Grateful Dead fans are in deep mourning. Yesterday (October 25), a representative for the band took to their official Instagram page to announce that founding bassist Phil Lesh had died at the age of 84.
As tribute poured out from users online, Lesh’s surviving bandmates Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and even the family of late member Jerry Garcia penned heartfelt messages.
“[Lesh] introduced me (and us) to the wonders of modern classical music, with its textures and developments, which we soon tried our hands at incorporating into what we had to offer,” wrote Bob Weir.
Mickey Hart spoke to their sibling-like relationship, writing: “[Lesh was] bigger than life, at the very center of the band and my ears, filling my brain with waves of bass.”
Bill Kreutzmann echoed Hart’s family sentiments, penning: “[Lesh] wasn’t just like a brother to me — he was like an older brother. A roommate. A bandmate. A mentor.”
The family of Jerry Garcia shared their condolences, writing: “[We] will miss his sharply dry humor, wry smiles and brilliant insights.”
In an initial joint statement, Mickey, Billy and Bobby mustered up the words to break the gutting news to the world, writing: “Today we lost a brother. Our hearts and love go out to Jill Lesh, Brian and Grahame. Phil Lesh was irreplaceable. In one note from the Phil Zone, you could hear and feel the world being born. His bass flowed like a river would flow. It went where the muse took it. He was an explorer of inner and outer space who just happened to play bass. He was a circumnavigator of formerly unknown musical worlds.”
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