Grateful Dead Surviving Members Pay Tribute to Their ‘Brother,’ Phil Lesh
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Phil Lesh, a founding member and bassist of the Grateful Dead throughout the band’s 30-year run, died today (October 25, 2024). The news of his passing, at age 84, was announced on his Facebook page. Several hours later, the band’s surviving original members—Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir, plus Mickey Hart who joined soon after—posted a tribute to their “brother.” (Read it below.) Details regarding place and cause of death were not divulged.
Nine years earlier, in October 2015, Lesh canceled concerts after revealing that he was battling bladder cancer. At that time, he was said to have made a full recovery and returned to performing on stage once again, with many concerts this year for his ensemble Phil Lesh & Friends. His last scheduled concert was to be on August 18 but he was replaced, due to illness, by Sam Grisman. Lesh’s final performance was on July 21 in San Rafael, Calif.
Watch Phil Lesh and Friends at his last concert (on a windy day)
The family’s statement: “Phil Lesh, bassist and founding member of The Grateful Dead, passed peacefully this morning. He was surrounded by his family and full of love. 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.”
In their statement, Hart, Kreutzmann and Weir wrote, “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. And more.
“We can count on the fingers of one hand the people we can say had as profound an influence on our development – in every sense. And there have been even less people who did so continuously over the decades and will continue to for as long as we live. What a gift he was for us. We won’t say he will be missed, as in any given moment, nothing we do will be without the lessons he taught us – and the lessons that are yet to come, as the conversations will go on.
“Phil loved the Dead Heads and always kept them in his heart and mind. The thing is… Phil was so much more than a virtuoso bass player, a composer, a family man, a cultural icon…
“There will be a lot of tributes, and they will all say important things. But for us, we’ve spent a lifetime making music with Phil Lesh and the music has a way of saying it all. So listen to the Grateful Dead and, in that way, we’ll all take a little bit of Phil with us, forever.
“For this is all a dream we dreamed one afternoon, long ago….”
It was signed, Mickey, Billy and Bobby
In 2015, he shared a letter to his fans. “I was diagnosed with bladder cancer in early October, and have spent the last few weeks at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale doing tests and eventually surgery to remove the tumors,” he wrote. “I am very fortunate to have the pathology reports show that the tumors are all non aggressive, and that there is no indication that they have spread.
“So thanks to my local doctor Cliff Sewell, and the incredible team at the Mayo Clinic, all is well and I can return to normal activities in two weeks from my surgery. Unfortunately, that means I will have to cancel the PLF [Phil Lesh & Friends] shows scheduled for Oct 24/25. We will reschedule these shows as soon as we can, but in the meantime, keep a lookout for a free Grate Room show before I leave for the East Coast shows. I also plan to pop in and jam in the bar [his San Rafael, CA club Terrapin Crossroads] before we leave, so I hope to see you there at Terrapin.”
In 2018, Lesh teamed with fellow Dead alum Bob Weir for a duo tour after performing together the previous summer. “We had enough fun so we figured, hey, let’s do this, let’s make a little go of this,” Lesh said at the time. “Playing with Bob always brings me great joy. The intuitive playing that we have developed over five decades of creating music together always leads to new realms of musical experience, something that I find especially exciting, and I think that fans of our music will enjoy this new format as much as I do.”
Lesh was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the Grateful Dead in 1994. He previously battled prostate cancer in 2006.
In July of this year, the Grateful Dead were selected for lifetime artistic achievement for Kennedy Center Honors to be conferred at a ceremony and concert in December. With Lesh’s passing, those chosen to be honored are now just drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, and guitarist/vocalist Weir. Two days before Lesh died, the Recording Academy announced that the Dead were chosen as the 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year, in honor of the band’s 60th anniversary. Those same four original members were being recognized for their “immense contributions to music, their tireless philanthropic efforts and their pioneering role in fostering communities through their concerts and activism.” The benefit gala will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on January 31, 2025, two nights before the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards® at Crypto.com Arena.
The Dead’s vast recorded legacy, including many 50th anniversary editions, are available in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.
Related: Musicians we’ve lost in 2024
1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationI shall now play Box Of Rain on my guitar and smile for the man who put me into the Phil zone. His contributions into the Rex Foundation should be applauded with admiration.