Like many fans of the Grateful Dead, I mourn the loss of Bob Weir (“Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir dies at 78,” Jan. 10). I do not need to offer additional praise about Bob as an integral part of the Grateful Dead. However, what I have been thinking about is the role that Bob played after Jerry Garcia died (along with the surviving members of the band) to further the influence and continuation of the music of the Grateful Dead.
Yes, Grateful Dead music would have continued to be played. But Bob and others continued to tour and bring the Grateful Dead experience to millions of old and new fans. Without that additional 30 years of being on the road, I believe the the role of the Grateful Dead in American music would have diminished. It did not.
Thanks, Bob, for all you did to help keep the Grateful Dead alive and relevant. You will be missed. But as last year’s live album tracing 25 years of concerts reminded us, “The Music Never Stopped.”
— Jack Andryszak, Annapolis
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