Veteran rock musician Bob Weir, the Grateful Dead’s rhythm guitarist and a guiding force behind one of rock’s most influential bands, has died at the age of 78, his family confirmed in a statement on Saturday.
Weir was diagnosed with cancer in July and later succumbed to underlying lung complications, passing away peacefully surrounded by loved ones. The family shared the news through Weir’s verified Instagram account, without disclosing the exact time or place of death.
Just weeks after beginning cancer treatment, Weir made a remarkable return to the stage last summer, performing a three-night run at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park to mark 60 years of his musical journey. According to Rolling Stone, those performances became his final public appearances.
Alongside the late Jerry Garcia, Weir stood as one of the Grateful Dead’s principal frontmen and vocalists, helping shape the band’s unique sound and enduring legacy.
He sang the verses on the iconic anthem Truckin’ and co-wrote or penned several defining songs, including Sugar Magnolia, Playing in the Band and Jack Straw. His inventive rhythm guitar style, often built around melodic fills rather than standard chords, became a hallmark of the band’s sound.
Born Robert Hall Parber on October 16, 1947, Weir joined forces with Garcia as a teenager in the mid-1960s, helping form what would soon become the Grateful Dead. Despite early doubts about his guitar skills, he emerged as a core creative contributor by the time of the band’s landmark albums Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty.
After Garcia died in 1995, Weir continued performing through solo projects, his band RatDog, and various Dead reunions, while also serving as a UN goodwill ambassador for climate and development causes.
Weir is survived by his wife, Natascha Muenter, and their two daughters.
