Grateful Dead founding member and bassist Phil Lesh dies at 84

Phil Lesh, the bassist and a founding subordinate of the Grateful Dead, died aboriginal connected Friday “surrounded by his household and afloat of love,” according to a connection shared connected his authoritative Instagram page. He was 84.

No origin of decease was provided, but the influential instrumentalist “passed peacefully,” according to the statement.

Lesh, a classically trained violinist and trumpeter, was portion of the archetypal enactment of the Grateful Dead, a set founded successful the San Francisco Bay Area successful 1965 that would aboriginal make a monolithic pursuing of die-hard fans known arsenic “Deadheads.”

Lesh was recruited to play bass by his person and Dead’s soon-to-become pb guitarist Jerry Garcia successful 1965 successful a stone set called The Warlocks.

Even though the bass wasn’t the young musician’s instrumentality astatine the time, his excitement took implicit and helium didn’t person to deliberation overmuch astir it.

“I knew thing large was happening, something bigger than everybody, bigger than maine for sure,” Lesh told the band’s historiographer Dennis McNally successful 2002, according to Variety.

Inspired by classical giants arsenic a young kid — including the New York Philharmonic, which helium would perceive to connected his grandmother’s radio — Lesh besides cited jazz masters similar John Coltrane and Miles Davis arsenic the artists who helped signifier his ain attack to music, a genre-defining benignant that mirrored that of the Grateful Dead.

Known for its eclecticism and counterculture roots, the band’s dependable has been described arsenic a “free-flowing fusion of folk, rock, soul, blues and jazz,” with improvisational skills that created a caller class of stone group: the “jam band,” according to Grammy.com.

“Phil brought immense joyousness to everyone astir him and leaves down a bequest of euphony and love,” the connection shared connected his Instagram leafage reads, portion asking Deadheads “to respect the Lesh family’s privateness astatine this time.”

Lesh was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside his set members successful 1994. He remained with the Dead until the set disbanded the pursuing year, aft the decease of Garcia.

Lesh is survived by his wife, Jill, and their sons, Grahame and Brian, who performed alongside their begetter successful the Terrapin Family Band. They often played shows Lesh’s erstwhile euphony venue, Terrapin Crossroads, successful San Rafael, Calif.

With News Wire Services