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 25 - June 17, 1975
We just ride
It was a “slam dunk” picking T.W.I.G.D.H. for the week of June 15, since one of the most special nights in the band’s history took place on June 17, 1975 at Winterland. The show was billed as the Bob Fried Memorial Boogie, and it was one of only four times the Dead performed during the year of their interminable hiatus. Bob Fried was an artist who had died of a stroke earlier that same year, but not until he had designed dozens of signature ’60s and ’70s rock posters – most with a decidedly psychedelic spirit.
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.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 7 - February 13-14, 1970
All I said was, “Come on in.”
In 1974, around the same time I became a Deadhead, I came across a wonderful little book which made a permanent impression on me, called, “How to Make Your Life Work or Why Aren’t You Happy?” At the time, I found the central message in this book so compelling that I have retained it over several decades and used it as a life-guiding principle. This now-obscure book was a collaborative effort that featured the work of Ken Keyes (as opposed to Ken Kesey), a prominent countercultural figure, the author of 15 books (including the Handbook to Higher Consciousness) selling millions of copies, and the creator of the Living Love self-help system.
All Material Copyright 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 by Stewart Sallo