Phil Lesh: Grateful Dead bassist dies

Phil Lesh (1940-2024), bassist and co-founder of the legendary rock band Grateful Dead, has died at the age of 84. announced. It reads: “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 of music and love. We ask that you respect the Lesh family’s privacy during this time.”

A cause of death was not mentioned in the post. Lesh announced in 2015 that he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer. He previously made a “quick and complete recovery” from prostate cancer in 2006.

The Grateful Dead came into being in 1965

During his lifetime, Lesh was celebrated as one of the most influential bassists in modern rock history. According to media reports, in Bob Dylan’s (83) book “The Philosophy of Modern Song” from 2022, he described Lesh as “one of the most subtle and inventive bassists you have ever heard”.

Phil Lesh, who was born in California in 1940, is best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. He is said to have met frontman Jerry Garcia (1942-1995) at a party in 1959. The two met again in the early 1960s after Garcia performed with the Warlocks. When Garcia asked Lesh to join this band as bassist, he accepted the offer.

In 1965, the Warlocks were renamed The Grateful Dead. Lesh was there for the band’s entire 30-year history, which disbanded in 1995 after Garcia’s death. A year before Garcia’s death in 1994, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, followed by a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. It was recently announced that the group would be honored at the 2024 Kennedy Center Honors. Members Mickey Hart (81), Bill Kreutzmann (78) and Bob Weir (77) will accept the award.