The sometime Grateful Dead pianist recalls his final shows with the group and what made Garcia “a great hang”.

Twenty five years after Jerry Garcia's death, Grateful Dead collaborator Bruce Hornsby looks back on his relationship with the legend.

Among the many fellow travelers Jerry Garcia met on his musical journey was Bruce Hornsby.

Later, Hornsby, who had once played in a Dead cover band, sat in with the band.

In 1990, after Brent Mydland died, it seemed only natural that the Dead would ask Hornsby to replace him.

So, as he tells Rolling Stone, it was all the more surprising when he heard from the Dead camp in early 1995.

Here, Hornsby reflects on his final shows with the Dead, his last conversation with Garcia, and how the news of Garcia’s death (on August 9, 1995) affected him.

The Dead camp called me up in March of ’95 and said, “Hey, if we get a piano for you, would you fly down here to the Charlotte Coliseum?” I said, “You caught me at a pretty good time, and I can do that.” They thought Jerry was fairly listless and uninvolved, and they thought that maybe I could give him a pickup.

 I remember the shows being pretty damn strong, and Jerry was pretty much there and engaged.

Like everyone else in the Grateful Dead universe, I was worried about him.

Steve Parish [Garcia’s personal manager] answered the phone and said, “Your timing is pretty good because we’re taking Jerry to Betty Ford.

And here’s Jerry.” So we get on the phone and talk for just a little bit because they were pretty much ready to go down the road.

I had just worked with Ornette Coleman and he’d worked with him too, so we were comparing notes about that.

Because it had just happened, the Grateful Dead world was in complete mourning?

I might have played my favorite Grateful Dead song, “Wharf Rat.” It seemed appropriate for that moment.

You’re still reeling from the news and you’re just winging it.

You’re just trying to manage the situation and do what you can to give any comfort to anyone there.

And the young people who come to those shows now, the uninitiated, sense something very deep and moving

25th anniversary, Bruce Hornsby, Death, Jerry Garcia