Phil Lesh, Grateful Dead bassist, RIP

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With the understanding the music of The Grateful Dead can be an acquired taste, Phil Lesh was a classically trained musician and wrote one of my favorite Dead songs, "Box of Rain". I was not a "dead-head" growing up, saw them a few times. However, the older I get the more I appreciate their music.

As usual, the NYT has the absolute best obituaries on persons of political and cultural influence:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/25/arts/music/phil-lesh-dead.html

" such a long, long time to be gone
and a short time to be there."
 
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With the understanding the music of The Grateful Dead can be an acquired taste, Phil Lesh was a classically trained musician and wrote one of my favorite Dead songs, "Box of Rain". I was not a "dead-head" growing up, saw them a few times. However, the older I get the more I appreciate their music.

As usual, the NYT has the absolute best obituaries on persons of political and cultural influence:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/25/arts/music/phil-lesh-dead.html

" ... such a long, long time to be gone and a short time to be there."
article is behind a paywall.
1730072948953.webp
 
The Dead never wanted to be better-than or compared-to; they were who they were. Phil Lesh played violin and trumpet. He was trained and played classical and jazz; he picked up the bass guitar when he started playing with Jerry Garcia in the Warlocks.

Lesh was known by so many local Bay Area musicians, professional and otherwise. I once saw him play in someone's back yard on the small redwood deck in Santa Cruz. Only a few people, 8-10, in the back yard watching. Just a little birthday party pick-up music. Easy going as could be.

A life well lived.
 
We are seeing these guys leaving us often - and it gives rise to what it took to become famous long before internet “influencers” could.
Can’t imagine show after show and practice after practice and studio after studio being easy. Oh wait, it’s not …
RIP …
 
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