The rocker died on Friday, Oct. 25 "surrounded by his family and full of love"

Phil Lesh, Founding Bassist of the Grateful Dead, Dies at 84

The rocker died on Friday, Oct. 25 "surrounded by his family and full of love"

Phil Lesh, who was the bassist and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, has died. He was 84.

Lesh’s death was announced on Instagram on Friday, Oct. 25, with a statement saying he “passed peacefully this morning.” No cause of death was given.

“He was surrounded by his family and full of love,” the statement read. “Phil brought immense joy to everyone around him and leaves behind a legacy of music and love. We request that you respect the Lesh family’s privacy at this time.”

A native of Berkeley, Calif., Lesh met future bandmate Jerry Garcia at a party in Menlo Park in 1962.

Lesh suggested they record one of Garcia’s performances to broadcast on the local radio station KPFA, and the recording ultimately led to a 90-minute special, according to Garcia’s website.

In 1965, after working briefly for the post office, Lesh joined forces with Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, Bob Weir and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan to play their first gig as The Warlocks. By December of that year, they’d become the Grateful Dead, and started playing the local circuit across California.

Together, the group released 13 studio albums and dozens of live albums, making their name as one of the greatest jam bands to ever play.

“I would have to say that music and performing are as essential as food and drink to me, but even more so as I get older,” Lesh, who celebrated his 84th birthday in March by playing five shows at the Capitol Theatre in New York City, told the Marin Independent Journal in June. “While it can sometimes be more of a challenge physically than it was when I was a young whippersnapper, I’ve found that age brings wisdom, and with that comes musical experience and knowledge that I didn’t have when I was younger.”

Lesh was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the group in 1994, and the group disbanded the following year following Garcia’s death. Lesh went on to form his own group, Phil Lesh and Friends, which has included various different lineups over the years.

The rocker underwent a liver transplant in 1998, and went on to become an organ donor advocate. In 2015, he underwent surgery for bladder cancer, and said at the time that he was expected to make a full recovery.

He is survived by his wife Jill and his sons Grahame and Brian.