Grateful Useless bassist and co-founder Phil Lesh has died on the age of 84. In accordance with a press release from his household, the musician “handed peacefully this morning (Oct. 25). He was surrounded by his household and full of affection. Phil introduced immense pleasure to everybody round him and leaves behind a legacy of music and love. We request that you simply respect the Lesh household’s privateness at the moment.”
No trigger was supplied, though Lesh had a liver transplant in 1998 to fight hepatitis C and battled each prostate and bladder most cancers through the years.
Extra from Spin:
- BØRNS On the Fantastic thing about Letting Go
- Device Internet hosting Vacation spot Competition In Dominican Republic
- Primavera Sound 2025: Charli xcx, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter
Lesh met his future Useless bandmate Jerry Garcia within the Bay Space in 1959 and, together with guitarist Bob Weir and drummers Mickey Hart and Invoice Kreutzmann, was a key contributor from day one amid their early experiments with LSD and associations with Ken Kesey’s acid assessments in late ‘60s San Francisco; the flip towards Americana and recording of the Workingman’s Useless and American Magnificence albums within the early ‘70s; the years spent on the street honing what was arguably the best stay rock present in American historical past; the pop-cultural explosion of “Contact of Gray” in 1987 and the chaos and hedonism that adopted the band within the ‘80s and ‘90s; and the gradual, heartbreaking battles with sickness and habit that characterised Garcia’s closing years earlier than his 1995 demise.
Lengthy a proponent of the band’s LSD-fueled jams, Lesh co-wrote or sang lead on such Useless favorites as “Field of Rain,” “Unbroken Chain,” “St. Stephen,” “Truckin’” and “Cumberland Blues.” After the band wound down following Garcia’s passing, Lesh carried out and toured continually below the moniker Phil Lesh and Associates and was a staple of the jam band competition circuit.
Lesh’s closing on-stage efficiency was on July 21 in San Rafael, Ca., when he and the Associates performed a virtually song-for-song recreation of the Useless’s efficiency on the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles from precisely 50 years prior.
The information of his demise comes simply days after the Useless had been named Kennedy Middle honorees in addition to MusiCares Individuals of the 12 months for 2025.
“I used to be deeply saddened to listen to that my buddy Phil Lesh handed away this morning,” reads an Instagram submit from Phish’s Trey Anastasio, who performed with Lesh commonly through the years. “Phil was greater than a revolutionary, groundbreaking bass participant—he reworked how I thought of music as an adolescent. I’ve numerous reminiscences of standing in awe, listening to his winding, eloquent bass strains mixing seamlessly with Jerry and Bobby’s guitars, Brent Mydland’s keys and the thunderous drums of Billy and Mickey. I’m so grateful for these lovely reminiscences.”
Added longtime collaborator Warren Haynes, “there’s an entire sort of music fan and an entire sort of musician that exists as a result of one thing that Phil helped create. I all the time considered myself as that sort of fan and that sort of musician however I can say I used to be introduced into that world full pressure by a easy cellphone name I obtained from Phil within the late 90’s inviting me to hitch him for what at the moment was simply gonna be just a few reveals and became a long time of enjoying music collectively. I realized an untold quantity from Phil and we shared an incredible quantity of musical pleasure on stage within the numerous occasions we performed collectively. It was by means of him that I used to be launched to numerous what would develop into my favourite musical collaborators.”
To see our working listing of the highest 100 best rock stars of all time, click on right here.
