Phil Lesh, bassist in the band Grateful Dead, has passed away, writes Rolling Stone. He was one of the original members of the group and was recruited by guitarist Jerry Garcia as early as 1964. At that time, the band was still called The Warlocks.
Phil Lesh was born in Berkeley, California in 1940. He played the trumpet and violin during his upbringing, but quickly learned to play the bass to complement the others in the band. He regarded and handled the bass as a solo instrument and often played with a plectrum. Lesh believed that The Grateful Dead played "electronic church music" and often pushed for more improvisation and experimentation during recordings.
In 1995, Jerry Garcia passed away and the band was officially dissolved. In 2015, the band celebrated its 50th anniversary with a farewell tour, and the same year, Phil Lesh announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. However, his relatives have not publicly disclosed the cause of death. The family writes in a statement that he was highly loved and a person who spread joy around him.
Phil Lesh was 84 years old.
