Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir Pays Tribute to Phil Lesh: “I Rejoice in His Liberation”

Helping form the rock band the Grateful Dead during the 1960s, Phil Lesh performed alongside founding members like Bob Weir for 30 years. Eventually parting ways, Lesh and Weir continued to stay close as they created another band called Furthur in 2009. With a career in music that spanned over 60 years, on October 25, Lesh sadly passed away at 84 years old. With countless stars and singers paying tribute to the music, Weir offered a glimpse into their friendship and how much the musician influenced his playing style. 

Sharing several pictures of the two on the stage together over the decades, Weir took fans back to the beginning, writing, “At the age of seventeen, I listened to the John Coltrane Quartet, focusing on McCoy Tyner’s work, feeding Coltrane harmonic and rhythmic ideas to springboard off of – and I developed an approach to guitar playing based off of it. This happened because Phil turned me on to the Coltrane Quartet.”

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Bob Weir And Phil Lesh Didn’t Always Agree

Not stopping there, it seemed that Lesh continued to influence the group as Weir added, “Early on, he also introduced me (and us) to the wonders of modern classical music, with its textures and developments, which we soon tried our hands at incorporating into what we had to offer. This was all new to peoples’ ears. Igor Stravinsky’s work wasn’t news to me at that point, but what he did and how he did it were ongoing topics of discussion for Phil and I – and boy, did I ever grow.”

While Weir admitted he and Lesh had their differences, he insisted, “It’s not platitudinous to say that that only made our work together more meaningful. Our conversation and interaction will last, at very least, ‘til the end of my days.”

Weir ended his tribute to his friend and musician, noting, “The Muse gives us the people and tools to work with. Where we go with that work emerges from somewhere between our intuition and her inspiration. It’s a process always cloaked deep in Mystery, and at its best, the Mystery is forever lasting after its rendering. *Look out of any window…* has that ring to it. Meanwhile, given that death is the last and best reward for a life *well and fully lived*, I rejoice in his liberation…”

(Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)