Former Member of Legendary Band, 81, Seeks Medical Help: ‘Circumstances Have Forced My Hand’ originally appeared on Parade.
Earlier this month, the surviving members of the Grateful Dead celebrated the band’s 60th anniversary with a weekend of Dead and Company shows at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
While some members of the band are thriving, at least one former member isn’t doing so well.
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Tom Constanten, 81, who played keyboards with the Dead from 1968 through 1970 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 1994, has taken to GoFundMe to seek help to pay for his medical bills.
“Unlike some of my friends and acquaintances, my participation in the Sixties parties didn’t bring me an abundance of wealth and fame. Well… maybe a couple of dollops of fame, but wealth was scarce. And my taxman adventure of a quarter century ago pretty much wiped all of that out,” reads a message from Constanten, also known as TC.
“One of the literary works that influenced me profoundly in my youth was Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay on self-reliance. It made me reluctant to ask for help, even sometimes when it would’ve been justified. Like when the taxman was on my case, garnishing my wages and attaching my bank account,” he adds.
“Circumstances this time have forced my hand. At $250 a pop, the copays are coming thick and fast. And this is before the anticipated Medicare cuts have taken hold. I’m still carrying on as usual, but I believe the X-rays, CAT scans, PET scans, MRIs, and all. Next week the radiation therapy commences,” he adds, without revealing what ailment he is suffering from.
“I count my wealth in friends, and they have been so generous over the years it boggles my mind. It makes me reluctant to ask for more,” his message concludes.
Related: Inside Jerry Garcia’s Final Grateful Dead Show — 30 Years Ago Today
Constanten retired from touring in 2024, but he has made some one-off appearances since announcing his retirement, including a performance at the 50th anniversary concert of the publication Relix, held at New York’s Brooklyn Bowl in January.
Former Member of Legendary Band, 81, Seeks Medical Help: ‘Circumstances Have Forced My Hand’ first appeared on Parade on Aug 12, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
