The music world was rocked Saturday by the death of Bob Weir, the legendary rocker and founding member of Grateful Dead.
He was 78.
“He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could,” the statement read. “Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues.”
Fans, followers and celebrities took to social media to remember the talented artist.
“Bob Weir was a true son of California who helped create the soundtrack of a generation,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X. “He was — and will always be — a king of psychedelic rock. Bob will be deeply missed, and his music will forever live on.”
“I first saw Bob at Woodstock with the Grateful Dead and was blown away by that whole band, and the musicianship,” ex-Eagles guitarist Don Felder wrote on social media. “I feel so blessed to have been able to have him sing on ‘Rock You’ from American Rock ‘n’ Roll. Until we meet again, amigo.”
“Bob Weir wasn’t The Other One, he was That Guy,” Andy Cohen wrote on Instagram. “He was impossibly beautiful and wildly fiery, intense and passionate.”
“For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road,” the statement on Weir’s site announcing his death read. “A guitarist, vocalist, storyteller, and founding member of the Grateful Dead. Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music. His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them. Every chord he played, every word he sang was an integral part of the stories he wove. There was an invitation: to feel, to question, to wander, and to belong.”
The statement then got into the Weir’s last days.
“Bobby’s final months reflected the same spirit that defined his life,” it read. “Diagnosed in July, he began treatment only weeks before returning to his hometown stage for a three-night celebration of 60 years of music at Golden Gate Park. Those performances, emotional, soulful, and full of light, were not farewells, but gifts. Another act of resilience. An artist choosing, even then, to keep going by his own design. As we remember Bobby, it’s hard not to feel the echo of the way he lived. A man driftin’ and dreamin’, never worrying if the road would lead him home. A child of countless trees. A child of boundless seas.
“There is no final curtain here, not really,” the statement continued. “Only the sense of someone setting off again. He often spoke of a three-hundred-year legacy, determined to ensure the songbook would endure long after him. May that dream live on through future generations of Dead Heads. And so we send him off the way he sent so many of us on our way: with a farewell that isn’t an ending, but a blessing. A reward for a life worth livin’.”
The words made it clear that the iconic musician not only battled bravely to live, but maintained amazing perspective about the journey that we are all on during his final days.
“May we honor him not only in sorrow, but in how bravely we continue with open hearts, steady steps, and the music leading us home,” the statement closed by saying. “Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings.”
Weir helped found the Grateful Dead and founded and played in several other bands.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the band in 1994, and he received Kennedy Center Honors in 2024.