Phil Lesh during the Phil Lesh and Friends concert at the Eagle Theater in Redding on Monday.
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Grateful Dead founding member and bassist Phil Lesh died Friday morning, the band announced on his official Instagram account.
The California native and rock legend was 84 years old.
In a post on his Instagram, Lesh said he “passed peacefully” surrounded by his family.
“Phil brought tremendous joy to everyone around him and left behind a legacy of music and love.” “We ask that you respect the Lesch family’s privacy at this time.”
Lesh grew up in the suburbs of San Francisco, where he began his musical journey by learning to play classical violin. He swapped the violin for a trumpet and composed music inspired by the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen.
SAN FRANCISCO – JUNE 1976: Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh rehearse with the Grateful Dead at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco, California, in June 1976. (Photo by Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty Images)
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In 1965, his friend Jerry Garcia recruited him to be the bassist for The Warlocks. Soon after, the band changed its name to the Grateful Dead with Lesh on bass and Garcia on guitar.
The Dead fused rock, jazz, and folk to become one of the most influential bands in American history.
Known as an accomplished bassist, Lesh is credited with redefining the bass sound and greatly influencing the sound of the Grateful Dead.
Members of the rock group Grateful Dead include Bill Kreutzman (striped shirt), Jerry Garcia (black shirt and jacket), Mickey Hart (“God is Sound” t-shirt), Phil Lesh (white t-shirt) and Bob Weir (Duke) . Sweatshirt), Brent Mydland.
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He is widely recognized by other artists as a defining rock bassist. Bob Dylan wrote about the Grateful Dead bassist in his 2022 book “The Philosophy of Modern Song.” “Lesh is one of the most skilled bassists of all time, with subtlety and creativity.”
The band disbanded after 30 years, and Lesh presided over a new jazz band called Phil and Friends, which performed frequently in the Bay Area in the years before his death.
Lesh leaves behind his wife, Jill, and two sons, Grahame and Brian.
Phil Lesh performs with The Grateful Dead at Selland Arena in Fresno, California, January 1978.
Ed Perlstein | Red Ferns | getty images
