Phil Lesh dies aged 84: Grateful Dead bassist and founding member passes away as tributes paid

Grateful Dead icon Phil Lesh has died aged 84.

The bassist and founding member of the stone set 'passed peacefully' connected Friday, October 25 - a connection connected his Instagram leafage confirmed.

The connection read:  'Phil Lesh, bassist and founding subordinate of The Grateful Dead, passed peacefully this morning. 

'He was surrounded by his household and afloat of love. Phil brought immense joyousness to everyone astir him and leaves down a bequest of euphony and love. 

'We petition that you respect the Lesh family’s privateness astatine this time.'

His origin of decease is presently unknown. He antecedently battled bladder cancer successful 2015. 

Lesh is champion known for co-founding the stone set successful 1965 - it went connected to go 1 of the world's astir influential bands. 

The archetypal line-up was Lesh, Mickey Hart, Jerry Garcia, Brent Mydland, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir. 

Starting retired arsenic a folk-infused quintet successful psychedelic-era 1960s San Francisco, the Grateful Dead steadily morphed into a taste improvement and 1 of the astir palmy touring acts of each time.

Fueled by the carnival ambiance of its traveling Deadhead fanbase and an ethos that encouraged tape-trading and emphasized unrecorded show implicit workplace output, the Dead person spanned aggregate generations and stay wildly popular. 

Lead guitarist and founding subordinate Jerry Garcia died successful 1995, but the set continued astir nonstop touring successful aggregate incarnations.

'There´s a batch of ingredients that spell into it,' drummer Mickey Hart said, erstwhile asked astir the music´s longevity. 'The fans accidental that the shows consciousness similar home. It gives them that feeling of connectiveness and assemblage and joyousness and emotion for beingness and the music.' 

Currently calling themselves Dead and Company with guitarist John Mayer taking Garcia´s place, the set precocious had a residency astatine The Sphere successful Las Vegas.