Bob Weir, founding member and singer of the American rock band Grateful Dead has passed away due to an underlying lung issue after he beat cancer, as per a statement shared on his Instagram account. He was 78.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir. He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues,” reads the statement.
“For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road. A guitarist, vocalist, storyteller, and founding member of the Grateful Dead. Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music. His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them. Every chord he played, every word he sang was an integral part of the stories he wove. There was an invitation: to feel, to question, to wander, and to belong,” it further reads.
The statement mentions that Weir was diagnosed in July, following which his treatment began before returning to his hometown stage for a three-night celebration of 60 years of music at Golden Gate Park.
“He often spoke of a three-hundred-year legacy, determined to ensure the songbook would endure long after him. May that dream live on through future generations of Dead Heads,” the post added.
“His loving family, Natascha, Monet, and Chloe, request privacy during this difficult time and offer their gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, and remembrance,” the statement concludes.
Born on October 16, 1947, in San Francisco, Weir helped form the band Grateful Dead in 1965 alongside Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and Bill Kreutzmann. The band — originally known as the Warlocks — grew into one of the most influential acts of the 1960s counterculture, known for its improvisational live shows and a devoted global following known as “Deadheads.”
Weir was only 16 when he became friends with Jerry Garcia on New Year’s Eve in 1963. At the time, Garcia was working as a music instructor at an instrument shop in Palo Alto, California. The two guitarists first played together in an old music unit called Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions, later creating the rock group the Warlocks, before coming up with the name the Grateful Dead in 1965.
Weir’s contributions to the band’s sound were substantial. He co-wrote and sang legendary Dead classics like Sugar Magnolia, Playing in the Band, and Truckin’, helping shape the band’s signature fusion of rock, blues, folk and psychedelia.
Even after Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995 and the group’s official disbandment, Weir continued to carry the music forward through projects such as RatDog, Furthur, The Other Ones, Dead & Company, and others.
Besides his music, Weir received honours including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the Grateful Dead.
Weir is survived by his wife Natascha Muenter and their two daughters. Following Weir’s passing, Bill Kreutzmann remains the only surviving original member of the band.
Legendary jazz guitarist Al Di Meola took to Facebook and wrote, “I’m deeply saddened, really crushed by the passing of Bobby Weir. I saw the Dead countless times during my high school years at the Fillmore East in the village with Garcia and Lesh and Hart and Kruetzman. What a beautiful time it was during the end of the 60’s early 70’s! It was a magic era! PEACE was in the air.”
Meola recalled the times he spent with Weir in his post. “I’ll never forget the journeys into the city to see them and the 5 blocks from the subway station with streets lined with the sights and scents of incense ,weed, hippies , fringe jackets , day glow posters , peace signs everywhere , record stores etc. The whole vibe that The Dead and other S.F. bands had were an integral part of my teenage years,” he wrote.
Recalling a surreal moment from a couple of years ago, Meola added, “A couple years ago my buddy and concert promoter Danny Zelisko connected me and Bob on a conference call ( in the hopes that we would play together) that lasted more then an hour talking about music, life back then and how Jerry Garcia was a big fan on mine. I had a smile on my face the whole call.”
“He will be missed. Sending my love to his beautiful family. If Bob could hear me I’d say the same thing I said to him that night on the phone call we shared 2 years ago which was ‘Thank you for all the Great times you guys gave us all in the Bill Graham era’,” Meola signed off.