Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir dies at 78

Bob Weir, rhythm guitarist and founding member of the Grateful Dead, died on Saturday (January 10). He was 78.

A statement on Weir’s official social media accounts shared that he had “succumbed to underlying lung issues” after a battle with cancer. “He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could,” it read.

The beloved musician was diagnosed with cancer in July 2025, the statement notes. Weir “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 Dead & Company shows in August, in celebration of the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary, were Weir’s final public performances.

Robert Hall Weir was born in San Francisco, California on October 16, 1947. Aged 17, he co-founded the legendary jam band as rhythm guitarist/vocalist alongside lead guitarist/vocalist Jerry Garcia, bassist/vocalist Phil Lesh, drummer Bill Kreutzmann and keyboardist/harmonica player Ron ‘Pigpen McKernan’.

The Dead, as they were fondly called, formed a formidable reputation as a live band, known for long shows, mutable setlists and line-ups, and onstage improvisation. They played over 2,000 shows in Garcia’s lifetime, followed around America by a dedicated contingent of fans called the Deadheads. The Grateful Dead were instrumental to American counterculture in the 1960s and remained deeply influential on rock music until their disbandment in 1995, following Garcia’s passing.

Weir would carry on the Grateful Dead’s legacy in other iterations of the band, including The Other Ones and the Dead, and most recently Dead & Company – alongside Dead drummers Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, Dead bassist Oteil Burbridge, as well as keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and guitarist and artist John Mayer. The prolific guitarist was also a member of Furthur, RatDog and Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros, among other bands over the decades. Just last year, in June 2025, Weir played his first show in London in over 20 years at the Royal Albert Hall, re-envisioning the music of the Dead with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

Tributes have begun pouring out for Weir, including from Phish’s Trey Anastasio, who opened for Weir’s final performance in San Francisco last August. “This one really hurts. I really loved him,” Anastasio wrote on Instagram. “He was a sweet, kind, gentle friend, and I never believed this would happen so soon.”

Don Was, Weir’s bandmate of seven years in Wolf Bros, wrote: “The music he helped create over the last 60 years will continue to be felt for generations. As he sang in one of my favorite Dead songs: the music will never stop.”

Don Welder of the Eagles has also paid tribute, writing: “I first saw Bob at Woodstock with the Grateful Dead and was blown away by that whole band, and the musicianship.”

“God bless Bob Weir,” wrote Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins.

The Empire State Building in New York City lit up in tie-dye colours on Saturday night in honour of Weir’s legacy – see a video and read more tributes below.

Tonight we will shine in tie-dye to honor the life and legacy of Bob Weir @GratefulDead pic.twitter.com/hWCMxUPXoj

— Empire State Building (@EmpireStateBldg) January 11, 2026

God bless Bob Weir pic.twitter.com/ReEcjmehcS

— William Patrick Corgan (@Billy) January 11, 2026

Bob Weir was a true son of California who helped create the soundtrack of a generation.

He was — and will always be — a king of psychedelic rock. Bob will be deeply missed, and his music will forever live on. pic.twitter.com/Bkt0EPSDUl

— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) January 11, 2026