One of the first rock bassists whose instrument regularly took a lead role, he also had a hand in writing some of the band’s best-known songs.

Phil Lesh, the prolific bass player and co-founder of the legendary rock band the Grateful Dead, has died at 84. Lesh's death was announced Friday in a post on his official Instagram page, which read,

Phil Lesh, a founding member of the Grateful Dead whose electric bass playing came to define the psychedelic San Francisco sound, died Oct. 25.

Phil Lesh, a founding member of the Grateful Dead whose bass lines powered the band’s songs over three decades and contributed to hits such as “Box of Rain,” died Oct. 25 at age 84. The death was announced in a statement posted to his official Instagram page.

- Phil Lesh, of The Grateful Dead, performs during a reunion concert in East Troy, Wis. on Aug. 3, 2002. Lesh, a founding member of the Grateful Dead, died Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at age 84. (AP Photo/Morry Gash,

Phil Lesh, the innovative and unconventional bassist and founding member of the seminal American rock band The Grateful Dead, died Friday. He was 84.

"Phil Lesh, bassist and founding member of The Grateful Dead, passed peacefully this morning. He was surrounded by his family and full of love. Phil brought immense joy to everyon

Bassist Phil Lesh, whose dense, inventive playing powered the Grateful Dead and, following the 1995 death of guitarist Jerry Garcia, many of the San Francisco band’s touring reincarnations, died Friday.