In Memoriam: Phil Lesh
We are deeply saddened to share the news that Phil Lesh has died of undisclosed causes. He was 84 years old. The news was shared on Lesh’s Instagram account.
“Phil Lesh, bassist and founding member of The Grateful Dead, passed peacefully this morning,” the post reads. “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.”
Lesh was born in Berkeley, California in 1940 and began his musical life as a violin player. He would switch to trumpet and studied under Bob Hansen, who helped develop his interest in improvised and avant-garde music. He would meet Jerry Garcia while volunteering at the radio station KPFA. Years later, through a twist of fate, Lesh would join Garcia’s rock band – then known as The Warlocks – on bass, even though he had never played the instrument.
His background in improvised music and unfamiliarity with traditional bass playing led to his unique style. Unchained from convention, his melodic approach made him one of the lead innovators of the electric bass, which was still in its fledgling years by the 1960s.
The Grateful Dead released 22 official live and studio albums between 1967 and 1990. Their legendary live performances were also bootlegged and shared widely among Deadheads, leading to hundreds of hours of music. The group disbanded after the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995, though several offshoot bands would go on.
Post-Grateful Dead, Lesh would join Bob Weir and Mickey Hart in to perform as The Other Ones and The Dead. The bassist also launched his own band, Phil Lesh and Friends. In 2009, he debuted the band Furthur with Bob Weir.
Lesh would take part in The Grateful Dead’s 2015 Fare Thee Well concerts, but did not join the remaining members in the resulting band Dead & Company.
Lesh was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Grateful Dead in 1994. In addition to his music, he wrote a memoir called Searching for the Sound: My Life with The Grateful Dead and founded a music venue called Terrapin Crossroads.
Unfortunately, the bassist was no stranger to health problems. Through the last 25 years he had a liver transplant, battled both prostate and bladder cancer, and underwent back surgery.
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Phil Lesh.
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
