Bob Weir facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bob Weir
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Weir performing in 2009
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| Birth name | Robert Hall Parber |
| Born | October 16, 1947 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1963–present |
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Robert Hall Weir (pronounced WEER; born October 16, 1947) is an American musician. He is a singer and songwriter. Bob Weir is best known as a founding member of the famous band Grateful Dead.
After the Grateful Dead stopped performing in 1995, Weir played with other bands. These included the Other Ones and later the Dead. He also started and played in other groups. Some of these were Kingfish, Bobby and the Midnites, and RatDog. He also co-led Furthur with Phil Lesh. In 2015, Weir joined with other former Grateful Dead members. They formed a new band called Dead & Company.
With the Grateful Dead, Weir mostly played rhythm guitar. He sang many of the band's rock and country songs. In 1994, he was honored in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This was for his work with the Grateful Dead.
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Early Life and Music Beginnings
Weir was born in San Francisco, California. He was adopted and grew up in Atherton. He started playing guitar when he was thirteen. Before that, he tried the piano and trumpet. Bob had trouble in school because of dyslexia. He was expelled from many schools he attended. At one school, he met John Perry Barlow, who later wrote songs for the Grateful Dead.
How the Grateful Dead Started
On New Year's Eve in 1963, 16-year-old Weir was looking for a music club. He heard banjo music coming from a music store. Inside, he met 21-year-old Jerry Garcia. They spent the night playing music together. They decided to form a band. The Beatles greatly influenced their music. Bob Weir said, "The Beatles were why we turned from a jug band into a rock 'n' roll band." Their first band name was Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions. Later, they became The Warlocks. Finally, they were known as the Grateful Dead.
Bob Weir's Music Career
Weir played rhythm guitar and sang many songs for the Grateful Dead. He was with the band for all 30 years. Early in the band's history, there were some disagreements. But Weir's guitar playing grew stronger over time. Phil Lesh, another band member, said Weir's playing was "quirky, whimsical and goofy." He noted Weir's special way of playing guitar chords.
In the late 1970s, Weir started using slide guitar techniques. His unique guitar style was influenced by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner. He also learned from artists like John Coltrane and Igor Stravinsky.
Solo Work and Other Bands
Weir's first solo album, Ace, came out in 1972. The Grateful Dead members played on the album, but they were credited individually. One famous song from this album is "Playing in the Band."
While still with the Grateful Dead, Weir also played in other bands. In 1975 and 1976, he was in Kingfish. In 1978, he led the Bob Weir Band. In 1980, he formed Bobby and the Midnites.
Just before Jerry Garcia passed away in 1995, Weir started a new band called RatDog Revue. It was later shortened to RatDog. With RatDog, Weir plays songs by artists like The Beatles and Bob Dylan. He also performs many Grateful Dead songs and RatDog's own original music.
Weir has been part of many Grateful Dead reunions. These included performances as the Other Ones and The Dead. In 2009, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh formed a new band called Furthur. This name honored Ken Kesey's famous bus.
In 2011, Weir started the Tamalpais Research Institute, or TRI Studios. This is a high-tech recording studio. It streams live concerts over the internet in high quality.
In 2015, Weir joined other original Grateful Dead members for special shows. These were called "Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of Grateful Dead." They played in California and Chicago. These concerts were planned as the last time the original four members would play together.
In late 2015, Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann formed Dead & Company. They were joined by John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, and Jeff Chimenti. Dead & Company finished their final tour in July 2023. In January 2024, the band announced a series of shows at Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. These shows began in May 2024 and were extended through August 2024.
In 2016, Weir received the first Les Paul Spirit Award. This award honored his talent and innovation in music. In September 2016, Weir released a new album called Blue Mountain. The album was inspired by his time working on a ranch when he was fifteen.
In 2018, Weir formed a band called Wolf Bros. The group started as a trio with Weir, Don Was, and Jay Lane. They have toured the U.S. and added more musicians. This larger group is now known as Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. They sometimes perform with a horn and string section called the Wolfpack.
In 2022, Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros started performing with symphony orchestras. They played with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. In 2023, they performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In October 2023, they played with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra. In fall 2024, they performed with orchestras in Cincinnati, Chicago, and New Orleans. A show with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra in London is planned for June 2025.
In January 2025, Weir returned to host the second Dead Ahead Festival in Mexico. He also performed there. In January 2025, Weir, Mickey Hart, and other Grateful Dead family members received MusiCares Persons of the Year awards. This was for their charity work.
Personal Life
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On July 15, 1999, Weir married Natascha Münter. They have two daughters, Shala Monet Weir and Chloe Kaelia Weir. Bob Weir's sister-in-law is Leilani Münter, a former race car driver. Weir is a vegetarian and supports animal rights. He helped start Farm Sanctuary.
Weir is on the board of directors for several foundations. These include the Rex Foundation and HeadCount. He is also on the advisory board of the Jerry Garcia Foundation. He is an honorary board member of the environmental group Rainforest Action Network. He also supports Little Kids Rock, which gives free musical instruments to children.
Guitars
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Bob Weir has played many different guitars throughout his career. When he first started, he used a Gretsch Duo-Jet. Later, he played a Rickenbacker 365 and a Guild Starfire IV. For about ten years, his main guitar was a cherry red 1965 Gibson ES-335.
In 1974, Weir started working with Ibanez to create custom guitars. He played the Ibanez 2681 and his custom "Cowboy Fancy" guitar. Later, he used a Modulus Blackknife. For acoustic guitars, he has used Martins, a Guild, and Alvarez-Yairi models.
With his bands after the Grateful Dead, Weir has played a Modulus G3FH custom and a Gibson ES-335. He also plays a 1956 Fender Telecaster. Since 2017, Weir has worked with D'Angelico Guitars. They have created several signature guitar models together.
Discography
Grateful Dead and related bands
- Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions – Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions (1999)
- The Strange Remain – The Other Ones (1999)
- Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead – Fare Thee Well (2015)
Solo albums
- Ace (1972)
- Heaven Help the Fool (1978)
- Weir Here – The Best of Bob Weir (2004) – compilation
- Blue Mountain (2016)
Kingfish
- Kingfish (1976)
- Live 'n' Kickin' (1977)
- Kingfish in Concert: King Biscuit Flower Hour (1996)
Bobby and the Midnites
- Bobby and the Midnites (1981)
- Where the Beat Meets the Street (1984)
Bob Weir and Rob Wasserman
- Live (1998)
- Fall 1989: The Long Island Sound (2013) – also Jerry Garcia Band
RatDog
- Evening Moods (2000)
- Live at Roseland (2001)
Wolf Bros
- Live in Colorado (2022)
- Live in Colorado Vol. 2 (2022)
With other artists
- Gathering – Josh Ritter (2017)
- Bear's Sonic Journals: Dawn of the New Riders of the Purple Sage – New Riders of the Purple Sage (2020)
- Bear's Sonic Journals: Sing Out! – various artists (2024)
Videos
- Move Me Brightly (2013)
- The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir (2015)
See also
In Spanish: Bob Weir para niños
