Lesh jamming out at a concert with the rest of the Grateful Dead. photo courtesy of Dead.Net
Grateful Dead founding member and bassist, Phil Lesh, has passed away at 84.
Unfortunate news shook the music world on October 25th, 2024, that Grateful Dead bassist, songwriter and original member, Phil Lesh, passed away peacefully. Lesh was a crucial part to not only the Dead, but music as a whole, reinventing the norm of rock bassists. He played all the way up until his death, playing in other bands such as Phil Lesh and Friends, Further and many more. An icon and founder of the jam band and the psychedelic rock genre, Lesh was an inspiration to many, and his name will live on forever.
Born on March 15th, 1940, Lesh was immersed in music at an early age, learning piano at the age of eight. Lesh then went on to attend the College of San Mateo, where he played trumpet in their band, then later transferred to University of California, Berkeley where he met future bandmate Tom Constantsen. After graduating, he often volunteered at the KPFA radio in California station as a recording engineer where he met Grateful Dead front man Jerry Garcia. Garcia later invited Lesh to be the bassist for his then band, The Warlocks. This came as a surprise to Lesh as he had never played bass guitar before, but because of his excellent musicianship it came to him naturally. The group then changed its name to the Grateful Dead in 1965, which kickstarted the beginning of one of the most influential bands of all time.
Lesh is commonly referenced to as one of the most influential bassists of all time, with his unique style revolutionizing the rock genre, and making a new subgenre at that. Before him, bass players were asked to just keep tempo, and not take any glory away from the guitarists. They were restricted to staying within the chord structure of the song and were the “little brother” to the guitarists. This changed with Lesh, as he broke that norm. He would venture out of chord structure, and play different, riff like, bass parts on many songs. He did this in a way that didn’t overwhelm the song, and made sure to not overplay. He played many different basses, but none more iconic than his alembic modified guild starfire, which allowed him to achieve his world renowned tone. His biggest influence is known to be the great Jack Bruce from the band Cream.
Lesh was in many bands after the Grateful Dead, those including Further and Phil Lesh and Friends. He played along with many other Grateful Dead bandmates, including Bob Weir. He played live up until his death, with his last shows being at McNears Beach Parks on July 21st, 2024. He died at peace in the presence of his family. Many Grateful Dead fans did tributes to him, with the band Phish playing a moving “Fare Thee Well” remembrance for him days after. His impact has affected many people, with TJ Dean of Culture Emily Lupo sharing one of her favorite memories. “I saw Phil Lesh and Friends at the all good festival in 2013” she stated, “We were right up front and he was right there and me and my friends were like PHIL!!! And it was awesome.” These life long memories are what Lesh wanted for his fans and it is something truly special to have a whole community that can retell happy memories, friendships and experiences they have had while listening to the great Phil Lesh.
