to collaborate in the band

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

in 1979, with Ed Neumeister (trombone), Gaylord Birch (drums), and John Kahn (bass). He led his own band as Merl Saunders and Friends, playing live dates with Garcia, as well as with

Mike Bloomfield Michael Bernard Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) was an American blues guitarist and composer. Born in Chicago, he became one of the first popular music stars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrume ...

, David Grisman, Michael Hinton, Tom Fogerty, Vassar Clements, Kenneth Nash, John Kahn, and Sheila E. He also collaborated with Grateful Dead percussionist

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 ...

in the band High Noon. Saunders took the lead in reintroducing Jerry Garcia to his guitar, after Garcia suffered a diabetic coma in the summer of 1986. In 1990, he released the

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

and

New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

classic album ''Blues From the Rainforest'', a collaboration with Garcia and Muruga Booker. This led to the release of a video which chronicled Saunders' journey to the

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...

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 ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...

''. Saunders continued to perform with the Rainforest Band for the next ten years. Saunders worked with musicians Paul Pena,

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...

Widespread Panic Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell (musician), John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJ ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

, and B. B. King. He also recorded with the

Dinosaurs Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

, a " supergroup" of first-generation

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 ...

rock musicians. He had his own

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

, Sumertone Records (named for his children Susan, Merl Jr., and Tony), and had also recorded on

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...

Galaxy Records Galaxy Records was a record label founded in 1964 by Max and Sol Weiss in Berkeley, California. It was a division of Fantasy Records. History Galaxy Records was officially launched in 1964 in Berkeley, California. In 1967 Galaxy and Fantasy wer ...

, and

Relix Records ''Relix'', originally and occasionally later ''Dead Relix'', is a magazine that focuses on live and improvisational music. The magazine was launched in 1974 as a handmade newsletter devoted to connecting people who recorded Grateful Dead concer ...

, as well as the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia labels. He worked with the

on the theme music for the 1985 TV show ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

''. As musical director he completed two-and-a-half seasons of the show. He also worked on the TV series ''

Nash Bridges ''Nash Bridges'' is an American police procedural television series created by Carlton Cuse. The show stars Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit (SIU). The seri ...

'' and on several soundtracks for movies, including ''

Fritz the Cat ''Fritz the Cat'' is a comic strip created by Robert Crumb. Set in a "supercity" of anthropomorphic animals, it focused on Fritz, a tabby cat who frequently went on wild adventures that sometimes involved sexual escapades. Crumb began drawing ...

'' and ''

Steelyard Blues ''Steelyard Blues'' is a 1973 American comedy crime film, directed by Alan Myerson, and starring Donald Sutherland, Jane Fonda and Peter Boyle. Plot A group of misfits tries to find a happier life against the norms of society. Donald Sutherla ...

''. He was production coordinator for the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

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 Seva Foundation is an international non-profit health organization based in Berkeley, California, known for preventing and treating blindness and other visual impairments. It was co-founded in 1978 by Dr. Larry Brilliant, Ram Dass, Wavy Gravy, ...

, the

Rex Foundation The Rex Foundation was created by "members of the Grateful Dead and Friends" in 1983 as a charitable non-profit organization to "proactively provide extensive community support to creative endeavors in the arts, sciences, and education." The organ ...

, the

Rainforest Action Network Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, United States. The organization was founded by Randy "Hurricane" Hayes and Mike Roselle in 1985, and first gained national prominence with a gra ...

, 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 Unity is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,292 at the 2020 census. The town is the service center for the northern portion of Waldo County. Outside of Waldo County, it is best known as the home of the Maine Or ...

. In 2002, Saunders suffered from a stroke that paralyzed one side of his body and curtailed his musical career. He died in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, on the morning of October 24, 2008, after fighting infections as a result of complications related to the stroke. He was survived by his two sons, Tony Saunders (bassist) and Merl Saunders Jr. (a former senior executive director of

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

), and his daughter Susan Mora. In December 2008,

TMZ ''TMZ'' is an American entertainment-focused tabloid news organization owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested ...

reported that the estate of Merl Saunders had filed a lawsuit against the estate of Jerry Garcia, disputing royalties for a 2004 live album. Saunders' estate claimed they were not aware of the album's release and that they had equal rights to the royalties. The case was later settled amicably.

Tributes

* On Saturday, February 14, 2009, a tribute to Merl Saunders' life and musical career was held at the

Great American Music Hall The Great American Music Hall is a concert hall in San Francisco, California. It is located on O'Farrell Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood on the same block as the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre. It is known for its decorative balconie ...

in San Francisco. It featured actor/director

Max Gail Maxwell Trowbridge Gail Jr. (born April 5, 1943) is an American actor who has starred on stage, and in television and film roles. He is best known for his role as Detective Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz on the sitcom ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1982 ...

and

Wavy Gravy Hugh Nanton Romney Jr. (born May 15, 1936), known as Wavy Gravy, is an American entertainer and peace activist best known for his role at Woodstock, as well as for his hippie persona and countercultural beliefs. Romney has founded or co-founde ...

as MCs, with many past musical collaborators including

guitarist

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 ...

, Tony Saunders, David Grisman, Michael Hinton,

Melvin Seals Melvin Seals (born 1953 in San Francisco, California) is an American musician, best known as a longtime member of the Jerry Garcia Band. Early life and career Melvin Seals began playing piano at age eight and began his musical adventure playin ...

, Michael Warren, Larry Vann, Tonedog, Misa Malone, and Bill Vitt, among others. * A re-launch of the Rainforest Band as a tribute to Merl Saunders took place at the 29th

Starwood Festival The Starwood Festival is a seven-day New Age Modern paganism, neopagan and world music festival. It takes place every July in the United States. The Starwood Festival is a camping event which holds workshops on a variety of subjects. There are ...

on July 25, 2009, the site of their last performance. The tribute featured his son Tony Saunders, Michael Hinton, Misa Malone, and other members of the Rainforest Band and of Saunders’ projects. Also appearing were Sikiru Adepoju on

talking drum The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, which can be used as a form of speech surrogacy by regulating its pitch and rhythm to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather t ...

and Douglas "Val" Serrant on

steel drum The steelpan (also known as a pan or steel drum) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago from Afro-Trinidadians. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. In 1992, the steelpan was declared Trinidad and Tobago’s national in ...

and

djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

Discography

Main studio, live, and compilation releases

* 1968: ''Soul Grooving'' – Merl Saunders Trio and Big Band * 1972: '' Heavy Turbulence'' – with

and Tom Fogerty * 1973: '' Fire Up'' – with Jerry Garcia and Tom Fogerty * 1973: '' Live at Keystone'' – with Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, and Bill Vitt * 1974: ''Merl Saunders'' * 1976: ''You Can Leave Your Hat On'' – with Aunt Monk * 1979: ''Do I Move You'' * 1982: ''San Francisco After Dark'' * 1987: ''Meridien Dreams'' * 1988: '' Keystone Encores'' – with Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, and Bill Vitt * 1990: ''Blues From The Rainforest: A Musical Suite'' – featuring Muruga Booker, Shakti Booker, Eddie Moore, Joanie Lane (a.k.a. Jamie), special guest: Jerry Garcia * 1991: ''Save The Planet So We'll Have Someplace To Boogie'' – Merl Saunders & the Rainforest Band * 1992: '' Fire Up Plus'' – with Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, Tom Fogerty, and

Ron Tutt Ronald Ellis Tutt (March 12, 1938 – October 16, 2021) was an American drummer who was the principal drummer for Elvis Presley, the Carpenters, Roy Orbison, Neil Diamond, and Jerry Garcia. He was also a session drummer who recorded with some of ...

* 1993: ''It's In The Air'' – Merl Saunders & the Rainforest Band * 1995: ''Still Having Fun'' * 1997: ''Keepers'' – Merl Saunders and Friends * 1998: ''Fiesta Amazonica'' – Merl Saunders & the Rainforest Band * 1998: ''The Twilight Zone (Vol. 1)'': Original Soundtrack from the TV series –

and Merl Saunders * 1998: ''Merl Saunders Live With His Funky Friends'' * 2000: ''Struggling Man'' – Merl Saunders & His Funky Friends * 2004: ''Still Groovin – special guests

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel music, gospel singer and civil rights activism, activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers, of which she is the last surviving memb ...

