Happy Birthday Vince

February 21, 2017

An accomplished keyboard player and great harmony vocalist, Vince joined the Grateful Dead in 1990.

His first show was on September 7th at The Richfield Coliseum and we've got some footage of that to share. Check out 13:12 for Jerry’s introduction of Vince.

Vince's First Show - Watch Here

Vince scored a top ten hit with the Tubes - "She's A Beauty" - in 1983. Watch It Live.

After Jerry died, Vince formed the "Missing Man Formation" with Prairie Prince on drums, Bobby Vega on bass, and Steve Kimock.

Here's a great video from the MMF in studio in 1996 of Samba In The Rain.

Vince also appeared on the Mystery Box Album. Visit Spotify and listen in or find the CD on Amazon.



View a collection of great Vince photos here at the Grateful Dead Archive Online



Vince Around The Web

Happy Birthday Vince

"Today’s the birthday of the late Vince Welnick, a fellow who spent a whole lot of years being as the keyboard player for the Tubes before stepping in and filling Brent Mydland’s formidable shoes in the Grateful Dead.

Welnick’s longstanding membership in the Tubes – he was a founding member of the band and stuck with them until they broke up in the wake of 1985’s Love Bomb album – provided him with the opportunity to work with Todd Rundgren, playing on 1989’s Nearly Human and 1991’s 2nd Wind. It was in between those two releases, however, that Welnick auditioned for the Dead, reportedly earning his position because of his vocal range when it came to singing background harmonies. Apparently, things panned out: Welnick remained a member of the band until Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995.

Welnick subsequently joined Bob Weir’s Ratdog for a US tour, but he did so with the knowledge that he’d been diagnosed with cancer just prior to the Dead’s final tour. Although he battled back from his illness to the point where he was able to record and release a few solo efforts, most notably 1998’s Missing Man Formation album, Welnick, who had been battling depression for the better part of a decade, committed suicide in 2006.

But, hey, let’s remember the happier times, shall we? Sorry to disappoint you Tubes fans, but we’re paying tribute to Welnick with a mammoth playlist featuring some of his performances with the Grateful Dead. Depending on when you start listening, it may not even be his birthday anymore by the time you finish. That’s okay, though: the music – and Welnick’s legacy – will go on forever." ~Rhino.com

Tune In: http://www.rhino.com/article/happy-birthday-vince-welnick-0



Watch Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, And Vince Welnick Sing The National Anthem To Celebrate Welnick’s 66th Birthday

Posted by Ming Lee Newcomb on Tuesday February 21st, 2017 - LiveForLiveMusic.com

"Vince Welnick, keys player to the Grateful Dead following Brent Mydland’s death in 1990, would have turned 66 today. Welnick’s time with the Dead spanned for five years until the band disjointed in 1995 follow Jerry’s death, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of the group in 1994. Following the Dead’s breakup, Welnick toured with RatDog and the Mickey Hart Band and made appearances with Phil Lesh & Friends in addition to pursuing his own solo endeavors before his death in 2006.

To celebrate Welnick’s birthday and his time with the Grateful Dead, check out this video of Welnick, Bob Weir, and Jerry Garcia singing the National Anthem on opening day at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on April 12, 1993, video courtesy of Mike Rosenberg." ~Ming Lee Newcomb

Tune In: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH8ObibNCoo



Vince On Wikipedia

Born in Phoenix, Arizona, as the great-grandson of Prussian immigrants, Welnick started playing keyboards as a teenager. He joined a band, the Beans, which eventually morphed into the Tubes, a San Francisco-based theater rock band popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s and noted for early live performances that combined lewd quasi-pornography with wild satires of media, consumerism and politics.

The Tubes in the 1980s were a major commercial rock act with substantial MTV success. Videos for rock classics "Talk To Ya Later" and "She's A Beauty" played in heavy rotation on the MTV network for years in the mid-1980s. While playing in the Tubes, he also played and recorded with Todd Rundgren.

Read his full bio here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Welnick