Rockers of all stripes paid tribute to the Grateful Dead cofounder Bob Weir, who died on Saturday at age 78 following a bout with cancer.
Weir received his diagnosis in July, just weeks before playing his final concert at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park as the last of three Grateful Dead 60th anniversary shows.
“There is no final curtain here, not really. Only the sense of someone setting off again,” read a statement on Weir’s social media accounts. “He often spoke of a three-hundred-year legacy, determined to ensure the songbook would endure long after him. May that dream live on through future generations of Dead Heads. And so we send him off the way he sent so many of us on our way: with a farewell that isn’t an ending, but a blessing. A reward for a life worth livin’.”
READ MORE: Top 10 Grateful Dead Songs
How Did Other Musicians Pay Tribute to Bob Weir?
“Sad to hear that my friend Bobby has passed on,” Phish guitarist and vocalist Trey Anastasio wrote in a lengthy social media statement. “This one really hurts. I really loved him. He was a sweet, kind, gentle friend, and I never believed this would happen so soon. … Thank you for all the gifts you brought into the world, and for all the love you gave to so many of us. Your spirit lives on forever.”
Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens reflected on Weir’s seismic impact on rock music and the void left in his absence.
“Losing Bob Weir is another reminder that all of the founders of the electric rock generation are leaving us. Once they are all gone, it’s the end of the guys and girls that fought the good fight,” he wrote. “Stood for something other than the almighty dollar. Stood up against war, against racism, against greed. The Dead drummer [Mickey] Hart lived above me briefly as a kid. We reconnected in the late ’70s and I sat onstage at MSG. There are no fans like Grateful Dead fans. I dedicate this post to not only Bob but you Deadheads out there. Bless you for loving the music.”
You can see these tributes and many more — from rockers such as Don Felder and John Fogerty, to Gov. Gavin Newsom and even the Empire State Building — below.
See Rockers’ Tributes to Bob Weir
See our full Grateful Dead albums ranking below:
Grateful Dead Albums Ranked
Even the band’s most ardent supporters admit that making LPs wasn’t one of their strengths.
Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