, David Grisman, and

Huey Lewis Hugh Anthony Cregg III (born July 5, 1950), known professionally as Huey Lewis, is an American actor and former singer-songwriter. Lewis sang lead and played harmonica for his band, Huey Lewis and the News, until being forced into retirement due ...

. Produced by Tony Saunders * 2004: '' Pure Jerry: Keystone Berkeley, September 1, 1974'' – with Jerry Garcia * 2005: '' Legion of Mary: The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 1'' –

with Jerry Garcia * 2006: ''Live On Tour'' – Merl Saunders and

* 2006: '' Well-Matched: The Best of Merl Saunders & Jerry Garcia'' * 2012: '' Keystone Companions: The Complete 1973 Fantasy Recordings'' * 2013: '' Garcia Live Volume Three'' – Legion of Mary with Jerry Garcia * 2016: '' Garcia Live Volume Six'' – with Jerry Garcia * 2017: ''

Garcia Live Volume Nine ''Garcia Live Volume Nine'' is a two-CD live album by Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders. It contains the complete concert recorded on August 11, 1974 at the Keystone in Berkeley, California. It was released on July 28, 2017. The musical lineup fo ...

'' – with Jerry Garcia * 2019: '' Garcia Live Volume 12'' – with Jerry Garcia * 2020: '' Garcia Live Volume 15'' – with Jerry Garcia * 2022: '' Garcia Live Volume 18 –'' with Jerry Garcia

Solo or group, leader or co-leader – singles

* 1964: "Five More / How's That" (

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

588) * 1965: "High Heel Sneakers / Breakin' Thru" (Fantasy 600) * 1966: "I Pity The Fool / Tighten Up" (

Galaxy A galaxy is a Physical system, system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', ...

747) * 1967: "Soul Grooving / Up, Up and Away" (Galaxy 755) * 1967: "Soul Roach, Pt. 1 & 2" ( Early Bird 49659) * 1969: "Julia / Five More" (Fantasy 620) * 1969: "Mighty Whitey / Right On" (Sumertone 69) * 1970: "Little Bit of Righteousness / The Iron Horse" (Galaxy 776) – with Heavy Turbulence * 1971: "Save Mother Earth, Pt. 1 & 2" (Fantasy 668) * 1972: "My Problems Got Problems / Welcome To The Basement" (Fantasy 678) * 1981: "San Francisco After Dark / Come To Me" (Sumertone 214)

Various artist compilations that include previously unreleased Merl Saunders music

* 1970: ''Belafonte By Request'' –

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte ( ; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte ...

* 1972: ''Black Girl'' (Soundtrack) – various artists * 1972: ''Fritz The Cat'' (Soundtrack) – various artists * 1973: ''Heavy Traffic'' (Soundtrack) – various artists * 1997: ''Fire On The Mountain: Reggae Celebrates The Grateful Dead Volume 2'' – various artists * 1999: ''The Third Annual Gathering on the Mountain'' – various artists * 2000: ''Gathering On The Mountain: Live Part 2'' – various artists * 2000: ''Gathering On The Mountain: Live Part 3'' – various artists * 2000: ''Sharin' In The Groove'' – various artists * 2001: ''Into The Music: Jam Band Vol. 1'' – various artists

Various artist compilations that include previously released Merl Saunders tracks

* 1992: ''All Night Long They Play The Blues'' (The Galaxy Masters) – various artists * 1993: ''Bad, Bad Whiskey'' (The Galaxy Masters) – various artists * 1995: ''Jazz Collective'' – various artists * 1995: ''Sense Of Direction'' – various artists * 1996: ''Television's Greatest Hits, Vol. 6: Remote Control'' – various artists * 1996: ''Fritz The Cat/Heavy Traffic'' (Soundtrack) – various artists * 2004: ''Get Your Lie Straight: A Galaxy of Funky Soul'' – various artists

Playing contributions to other major albums with others

* 1971: '' Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses)'' – Grateful Dead * 1971: ''Danny Cox'' – Danny Cox * 1972: ''

Tom Fogerty Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist for Creedence Clearwater Revival. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Biography ...

