David Edwin Torbert (June 7, 1948 – December 7, 1982) was a

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

musician, best known for his associations with the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

and the

New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco in 1969 and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. The band is sometimes referred ...

. He played bass for the latter group, replacing

Phil Lesh Philip Chapman Lesh (born March 15, 1940) is an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career. After the band's disbanding in 1995, Lesh continued the tradition of ...

during the sessions for their first album. He also played on "

Box of Rain "Box of Rain" is a song by the Grateful Dead, from their 1970 album '' American Beauty''. The song was composed by bassist Phil Lesh and lyricist Robert Hunter, and sung by Lesh. In later years, the song was a favorite and the crowd would sho ...

", a song from '' American Beauty'', and on "Greatest Story Ever Told" from

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 ...

's solo album ''

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

''. Additionally, he was a founding member, with

Matthew Kelly Matthew Kelly (born David Allan Kelly, 9 May 1950) is an English actor and presenter. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television presenter of ITV light entertainment shows such as '' Game for a ...

, of the band Kingfish.Biography of the Grateful Dead from ''The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll'' (2001)
/ref> Torbert died of a heart attack in 1982. Among the songs that Torbert wrote and sang lead with the New Riders were "California Day", "Contract", "Gypsy Cowboy", "Groupie", "On My Way Back Home", "It's Alright with Me", "Important Exportin' Man", and "Thank the Day".

Discography

*''Horses'' – Horses (1969) *'' American Beauty'' –

(1970) *''

'' –

(1971) *''

Powerglide The Powerglide is a two-speed automatic transmission designed by General Motors. It was available primarily on Chevrolet from January 1950 through 1973, although some Pontiac models also used this automatic transmission after the fire at the Hyd ...

'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (1972) *''

'' –

(1972) *'' Gypsy Cowboy'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (1972) *'' The Adventures of Panama Red'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (1973) *''

Home, Home on the Road ''Home, Home on the Road'' is an album by the American country rock group the New Riders of the Purple Sage. Released by Columbia Records in 1974, it was their first live album, and their fifth album overall. The eleven songs on the album are ...

'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (1974) *''Tiger Rose'' – Robert Hunter (1975) *'' Kingfish'' – Kingfish (1976) *'' Live 'n' Kickin''' – Kingfish (1977) *''

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...

'' – Kingfish (1978) *'' Kingfish'' – Kingfish (1985) *'' Vintage NRPS'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (1986) *'' Kingfish in Concert: King Biscuit Flower Hour'' – Kingfish (1996) *'' Worcester, MA, 4/4/73'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2003) *'' Boston Music Hall, 12/5/72'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2003) *'' Veneta, Oregon, 8/27/72'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2004) *'' S.U.N.Y., Stonybrook, NY, 3/17/73'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2007) *'' Glendale Train'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2013) *'' Thanksgiving in New York City'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2019) *'' Bear's Sonic Journals: Dawn of the New Riders of the Purple Sage – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2020) *'' Lyceum '72'' – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torbert, Dave 1948 births 1982 deaths American rock bass guitarists 20th-century American bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Kingfish (band) members New Riders of the Purple Sage members 20th-century American male musicians