Howard Wales

Organist Howard Wales was best known for his collaborations with Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia. After honing his chops during the mid-1960s backing acts ranging from Ronnie Hawkins to the Four Tops to James Brown, Wales eventually settled in San Francisco, joining the group A.B. Skhy; he first performed with Garcia at the guitarist's weekly jam sessions with bassist John Kahn and drummer Bill Vitt at the Bay Area club the Matrix, and in 1970 played on the Dead's seminal American Beauty LP. Hooteroll?, the first joint Wales/Garcia album, appeared in 1971; in January of 19...