Ron “Pigpen” McKernan’s lifelong devotion to drinking wasn’t the cause of his medical issues – chalk those up to a genetic disease. But no matter how he tried, Pig couldn’t kick the illness, he couldn’t repair the damage that had been done. He played music, followed his diet, and hoped against all hope that something would turn around. But nothing ever really did. He could never quite get up that hill. And just as Pig had slowly departed from the Dead, he was now slowly departing from the world.

Sources:

A Long Strange Trip: The Inside Story of the Grateful Dead, by Dennis McNally

Living with The Dead: Twenty Years on the Bus with Garcia and the Grateful Dead, by Rock Scully with David Dalton

Searching for the Sound, by Phil Lesh

The Grateful Dead FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Greatest Jam Band in History, by Tony Sclafani

This Is All a Dream We Dreamed: An Oral History of the Grateful Dead, by Blair Jackson and David Gans

Death Don't Have No Mercy: Pigpen, Ten Years Gone (Relix)

Pigpen Forever: The Life and Times of Ron McKernan, by Blair Jackson

Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and Phil Lesh reflect on bandmate Pigpen (Marin Independent Journal)

Grateful Dead Guide: Pigpen Solo (Dead Essays)

Greatest Stories Ever Told - "Stella Blue" (Dead.net)

Unsolicited Endorsement: Wake of the Flood by the Grateful Dead (Triad City Beat)

Jerry Garcia’s final show (YouTube)

So Many Roads: Remembering Jerry Garcia's Last Grateful Dead Show (Classic Rockers)

Listen to Grateful Dead perform 'Box of Rain' as their final encore before Jerry Garcia's death (Far Out)

"It was the tour from hell": Inside the Grateful Dead's last shows, and Jerry Garcia's final days (Salon)

Bruce Hornsby Looks Back on Jerry Garcia's Last Days: 'I Miss Him So Much' (Rolling Stone)

A Grateful Dead Analysis: The relationship between concert and listening behavior (First Monday)

Grateful Dead Guide: Pigpen Solo (Dead Essays)

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Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse and many more musical icons all died at the age of 27. Scandalous, tortured, dramatic, and incredibly talented, these artists torched a wild path to their early graves and shifted and shaped our culture along the way. 27 Club tells their stories. 27 Club is hosted and created by Jake Brennan, host and creator of the award-winning music and true crime podcast DISGRACELAND. 27 Club is not a journalistic podcast. It is an entertainment podcast inspired by true events. For more shows like 27 Club, check out www.doubleelvis.com.