Bob Weir: Grateful Dead Co-Founder and Guitarist Dies at 78

Bob Weir was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, a founding member of the Grateful Dead. Born Robert Hall Parber on October 16, 1947, in San Francisco, he was adopted as an infant and raised in Atherton, California.

Weir joined Jerry Garcia and others in forming the Grateful Dead in 1965, playing rhythm guitar and singing songs including "Sugar Magnolia," "Truckin'," "Playing in the Band" and "Cassidy." He formed other groups including Kingfish, Bobby and the Midnites, RatDog and Furthur, and he co-founded Dead & Company with John Mayer in 2015. His solo albums include Ace (1972) and Blue Mountain (2016).

The Grateful Dead were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2024. Weir was a longtime vegetarian and animal rights advocate, helped found Farm Sanctuary and was an early mountain biker. He married Natascha Munter in 1999 and had two daughters. He was diagnosed with cancer in July 2025 and died in Mill Valley, California, on January 10, 2026, at age 78, of underlying lung issues.

Achievements: Co-founded the Grateful Dead (1965), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1994), Kennedy Center Honors (2024), co-founded Dead & Company (2015).

Birth: October 16, 1947 - San Francisco, California.

Profession: Guitarist, singer and songwriter.

Interesting Facts: He had undiagnosed dyslexia and was expelled from most of the schools he attended. He founded the recording studio TRI Studios in 2011.