Probably one of the most famous bands of all time, certainly one to have amongst the most devoted followers, Grateful Dead were formed in 1965 with Bob Weir being one of the founding members. He continued to tour and play live with the band (or a least some version of it) until 2023 when the remaining members finally said “farewell”. The band’s popularity was apparently partly down to their support of live bootlegs, encouraging fans to record their shows and share them around.
Today we heard the news that the number of remaining members has dropped once more, leaving drummer Bill Kreutzmann as the sole surviving founding member. Bob Weir’s death was announced on January 10th, due to underlying lung issues related to a cancer diagnosis.
As always, our thoughts are with Bob’s family, friends and those he worked closely with. And as always we choose to remember him with a slice of what will make his memory immortal. In this case the band’s only top 40 single, “Touch of Grey”. A susprise, perhaps, given that they hold the record for the largest number of top 40 albums in the Billboard Top 200 at 66.
Header image by Craig O’Neal via Flickr / Wikimedia Commons, used under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
