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 45 – November 7, 1987
Maybe you’ll find direction
Flying surprisingly under the radar, the Grateful Dead released a wonderful video in ’87, called So Far. In addition to the exceptional sound quality, what is so unique about this film is the way in which realtime onstage recordings, sans audience, are interwoven with actual concert footage, in seamless transitions that are goosebump inducing at the pivotal moments. Given that the Dead’s identity was far more connected to the live concert experience than the traditional studio recording model, it is fitting that the band employed this technique of simulating a live experience, while maintaining the kind of quality control that is possible only in a studio setting.
All I Know
The year was 1970, my junior year of high school at Loara High School in Anaheim, California. It was the day of the All Western Band Review, the biggest, most significant high school marching band competition in the state. We had been working towards this moment for months, since the summer when band practice began a full three weeks before the first day of school.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 27 - July 4, 1989
Give me five
Despite Grand Funk Railroad laying claim to the title in their 1973 album, “We’re an American Band,” there is no more American band than the Grateful Dead. Songs like Cumberland Blues (Lotta poor man got to walk the line/Just to pay his union dues), Truckin’ (Arrows of neon and flashing marquees out on Main Street/Chicago, New York, Detroit and it’s all on the same street), Me and My Uncle (Me and my uncle went riding down/South Colorado, West Texas bound/We stopped over in Santa Fe/That being the point just about half way), and The Music Never Stopped (There’s a band out on the highway/They’re high steppin’ into town/It’s a rainbow full of sound/It’s fireworks, calliopes and clowns) evoke an indisputable sense of Americana.
All Material Copyright 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 by Stewart Sallo