Bob Weir was an American guitarist and songwriter who was a cofounder of the Grateful Dead, a hugely influential San Francisco-based group that formed in the mid-1960s and was known for an eclectic mix of psychedelic rock instrumentation and jazzy improvisation. The music and the band’s embrace of the hippie counterculture inspired a loyal fan base known as the Deadheads. The Grateful Dead become one of the most successful touring bands in rock history despite having had virtually no radio hits.
Born Robert Hall Parber in 1947, he was adopted by Eleanor and Frederick Weir and grew up in the San Francisco area. While a teenager, he met Jerry Garcia, and they and several others formed the Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions. In 1965 the group became known as the Grateful Dead, and around this time it began performing as the house band for novelist Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests—sound-and-light parties fueled by the then-legal hallucinogen LSD. Led by Garcia, the band also started staging its legendary concerts—hours-long jam sessions that emphasized the synergy between the group and the crowd. Weir, who played rhythm guitar, was known for his innovative chording and strumming. He also cowrote several songs and occasionally sang.
With the death of Garcia in 1995, the Grateful Dead disbanded. However, Weir and other former members continued to perform under various names, including the Other Ones, the Dead, and the Dead & Company. In addition, Weir played in other bands, including Kingfish and Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. As a member of the Grateful Dead, Weir was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1994) and received a Kennedy Center Honor (2024).
Weir died in January 2026 at the age of 78. According to his family, he had “succumbed to underlying lung issues.” Weir had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer in July 2025.