Grateful Dead Co-Founder and Bassist Phil Lesh Dead at 84

According to an official statement on his Facebook page, Grateful Dead co-founder and bassist Phil Lesh has passed away at the age of 84. “Phil Lesh, bassist and founding member of The Grateful Dead, passed peacefully this morning,” the statement reads. “He was surrounded by his family and full of love. 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.”

Lesh was born in Berkeley, California in 1940, where he studied the violin under Golden Gate Park Band symphonic conductor Bob Hansen. After stints at the College of San Mateo, University of California, Berkeley, and Mills College, Lesh began volunteering with the KPFA as a recording engineer. There, he met a bluegrass banjo player named Jerry Garcia and, after a few periods working for the USPS and as a keno maker in Las Vegas, he became the bassist for Garcia’s rock band, The Warlocks.

With the Grateful Dead, Lesh was responsible for writing or co-writing some of the band’s biggest works, including “Box of Rain,” “Truckin'” and “Pride of Cucamonga.” His high tenor vocal was crucial to the Dead’s three-part harmonies, a role he would give up to Donna Godchaux in 1974 after sustaining vocal damage. 10 years later, he switched up his style and sang as a baritone. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his bandmates in 1994. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in the 1990s, Lesh played with numerous offshoots—including The Other Ones, The Dead and Phil Lesh and Friends.