The Grateful Dead founding member and bassist Phil Lesh has died at 84, according to a post by his family on his official Instagram page.
Lesh has been into music for the longest. He played the violin as a child before moving to the Trumpet. He studied music in high school and college.
In the early ‘60s, he met banjo player Jerry Garcia and they became good friends. After a while, Garcia asked him to join his rock band, The Warlocks, as their bassist. This was tricky because Lesh did not play the bass. However, he accepted the offer and in 1965, Lesh became a founding member of the Grateful Dead.
The band enjoyed prominence and longevity for decades.
“At first, I thought, Okay, we’ll make it five years and then take the money and run. … It turned out to be life,” Lesh is quoted as saying in “Playing in the Band: An Oral and Visual Portrait of the Grateful Dead” by David Gans and Peter Simon.
“I remember saying to the guys, ‘You know, this could be art!’ And they laughed because they knew already.”
His team members and other musicians paid tribute to the legendary bassist.
Bill Kreutzmann, the Grateful Dead’s founding drummer wrote in a post on Instagram.
Phil turned me onto John Coltrane. Back in the early days of our friendship, he wasn’t just like a brother to me – he was like an older brother. A roommate. A bandmate. A mentor.”
“Phil Lesh changed my life. There are only a few people you meet in your lifetime that are special, important, who help you grow spiritually as well as musically,” said Mickey Hart on Instagram, who joined the Grateful Dead in 1967 as a second drummer.
Trey Anastasio of Phish, who joined the Grateful Dead on guitar for the band’s final shows in 2015 also paid tribute.
“He transformed how I thought about music as a teenager,” Anastasio posted on Instagram.
“I have countless memories of standing in awe, listening to his winding, eloquent bass lines blending seamlessly with Jerry and Bobby’s guitars, Brent Mydland’s keys, and the thunderous drums of Billy and Mickey. I’m so grateful for those beautiful memories.”
Lesh was “a profound influence on all of us,” said Phish bass player Mike Gordon in a post on X.
“The Grateful Dead were uniquely moving, and I always felt Phil’s contribution was at the pinnacle of that magic. Phil’s tone was both beautiful and unprecedented.”
