US guitarist and songwriter Bob Weir, a founding member of the revolutionary, psychedelic jam band Grateful Dead, has died aged 78, his family announced.
Mr Weir was diagnosed with cancer in July and had beaten the disease, but “succumbed to underlying lung issues,” his family said in a statement on his personal website, without specifying where or when he died.
“For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road,” the statement said. “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.”
Founded in San Francisco by Mr Weir, Jerry Garcia, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Phil Lesh, and Bill Kreutzmann, the Grateful Dead was one of the leading music groups to emerge from the 1960s counterculture movement.
EntertainmentGrateful Dead co-founder and guitarist Bob Weir dies aged 78
ByAFPPublishedJanuary 10, 2026
Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead, performs at the Farm Aid Music Festival in Noblesville, Indiana on September 24, 2023
Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead, performs at the Farm Aid Music Festival in Noblesville, Indiana on September 24, 2023 – Copyright AFP/File SUZANNE CORDEIRO
American guitarist and songwriter Bob Weir, a founding member of the revolutionary, psychedelic jam band Grateful Dead, has died aged 78, his family announced Saturday.
Weir was diagnosed with cancer in July and had beaten the disease, but “succumbed to underlying lung issues,” his family said in a statement on his personal website, without specifying where or when he died.
“For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road,” the statement said. “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.”
Founded in San Francisco by Weir, Jerry Garcia, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Phil Lesh, and Bill Kreutzmann, the Grateful Dead became one of the leading music groups to emerge from the 1960s counterculture movement.
