New Riders of the Purple Sage

For most of the early '70s, The New Riders Of The Purple Sage? (yes, the name is trademark-protected) were the successful offshoots of The Grateful Dead. Although they never remotely approached the success or longevity of The Dead, they attracted a considerable audience through their association with Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, and Mickey Hart, whose fans couldn't be satisfied with only The Dead's releases -- The New Riders never reached much beyond that audience, but the Deadheads loved them as substitutes (along with Garcia's periodic solo projects) for the real article. Their initial sound was a kind of country-acid rock, somewhat twangier than The Dead's usual work and without The Dead's successful forays into experimental jams, but they later acquitted themselves as straight country-rockers.