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Musician Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead, died on Jan. 10. He was 78.
His death was announced in a statement on his website and social media.
Weir, the guitarist and vocalist for the Grateful Dead, was born in San Francisco. He grew up in Atherton and attended Menlo-Atherton High School. He later moved to the North Bay.
Weir was around 16 when he met future Grateful Dead frontman and fellow guitarist Jerry Garcia in an impromptu jam on New Year’s Eve 1963 at Dana Morgan’s Music Shop in downtown Palo Alto. Their newly formed band would go on to change genres, as well as switch up its name, transforming from an old-timey jug band to a rock group that in late 1965 dubbed themselves the Grateful Dead.
The long list of Grateful Dead songs that Weir wrote or co-wrote includes well-loved tracks such as “Sugar Magnolia,” “Truckin’,” “Black-Throated Wind” and “Estimated Prophet.” He also has a credit for “Hell in a Bucket,” the memorable video for which featured Weir tooling around downtown San Rafael in a convertible and drinking champagne with a duck, (which it turns out, indulged in too much bubbly during the shoot).
Weir founded the band RatDog in 1995, which played Grateful Dead songs and other covers, as well as some originals. Weir played with the band for nearly 20 years.
In 2018, he formed Bobby Weir and Wolf Bros, later adding a string and brass ensemble to become known as Bobby Weir and Wolf Bros. featuring the Wolf Pack. The group played songs from the Grateful Dead and Weir’s solo work. In recent years, the band took part in collaborations with various symphonies, including a performance in London in 2025 at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, according to Weir’s website.
Weir was also a founding member of Dead and Company, a band that included fellow Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann and played Grateful Dead songs. The group had well-received residencies in 2024 and 2025 at the Las Vegas Sphere.
He was recognized with a lifetime achievement Grammy Award. The Grateful Dead received Kennedy Center honors in 2024. The group also holds the Billboard record for most Top 40 albums of all time.
In summer 2025, with Dead and Company, Weir performed in Golden Gate Park in concerts marking the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary. The appearances came shortly after Weir began cancer treatments, according to the statement posted online.
Weir “transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues,” the statement said.
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