Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir dies at 78

Bob Weir, co-founder of the Grateful Dead and a pioneer of American jam and psychedelic rock whose rhythmic style shaped the genre for over six decades, has died at 78 following complications related to cancer and underlying lung issues.

Weir’s path within the Grateful Dead was far from smooth at the outset. In the band’s formative years, creative tensions emerged between Weir, Jerry Garcia, and bassist Phil Lesh, and in 1968 both Weir and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan were briefly dismissed from the group. The split proved short-lived; within months, both musicians returned, setting the stage for the band’s next evolution. As the Dead shifted toward a looser, country-inflected sound in the early 1970s, Weir came into his own as a songwriter, penning enduring staples like “Sugar Magnolia,” “Playing in the Band,” “The Music Never Stopped,” and “Cassidy.” That creative resurgence extended beyond the band, culminating in his 1972 solo debut Ace, which was met with widespread acclaim.

Weir’s contributions to American music were formally recognized with his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, followed decades later by a Kennedy Center Honor in 2024.

After the Grateful Dead ceased touring in 1995, Weir remained a tireless steward of the band’s music, continuing to perform and reinterpret the catalog through projects including RatDog, Furthur, Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros, and the Grateful Dead offshoot Dead & Company.

In August 2025, only weeks after receiving his diagnosis, Weir returned to the stage one final time, reuniting with Dead & Company for a three-night celebration marking the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park — performances that would ultimately serve as his farewell.