Grateful Dead founding member Phil Lesh dead at 84
The Grateful Dead was formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Phil Lesh, one of the founding members and bassist for the rock band Grateful Dead, has died. He was 84.
His death was confirmed Friday on his official Instagram page, which said he "passed peacefully this morning. He was surrounded by his family and full of love."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead performs at Oakland Coliseum Arena in Oakland, California, on Feb. 23, 1993. (Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
"Phil brought immense joy to everyone around him and leaves behind a legacy of music and love. We request that you respect the Lesh family’s privacy at this time," the statement added.
Fox News Digital has reached out to reps for Lesh.
"When Phil's happening, the band's happening," Grateful Dead co-founder, frontman and lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995, once said of Lesh's bass playing.
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"When Phil's happening, the band's happening," Grateful Dead co-founder, frontman and lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995, once said of Lesh's bass playing. (Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
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The Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995 after Garcia's death, but Lesh continued to perform into his 80s, often with his son, Grahame Lesh.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I think great songs do that, no matter what the subject matter or what emotion you’re feeling at the time you find a time to relate them," Grahame told the Ashbury Park Press in 2021 of the music he would play with his dad — much of it from the Grateful Dead. "But the Grateful Dead have great songs, but they also have songs that extremely explicitly sound like they’re talking to you right now."
Phil Lesh performs with the Grateful Dead in 1990. (Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
He continued, "I mean, ‘I will get by, I will survive’ obviously became kind of a rallying cry from ‘Touch of Grey’ and ‘One way or another, this darkness has got to give’ from ‘New Speedway (Boogie),’ so I think it’s this mix of things that so explicitly could be related right now mixed with (the fact that) their catalogue is singular, even amongst the extended family repertoire. The Grateful Dead’s lyrics and songs, they are pretty singular and just playing these songs and singing some of these songs has definitely been a little more meaningful."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Phil Lesh and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead perform in 1979. (Clayton Call/Redferns)
The Instagram post confirming his death was filled with condolences.
"Such a long long time to be gone and such a short time to be there," one person wrote, quoting the band's song "Box of Rain."
Another fan wrote, "May the four winds blow you safely home, Phil. Thanks for helping write the soundtrack to my life."
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Lesh and Garcia first met in 1959 and after reconnecting in 1964, Garcia invited Lesh to join the group, then called the Warlocks, asking him to play bass guitar, which he never had before, according to Rolling Stone.
From left: Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead pose together, circa 1968. (Malcolm Lubliner/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Born in 1940 in Berkeley, California, Lesh had been a classically trained violinist and jazz trumpeter before joining the rock world, and he was heavily influenced in his bass playing by 18th century classical composer and musician Johann Sebastian Bach, Rolling Stone reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He also credited Garcia with teaching him how to play bass.
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Phil Lesh was born in Berkeley, California, in 1940 and was a classically trained musician. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Lesh was a prostate and bladder cancer survivor and had a liver transplant in 1998 due to a hepatitis C infection and years of heavy drinking. No details were given about his cause of death.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.