Bill Vitt (May 6, 1943 - July 16, 2019, aged 76) was an American drummer and keyboardist. He worked extensively as a live performer and as a session musician. In the 1970s he played with

Brewer & Shipley Brewer & Shipley are an American folk rock duo who enjoyed their peak success in the late 1960s through the 1970s, consisting of singer-songwriters Mike Brewer (born on April 14, 1944) and Tom Shipley (born on April 1, 1941). They were known ...

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

Merl Saunders Merl Saunders (February 14, 1934 – October 24, 2008) was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ. Biography Born in San Mateo, California, United States, Saunders attended Polyt ...

, and the

Sons of Champlin The Sons of Champlin are an American rock band, from Marin County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, formed in 1965. They are fronted by vocalist-keyboardist-guitarist Bill Champlin, who later joined rock band Chicago, from 1981 to 20 ...

. He retired from the music business in the 1980s, but became active again in the 2000s, playing live shows and recording albums. He played the music that he loved until his death. He died with his adoring daughter, Aura, by his side, grateful and content with the life he led

Discography

*'' Tarkio'' –

– 1970 *''Danny Cox'' – Danny Cox – 1971 *''

Hooteroll? ''Hooteroll?'' is a jazz-rock fusion album by Howard Wales and Jerry Garcia. Prior to making ''Hooteroll?'', Wales and Garcia had played together at Monday night jam sessions at The Matrix in San Francisco. Wales had also played organ on sev ...

'' –

Howard Wales Howard Wales (February 8, 1943 – December 7, 2020) was an American keyboardist who worked in a wide variety of styles. He was a collaborator with Jerry Garcia in the early 1970s. Wales was a session player for many musical acts, including Ron ...

and

– 1971 *''Heavy Turbulence'' –

– 1972 *'' Rural Space'' – Brewer & Shipley – 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 ...

'' –

– 1972 *''

Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...

'' – Tom Fogerty – 1972 *'' Fillmore: The Last Days'' – various artists – 1972 (as a member of

) *''Casting Pearls'' – Mill Valley Bunch – 1972 *''Fire Up'' – Merl Saunders – 1973 *''

Live at Keystone ''Live at Keystone'' is an album by Merl Saunders, Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, and Bill Vitt. It was recorded live at the Keystone in Berkeley, California on July 10 and 11, 1973, and released later that year as a two-disc vinyl LP. It was re-rel ...

'' – Merl Saunders, Jerry Garcia,

John Kahn John Kahn (June 13, 1947 – May 30, 1996) was an American electric and acoustic bassist. From 1970 to 1995, Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal musical collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead. Biography John Kahn was born in Memphis, Tennessee ...

, Bill Vitt – 1973 *'' Keystone Encores'' – Merl Saunders, Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, Bill Vitt – 1988 *''

Fire Up Plus ''Fire Up Plus'' is an album by Merl Saunders and Friends. It contains most of the songs from two LPs from the early 1970s — ''Heavy Turbulence'', and ''Fire Up''. It was released on CD by Fantasy Records on July 9, 1992. ''Fire Up Plus'' ...

'' – Merl Saunders and Friends – 1992 *''ASAP'' – David Collini – 1992 *''Keepers'' – Merl Saunders – 1997 *''

Side Trips, Volume One ''Side Trips, Volume One'' is a jazz fusion album by Howard Wales and Jerry Garcia. It was recorded live at the Matrix in San Francisco in 1970, and released on CD in October 1998. It was released as a two-disc LP in a limited edition of 2,500 ...

'' – Howard Wales and Jerry Garcia – 1998 *''

Garcia Plays Dylan ''Garcia Plays Dylan'' is an album composed of various live performances featuring Jerry Garcia playing covers of Bob Dylan songs. It is culled from performances from 1973–1995, and features Garcia playing with Grateful Dead, Legion of Mary, ...

'' – Jerry Garcia – 2005 *'' Well-Matched: The Best of Merl Saunders & Jerry Garcia'' – Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia – 2006 *''State of Grace'' – Bill Vitt – 2008 *'' Keystone Companions: The Complete 1973 Fantasy Recordings'' – Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia – 2012 *''Back At It Again'' – Keystone Revisited – 2013 *''

Garcia Live Volume Six ''Garcia Live Volume Six'' is a three-CD live album by Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders. It was recorded on July 5, 1973 at the Lion's Share in San Anselmo, California. It was released on June 24, 2016. From February 1971 to July 1975, Jerry Gar ...

'' – Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders – 2016 *''

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

'' – Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders – 2017 *''

Garcia Live Volume 12 ''Garcia Live Volume 12'' is a three-CD live album by Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders. It was recorded on January 23, 1973 at the Boarding House (nightclub), the Boarding House in San Francisco. It was released on December 20, 2019. At this conce ...

'' – Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders – 2019 *''

Garcia Live Volume 15 ''Garcia Live Volume 15'' is a two-CD live album by Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders. It was recorded on May 21, 1971 at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco. It contains the complete concert from that date except for the encore, which was "Deal". ...

'' – Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders – 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitt, Bill 1943 births 2019 deaths American jazz drummers American jazz keyboardists Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area Place of birth missing 20th-century births American rock drummers American male drummers American rock keyboardists Place of death missing 20th-century American drummers Jazz musicians from California 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians