Phil Lesh performs onstage at Headcount & Dayglo Present Phil Lesh And Very Special Friends at the Apollo Theater at the Apollo Theater on September 7, 2018 in New York City. Marc Millman/Getty Images for Dayglo giveaway
Phil Lesh, bassist and founding member of the Grateful Dead, has passed away. He was 84 years old.
The Grateful Dead announced the sad news in an Instagram post on October 25.
“Phil Lesh, bassist and founding member of The Grateful Dead, passed away peacefully this morning,” the post on their official account read. “He was surrounded by family and filled with love. Phil brought immense joy to everyone around him and left behind a legacy of music and love. We ask that you respect his privacy Lesh family privacy at this time.”
Although Lesh’s cause of death has not been shared, he had previously battled prostate cancer, bladder cancer and had to have a liver transplant in 1998 due to hepatitis C infection and years of alcoholism.
Lesh is survived by his wife, Jill, and sons Brian and Grahame.
Lesh co-wrote some of the iconic band’s most famous songs, including “Truckin'” and “Box of Rain.” After the Grateful Dead broke up, Lesh played in a new jazz band called Phil and Friends.
Tags Grateful Dead, Death