Phil Lesh, a founding member of The Grateful Dead and the band’s bassist throughout their three-decade career, has died. He was 84.
The announcement was made on Friday (October 25) in a statement posted to his official Instagram page. “Phil Lesh, bassist and founding member of The Grateful Dead, passed peacefully this morning. He was surrounded by his family and full of love,” the statement read.
“Phil brought immense joy to everyone around him and leaves behind a legacy of music and love. We request that you respect the Lesh family’s privacy at this time.”
No cause of death was immediately disclosed.
Philip Chapman Lesh was born on March 15, 1940, in Berkeley, California. In his youth, he played violin before switching to trumpet while a student at Berkeley High School, where he developed a fascination with avant-garde classical music and free jazz.
While studying at the University of California, Berkeley in 1961, Lesh became friends with future Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten. A couple of years later, while volunteering at local radio station KPFA, Lesh met and sparked a friendship with bluegrass banjo player Jerry Garcia. In 1964, Garcia convinced Lesh to become the bassist in his new rock band, then called The Warlocks, despite the fact Lesh had never played bass before.
Lesh’s unconventional approach to his instrument became a key element in defining the Grateful Dead’s influential sound. He is credited as a co-writer on some of their best-known songs, including “Truckin’,” “Box of Rain” and “Unbroken Chain.”
After the Grateful Dead split in 1995, Lesh continued to play with off-shoot groups such as The Other Ones and The Dead and with his own band, Phil Lesh and Friends.
In April 2005, Lesh published his memoir Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead. The following year he announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, which he had surgery to remove a few months later. In October 2015, Lesh underwent further surgery for bladder cancer.
In March this year, Lesh celebrated his 84th birthday with a show at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York.
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Lesh married his wife Jill in 1984 and the couple had two children, Grahame and Brian.
Just two days ago, MusiCares, an organization that helps music professionals who need financial, personal or medical assistance, announced they are honoring Lesh along with original Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bobby Weir as its 2025 Persons of the Year for their philanthropic efforts.