American Rock musician Bob Weir plays guitar as he performs on stage, with the band Grateful Dead, at Cal Expo Amphitheatre, Sacramento, California, August 5, 1989. Steve Eichner | Archive Photos | Getty Images Bob Weir, the guitarist and singer who, as an essential member of the Grateful Dead, helped found the sound of the San Francisco counterculture of the 1960s and kept it alive through decade...
American Rock musician Bob Weir plays guitar as he performs on stage, with the band Grateful Dead, at Cal Expo Amphitheatre, Sacramento, California, August 5, 1989. Steve Eichner | Archive Photos | Getty Images Bob Weir, the guitarist and singer who, as an essential member of the Grateful Dead, helped found the sound of the San Francisco counterculture of the 1960s and kept it alive through decades of endless tours and marathon jams, has died. He was 78. Weir's death was announced Saturday in a statement on his Instagram page. "It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir," a statement on his Instagram account posted Saturday said. "He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues." Weir joined the Grateful Dead — originally the Warlocks — in 1965 in San Francisco at just 17 years old. He would spend the next 30 years playing on endless tours with the Grateful Dead alongside fellow singer and guitarist Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995. Weir wrote or co-wrote and sang lead vocals on Dead classics including "Sugar Magnolia," "One More Saturday Night" and "Mexicali Blues." After Garcia's death, he would be the Dead's most recognizable face. In the decades since, he kept playing with other projects that kept alive the band's music and legendary fan base, including Dead & Company. "For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road," the Instagram statement said. "A guitarist, vocalist, storyteller, and founding member of the Grateful Dead. Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music." Weir's death leaves drummer Bill Kreutzmann as the only surviving original member. Founding bassist Phil Lesh died in 2024. The band's other drummer, Mickey Hart, practically an original member since joining in 1967, is also alive at 82. The fifth founding member, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, died in 1973. Dead and Company played...