Phil Lesh of The Grateful Dead has died

Phil Lesh, the founding bassist of the Grateful Dead, has died. An announcement appeared on his Instagram account today: “Phil Lesh, bassist and founding member of The Grateful Dead, passed away peacefully this morning. He was surrounded by his family and full of love. Phil brought great joy to everyone around him and leaves a legacy full of music and love. We ask that you respect the Lesh family's privacy at this time.” Lesh was 84.

Lesh was born in Berkeley in 1940 and played violin and trumpet as a child. In high school, he developed an interest in avant-garde composition and free jazz, which led him to study with experimental composer Luciano Berio at Mills College with his classmate Steve Reich, among other university stays. While volunteering at radio station KPFA in Berkeley, he met Jerry Garcia, a bluegrass banjo player at the time, and in 1964 he became the bassist for Garcia's new band The Warlocks alongside guitarist Bob Weir, keyboardist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and the Drummer Bill Kreutzmann. Lesh had never played bass before, so he learned it on the fly.

Shortly before the end of 1965, the Warlocks renamed themselves the Grateful Dead and played their first gig under that name at one of Ken Kesey's Acid Tests. The Dead became key figures in San Francisco's highly influential psychedelic rock scene, using drugs to fuel extended improvisational performances. By expanding their musical vocabulary to include elements of jazz, country and classical and attracting hordes of fans to follow them on tour, they developed the template for the modern jam band in real time.

Lesh contributed highly melodic bass parts to the Grateful Dead's music and wrote some of the band's most enduring songs, including “Box of Rain,” “Truckin'” and “Unbroken Chain.” His interest in the avant-garde had a crucial influence on the Dead throughout their career. He also contributed high harmonies until his vocal cords were damaged due to incorrect singing technique in the mid-1970s, but began singing lead vocals as a baritone a decade later. He continued to lead the band despite various line-up changes until its dissolution in 1995 after Garcia's death.

After The Dead, Lesh led his own band, Phil Lesh And Friends, and participated in Grateful Dead offshoots such as The Other Ones and The Dead. In 2009 he and Weir founded the band Furthur. In 2012, he opened a music venue called Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, California; His sons Grahame and Brian led the house band there until the venue's closure in 2021. After splitting from Furthur in 2014, Lesh retired from full-time touring. He took part in the Dead's Fare Thee Well concerts in 2015, but was not a member of Dead & Company, the offshoot band founded by Weir, Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart.

Lesh survived several medical scares. In 1998, he received a liver transplant to treat chronic hepatitis C infection and then became an advocate for organ donation. In 2006, he underwent surgery for prostate cancer. In 2015, he underwent another operation, this time for bladder cancer. He continued to perform until this year, including in shows celebrating his 83rd and 84th birthdays at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY. It's hard to find a photo of the man where he isn't smiling.

Below are some of Lesh's most popular tunes revisited.