Truckin’ (Phil Lesh b. 15-Mar-40 d. 25-Oct-24)

The music never stopped for Phil Lesh until now. The legendary Grateful Dead bassist, who danced his notes through the band’s sonic tapestry for over three decades, has died at 84. While most bassists stayed in the background, Lesh turned his instrument into a leading voice, weaving between Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir’s guitars like a melodic conversation. His classical and jazz roots birthed a style all his own, heard in the haunting “Box of Rain” where his voice carried one of the Dead’s most profound meditations on existence, and in that instantly recognizable bass riff that launched “Touch of Grey” to become the band’s only Top 40 hit. Even after the Dead’s official end, Lesh kept the music playing until his final days, proving that like the best of the Dead’s songs, some jams really do go on forever.