Grateful Dead founder and guitarist, Bob Weir, dies at 78

Bob Weir, the guitarist and founding member of Grateful Dead, has died aged 78. In a statement shared by his daughter Chloe Weir on Saturday, January 10, 2026, the family confirmed that the legendary musician “transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could,” before later succumbing to underlying lung issues.

“For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road,” the statement continued. “A guitarist, vocalist, storyteller, and founding member of the Grateful Dead. Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music.”

Bob co-founded the Grateful Dead in the early 1960s alongside Jerry Garcia after the pair met as teenagers in Palo Alto, California. The band would go on to become one of the most influential groups in rock history, celebrated for its improvisational live performances and its fiercely loyal fan base, known as Deadheads.

© Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The

According to his family, Bob’s impact extended far beyond the stage.

“His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul,” the statement read. “Building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them.”

Remarkably, Bob remained musically active well into his later years. His family revealed he was diagnosed with cancer in July and began treatment just weeks before returning to the stage for a three-night celebration marking 60 years of music at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

© Getty Images

“Those performances were not farewells,” the statement said. “They were gifts. Another act of resilience.”

Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the Grateful Dead, Bob continued performing long after the band’s original run ended following Garcia’s death in 1995, later leading multiple Dead-related projects, including Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros.

© FilmMagic

“There is no final curtain here,” the family concluded. “Only the sense of someone setting off again.”

Bob is survived by his wife, Natascha, and daughters Monet and Chloe. The family requested privacy while thanking fans for the “outpouring of love, support, and remembrance.”