David Cloud Berman (born David Craig Berman; January 4, 1967 - August 7, 2019) was an American musician, singer, poet and cartoonist best known for his work with indie rock band the Silver Jews. Although the band primarily existed as a recording project for most of its existence, the Silver Jews toured regularly from 2005 until 2009. In January 2009, Berman announced his retirement from music in hopes of finding a meaningful way of undoing the damage that his estranged father Richard (a lobbyist for the alcohol and firearm industries) had brought upon society.
In addition to the six full length albums that Berman wrote and recorded with the Silver Jews, he also released two books: Actual Air (1999) and The Portable February (2009). In early 2019, Berman returned to music under the new band name Purple Mountains, releasing an eponymous debut album in July 2019, which would be the final musical project attributed to him before his death on August 7, 2019.