Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh dies at 84 | Gratefully dead

Phil Lesh, the influential Grateful Dead bassist who supported many touring incarnations of the jam band after the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995, has died. He was 84.

Lesh's death was announced on his Instagram page. “Phil Lesh, bassist and founding member of The Grateful Dead, passed away peacefully this morning,” the caption reads. “He was surrounded by his family and full of love. Phil brought great joy to everyone around him and leaves a legacy full of music and love. We ask that you respect the Lesh family’s privacy at this time.”

Lesh was born on March 15, 1940 in Berkeley, California and studied classical music throughout his childhood. A trained trumpeter, he studied with avant-garde composer Luciano Berio and played with minimalist composer Steve Reich. He switched to bass – an instrument he had never played – in 1965 after being recruited by the Warlocks, a band led by his friend Garcia, for a show at a pizzeria in Menlo Park, California.

“I was so excited that I didn't have to think about it…but I knew something great was happening, something bigger than anyone else, certainly bigger than me,” Lesh told the Dead's publicist and official historian Dennis McNally , for the 2002 book A Long, Strange Journey, According to Variety.

Lesh's influence was crucial to the Grateful Dead's early sound, often mentioned alongside Garcia. He co-wrote a number of compositions, including “St Stephen”, “The Eleven” and “Dark Star”, which became staples of the jam band's repertoire. Between 1967 and 1990, Lesh appeared on all 13 Grateful Dead studio releases and 10 official live albums. Along with Garcia, guitarist Bob Weir and drummer Bill Kreutzmann, Lesh remained an important part of the improvisational band's touring lineup for 30 years.

After Garcia's death in 1995 at age 53, Lesh was an integral part of the band's later touring arrangements, including The Other Ones (1998–1999), The Dead (2003–2004, 2008–2009) and Furthur (2009– 2013). . He sat out the band's newest incarnation, Dead & Company, featuring John Mayer.

Along with the other members of the Grateful Dead, Lesh was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He is survived by his wife Jill and their sons Grahame and Brian, both of whom performed with the Terrapin Family Band, Lesh's late band composed of his family-run music hall and restaurant in San Rafael, California.