SAN FRANCISCO — Bob Weir, guitarist, singer and founding member of the Grateful Dead, has died at age 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,” the statement said. “He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues.”
Bob Weir walks the field before the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas.
(AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Weir joined the Grateful Dead – originally the Warlocks – in 1965 in San Francisco at just 17 years old. He’d 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.”
In the decades since he kept playing with other projects including Dead and 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.”
ABC7’s Anser Hassan will have more on this story tonight at 11 p.m.
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