'' – Tom Fogerty * 1972: ''Steelyard Blues'' (Soundtrack) – various artists * 1972: '' Give It Up'' –

* 1972: ''

Europe '72 ''Europe '72'' is a live album, live triple album by the Grateful Dead, released in November 1972. It is the band's third live album and their eighth album overall. It covers the band's tour of Western Europe in April and May that year, and showc ...

'' – Grateful Dead * 1972: ''

Excalibur Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. E ...

'' – Tom Fogerty * 1973: '' Oooh So Good 'n Blues'' –

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

* 1973: ''

Betty Davis Betty Davis (born Betty Gray Mabry; July 26, 1944 – February 9, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and model. She was known for her controversial sexually oriented lyrics and performance style, and was the second wife of trumpeter ...

'' –

* 1973: ''Moses'' – Jerry Hahn * 1973: ''Brenda Patterson'' – Brenda Patterson * 1974: '' Garcia (Compliments of Garcia)'' * 1974: '' Mo' Roots'' – Taj Mahal * 1975: ''Is Having A Wonderful Time'' –

Geoff Muldaur Geoff Muldaur (born August 12, 1943) is an American singer, guitarist and composer, who was a founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and a member of Paul Butterfield's Better Days. Career Having established a reputation with the Kweskin J ...

* 1975: ''Cesar 830'' – Cesar Ascarrunz * 1976: ''

David Soul David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943 – January 4, 2024) was an American-British actor and singer. With a career spanning five decades, he rose to prominence for portraying Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the Americ ...

'' –

* 1978: ''

Cats Under the Stars The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the do ...

'' –

Jerry Garcia Band The Jerry Garcia Band was a San Francisco Bay Area rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia founded the band in 1975; it remained the most important of his various side projects until his death in 1995. The band regularly tour ...

* 1982: '' Run for the Roses'' – Jerry Garcia * 1984: ''Amagamalin Street'' – Robert Hunter * 1988: ''Dinosaurs'' –

* 1988: ''Nightfood'' – Brian Melvin * 1994: ''Free Flight'' – Palomino Duck * 1996: ''Life Is Like That'' –

Jerry Miller Jerry Miller (July 10, 1943 – July 20, 2024) was an American songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. He performed as a solo artist and as a member of the Jerry Miller Band. He was also a founding member of the 1960s San Francisco band Moby Grape, ...

* 1997: ''DAVA'' – DAVA and The Peace Army * 1998: ''Ticket To Fly'' – Mike Lawson (Recorded in '94, released on Sumertone Records; Lawson was the only other artist on Merl's label) * 2000: ''King Of The Highway'' –

Norton Buffalo Phillip Jackson (September 28, 1951 – October 30, 2009), best known as Norton Buffalo, was an American singer-songwriter, country music, country and blues harmonica player, record producer, bandleader and recording artist who was a versatile ...

and The Knockouts * 2000: '' New Train'' – Paul Pena * 2000: ''Hoy Yen Ass'n'' –

Tommy Guerrero Thomas Marc Guerrero (born September 9, 1966) is an American musician, composer, and professional skateboarder. He is a former member of the Bones Brigade, a prominent skateboarding team of the 1980s that also included Tony Hawk and Steve Caba ...

and Gadget * 2001: '' The Golden Road (1965-1973)'' – Grateful Dead * 2001: ''Gifts From The Dead'' – various artists * 2002: ''Remedy'' – Jim Weider Band * 2002: ''Rare'' – Five Point Plan

Playing contributions to singles with others

* 1972: "Lady Of Fatima / Cast The First Stone" – Tom Fogerty (Fantasy 680) * 1972: "Faces Places People / Forty Years" – Tom Fogerty (Fantasy 691) * 1972: "Drive Again (Theme from Steelyard Blues) / Swing With It" – Nick Gravenites, Mike Bloomfield (

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

) * 1989: "Underground" (EP) – Mike Lawson (Psychotronic Records)

Playing contributions to compilations

* 1975: ''Sampler For Deadheads (#1 of 3)'' – Jerry Garcia / Robert Hunter * 1975: ''Sampler For Deadheads (#2 of 3)'' – Old & In The Way / Keith and

Donna Godchaux Donna may refer to the short form of the honorific ''nobildonna'', the female form of Don (honorific) in Italian. People * Donna (given name); includes name origin and list of people and characters with the name Places * Donna, Texas, USA * Døn ...

