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 50 – December 7, 1971
We used to play for silver
The term, “Golden Age,” has been used liberally throughout history to describe certain idyllic periods of outstanding human achievement. Originating in Greek Mythology, particularly in the writings of Hesiod and Homer in the 7th and 8th centuries, B.C.E., this label has resurfaced numerous times when a specific art, skill or activity was considered to be at its peak.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 11 - March 9-10, 1981
A little bit further than you gone before
The 1968 Otis Redding tune, Hard To Handle, famously covered by the Grateful Dead in the late ’60s and early ’70s (and twice in 1981 with Etta James on lead vocals), featured the lyric, “Actions speak louder than words.” This contention is supported by researchers and scholars, dating back to Charles Darwin’s 1872 work of evolutionary theory, “The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals,” in 1872. In the present tense, conventional wisdom suggests that NVC (Non-Verbal Communication) accounts for as much as 70-percent of human communication.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 40 – September 28, 1975
Sometimes the cards ain’t worth a dime
Among the numerous motifs found in the lyrics of Grateful Dead tunes, there is none more omnipresent than the metaphoric theme of gambling. References to games of chance – particularly card games – are sprinkled liberally throughout a seemingly endless list of tunes: Loser (“If I had a gun for every ace I have drawn…”), Deal (“Watch each card you play and play it slow…”), Candyman (“Come on boys and gamble; roll those laughing bones…”), Me and My Uncle (“You know my uncle; he starts a friendly game…”), Dire Wolf (“The wolf came in, I got my cards, we sat down for a game…”), and Scarlet Begonias (“In the heat of the evening when the dealing got rough; she was too pat to open and too cool to bluff…”) are examples that come immediately to mind. And there are also similar references In China Cat Sunflower, Doin’ That Rag, Mississippi Half Step, Ramble On Rose, Stagger Lee, Stella Blue, and Tennessee Jed.
All Material Copyright 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 by Stewart Sallo