Life lessons on two wheels to the tunes of the
Grateful Dead
Robert Hall Weir, né Parber,
October 16, 1947 – January 10, 2026
Let the words be yours, I’m done with mine.
I first saw Bob Weir on October 19, 1974 with the Grateful Dead at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. I last saw Bob Weir on June 14, 2024 as a member of Dead & Company at The Sphere in Las Vegas. Over the course of almost 50 years, it was my privilege to see Bobby perform countless times as a member of the Grateful Dead, Kingfish, Ratdog, the Other Ones, The Dead, Furthur, Dead & Company, the Weir Robinson & Greene Acoustic Trio, and probably others that I have failed to remember.
Other Posts
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 49 – December 5, 1981
I know this song, it ain’t never gonna end.
The Grateful Dead took perhaps their biggest step towards immortality when they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in 1994. But if there was a distinction for Most Unlikely Success Stories among the now-338 groups and performers that have been similarly recognized as of 2020, our beloved band of misfits would easily win, place or show. From their humble origins as a jug band (Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions), to their pivot to a rock band, called The Warlocks, to their first show as the Grateful Dead on 12/4/65 in San Jose, CA at one of Ken Kesey’s “Acid Tests,” this was a band whose initial aspirations were more oriented towards survival than fame and fortune.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 6 - February 5, 1989
I will take you home
I became a Deadhead in 1973, during the Keith and Donna era, and was deeply saddened when they left the band in 1979. Keith Godchaux was a phenomenally talented pianist, and to this day I love listening to his mostly understated playing on so many wonderful ’70s recordings. My first show with “the new guy” on keyboards was 10/19/80 at San Francisco’s Warfield Theater, and I was immediately impressed with the skill Brent Mydland displayed on keyboards, but even more so with his vocal contributions. While I understand, but never shared, the widespread antipathy felt by many Deadheads toward Donna Jean Godchaux, Brent’s arrival served to transform the Grateful Dead from a band that was often barely tolerable vocally to one that could really sing.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 34 - August 21, 1983
Ain’t nobody messing with you but you.
When I began my studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz in ’75, the countercultural vibe of the ’60s was still alive and well. Having spent my junior high and high school years in Southern California, my primary exposure to the Grateful Dead was the well-known reference in the Cowsills’ 1969 song, Hair (“It’s not for lack of bread, like the Grateful Dead”). But once I arrived on the Central California coast (Santa Cruz is just 75 miles south of San Francisco) the Grateful Dead could be heard seeping out of the cracks of dorm rooms all over campus, and providing the ambiance for every cafe in town.
All Material Copyright 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 by Stewart Sallo