* 1977: ''What A Long Strange Trip It's Been'' – Grateful Dead * 1978: ''Grateful Dead Sampler'' – various artists * 1978: ''Arista AOR Sampler'' – various artists * 1985: ''The Relix Sampler'' – various artists * 1998: ''Tom Fogerty/Excalibur'' – Tom Fogerty * 1999: ''The Very Best Of Tom Fogerty'' – Tom Fogerty * 2000: ''Furthur Most'' – various artists * 2000: ''The Best Of David Soul'' –

* 2000: ''Anti Love: The Best Of Betty Davis'' –

Non-performing references on albums

* 1975: '' Keith & Donna'' – Keith and Donna Godchaux * 1976: ''For Dead Heads'' – various artists * 1998: ''Blue Light Rain'' – Jazz Is Dead

Filmography

Movies / DVDs

* ''

'' (1972) * '' Black Girl'' (1972) * ''

Heavy Traffic ''Heavy Traffic'' is a 1973 American live-action/adult animated drama film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi. The film, which begins, ends, and occasionally combines with live-action, explores the often surreal fantasies of a young New ...

'' (1973) * ''

'' (1973) * ''Headcandy: Sidney's Psychedelic Adventure'' (Headcandy Productions, 1997) * ''A Tribute to Jerry Garcia: Deadheads Festival Japan 1997'' (Japanese Laser Disc, Video Super Rock series VPLR-70650, 1997) * ''Blues from the Rainforest: A Musical Suite'' (

Mobile Fidelity Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL or MoFi) is a record label that specialized in the production of audiophile issues. The company produces reissued vinyl LP records, compact discs, and Super Audio CDs and other formats. History Recording engine ...

, 1999) * ''The Grateful Dead: The End of the Road - The Final Tour '95'' (Monterey Video, 2000) * ''

Diggers The Diggers were a group of religious and political dissidents in England, associated with a political ideology and programme resembling what would later be called agrarian socialism.; ; ; Gerrard Winstanley and William Everard (Digger), Will ...

'' (2006)

Television

* ''

34th Annual Grammy Awards The 34th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1992, recognizing accomplishments by musicians from the previous year (1991). Natalie Cole won the most awards (three), including Album of the Year. Paul Simon opened the show. Performers ...

'' (TV Special) – production coordinator * ''

35th Annual Grammy Awards The 35th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1993 and recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. The nominations were announced on January 7, 1993. The evening's host was the American stand-up comedian Garry Shan ...

'' (TV Special) – production coordinator * ''Grammy's Greatest Moments'' (TV Special) – production coordinator * '' Vietnam: A Television History'' (TV Series) – music performer (11 episodes, 1997) * ''The American Experience'' – Music Performer (6 episodes, 1997–2005) * ''

'' 1985 (TV Series) – music performer, musical director, and composer for the new title theme (72 episodes, 1985–1989) * ''

'' (TV series) * ''

Tales From The Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...

'' (TV series) * ''

Simon & Simon ''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who ope ...

'' (TV series)

Interview

Digital Interviews: Merl Saunders

References

Other sources

Clark, John Jr. "Former Grateful Dead Keyboardist Merl Saunders Dies", ''Rolling Stone'', October 24, 2008
* Selvin, Joel
"Star Keyboardist Merl Saunders Dies", ''San Francisco Chronicle'', October 25, 2008Obituary by The Associated Press, published in the ''Chicago Tribune
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Merl 1934 births 2008 deaths People from San Mateo, California 20th-century American keyboardists Infectious disease deaths in California Legion of Mary (band) members Reconstruction (band) members Rainforest Band members 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians The Dinosaurs members

Biography

Tributes

Discography

Main studio, live, and compilation releases

Solo or 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

See also

References

Other sources