Posted on 01/10/2026 4:30:37 PM PST by nickcarraway
Bob Weir, a founding member of the legendary rock band the Grateful Dead, has died at the age of 78, his family announced Saturday.
"It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir," his family wrote in a post to his Instagram page. "He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues."
In the statement, the family disclosed that Weir had been diagnosed with cancer in July.
"As we remember Bobby, it's hard not to feel the echo of the way he lived," his family wrote. "A man driftin' and dreamin', never worrying if the road would lead him home. A child of countless trees. A child of boundless seas."
Weir formed the Grateful Dead with Jerry Garcia after the two met in 1963 as teens in Palo Alto, California. The band, with its unique mix of blues, folk and jazz, became a touring powerhouse for decades until Garcia's death in 1995.
Weir wrote or co-wrote and sang lead vocals on Dead classics including "Sugar Magnolia," "One More Saturday Night" and "Mexicali Blues."
The group eventually reformed a few years after Garcia's death and took many iterations over the years, the latest as Dead & Company.
"For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road," his family's statement said. "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."
He was lucky he made it this far.
Was he the last original member? I thought I read that somewhere along the way.
So is he grateful now?
My sister gave me their first album in 1967, and it had some good music on it (titled “The Grateful Dead”). When I was at University of Virginia I listened to their album “American Beauty” a lot, with songs such as “Ripple”.
I did see the band once around 1980 at the Capital Center in Landover, Maryland, but I wasn’t a ‘deadhead’, just liked some of their music.
I hope he had more fun than a frog in a glass of milk in his 78 years.
RIP from an admiring Dead Head.
Wow that’s really weir and strange
A music legend for sure. What a life, playing with so many other talented musicians. He made some sweet music. Now with Jerry once again. R.I.P. Bob Weir.
What a long strange trip it’s been.
The band kept him cause he was the only member who remembed the words to their songs
Sad. Thanks Bob.
You know, all along I felt their name meant that they were grateful for other people being dead and not themselves.
Their only Top Ten hit (Billboard Hot 100 chart, 1987)...
<> Grateful Dead - Touch Of Grey (Official Music Video) [HD]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzvk0fWtCs0
They (Jerry) actually fired him early on due to his lack of commitment. He just kept on showing up, though, until they forgot they had fired him. True story.
They got the name from a random sighting in a dictionary when they were searching for a name. They thought it sounded cool. It was no deeper than that.
He was always the most healthy looking of the group.
RIP
I know you rider gonna miss me when I’m gone
I read that as of now “Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann are the only surviving original members of the Grateful Dead’s classic lineup, having been part of the band since its formation in the 1960s.”
I categorize their stuff as “Hippy Jazz”.
And I like it.
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