Bob Weir, Co-Founder Of Grateful Dead, Dies At 78: 'A Farewell That Isn't An Ending'

CALIFORNIA — Hearts were broken around the world Saturday night as news spread that Bob Weir, legendary guitarist, singer, and founding member of the Grateful Dead, died Saturday at 78.

His family shared the news in a statement on Weir's Instagram page:

"It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir. He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues."

The statement continued: "For over 60 years, Bobby took to the road. A guitarist, vocalist, storyteller, and founding member of the Grateful Dead. Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music. His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them. Every chord he played, every word he sang was an integral part of the stories he wove. There was an invitation: to feel, to question, to wander, and to belong. Bobby’s final months reflected the same spirit that defined his life."

Diagnosed in July, he began treatment only weeks before returning to his hometown stage for a three-night celebration of 60 years of music at Golden Gate Park, his family said.

"Those performances, emotional, soulful, and full of light, were not farewells, but gifts. Another act of resilience. An artist choosing, even then, to keep going by his own design. As we remember Bobby, it’s hard not to feel the echo of the way he lived," his family said. "A man driftin’ and dreamin’, never worrying if the road would lead him home. A child of countless trees. A child of boundless seas. There is no final curtain here, not really. Only the sense of someone setting off again."

His family added: "He often spoke of a 300-year legacy, determined to ensure the songbook would endure long after him. May that dream live on through future generations of Dead Heads. And so we send him off the way he sent so many of us on our way: with a farewell that isn’t an ending, but a blessing. A reward for a life worth livin’. "

According to the Associated Press, Weir joined the Grateful Dead — originally the Warlocks — in 1965 in San Francisco when he was 17 years old.

He'd spend the next 30 years playing on endless tours with the Grateful Dead alongside fellow singer and guitarist Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995, the AP said.

Weir wrote or co-wrote and sang lead vocals on Dead classics including “Sugar Magnolia,” “One More Saturday Night” and “Mexicali Blues," the AP said.

In the decades since he kept playing with other projects including Dead and Company, the AP said.

Weir’s death leaves drummer Bill Kreutzmann as the only surviving original member, the AP said.

Founding bassist Phil Lesh died in 2024.

"Longevity was never a major concern of ours,” Weir said when the Dead got the Grammys' Musicares Person of the Year honor last year, the AP said. “Spreading joy through the music was all we ever really had in mind and we got plenty of that done."

His family's statement went on: "His loving family, Natascha, Monet, and Chloe, have requested privacy during this difficult time and offer their gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, and remembrance. May we honor him not only in sorrow, but in how bravely we continue with open hearts, steady steps, and the music leading us home. Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings."