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The New Riders Of The Purple Sage (named after a Zane Gray Western novel) were formed by Grateful Dead members Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart with songwriter John Dawson and singer David Nelson as a way to record their new country songs. Their eponymous debut was a musical counterpart to Grateful Dead releases like "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty" with its mix of country and psychedelic sounds. "Powerglide" had a stronger band feel again mixing country-rock and folky psychedelic licks to maximum effect.