Phil Lesh, bassist and founder of Grateful Dead, dies
The Instagram post said the bass player died peacefully, surrounded by family

(Reuters): Phil Lesh, a founding member of the Grateful Dead whose nuanced bass playing made him an architect of the band’s otherworldly sound, died on Friday at age 84, his Instagram account said.
Tributes poured in from the music world and New York’s Empire State Building said it would illuminate the skyscraper in tie-dye colours to honour a member of the psychedelic band known for lengthy improvisations in its live shows, which drew dedicated “Dead Head” fans known for travelling from concert to concert.
The Instagram post said he died peacefully, surrounded by family. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Lesh as the 11th greatest bass player of all time, though he also sang lead and backing vocals. Many fans considered him as influential as the band’s frontman, Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995.
“His idea — ‘play bass and lead at the same time,’ his notes darting in and around the melody — became as recognisable a part of the Dead’s sound as Garcia’s guitar,” Rolling Stone said.
“Phil was more than a revolutionary, groundbreaking bass player — he transformed how I thought about music as a teenager,” Trey Anastasio, the lead guitarist of Phish, wrote on Instagram.
Formed in California in 1965, the Dead came to prominence during the 1967 Summer of Love in San Francisco, a counterculture movement that embraced peace, love and hallucinogenic drugs.
But the Dead’s music endured much longer than that as a mixture of rock, folk, country and jazz.
After Garcia’s death, longtime players Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart formed various lineups under the name Dead & Company, while Lesh opted instead to create Phil Lesh and Friends, which played until 2023.
Philip Chapman Lesh was born on March 15, 1940, in Berkeley, California, and began playing classical violin before switching to “cool jazz” big-band trumpet, his official Dead biography said.
He later studied with experimental Italian composer Luciano Berio before his friend Garcia told him in 1965 that he was the new bass player for the Warlocks, Garcia’s band that was a precursor to the Grateful Dead.
Lesh responded, “Why not?”
Lesh is survived by his wife, Jill Lesh, and their two sons, Grahame and Brian.

PSX rallies for second consecutive day in new fiscal year
- an hour ago

SC decision: ECP issues notification to restore reserved seats
- 2 hours ago

Court issues non-bailable warrants for CM Gandapur
- a few seconds ago

Google quietly introduced precise Bluetooth tracking on the Pixel Watch 3
- 4 hours ago
Trump confirms progress on Gaza ceasefire deal
- 21 minutes ago
Karachi gas explosion: 7 injured including children
- an hour ago
Gold prices decline amid global market downturn
- 15 minutes ago

Taxes on more than 40 items reduced
- 2 hours ago

M3gan 2.0 is a fun upgrade that’s a little too self-aware
- 4 hours ago

Blast in Bajaur, four including AC martyred
- 3 hours ago
Sheikh Hasina sentenced to 6 months for contempt of court in Bangladesh
- an hour ago

PM satisfied with FBR's performance
- 4 hours ago