Reserve your copy of the latest addition to the library of baseball literature.
by Stew Sallo, author of “The Deadhead Cyclist.”
Life lessons on two wheels to the tunes of the
Grateful Dead
Robert Hall Weir, né Parber,
October 16, 1947 – January 10, 2026
Let the words be yours, I’m done with mine.
I first saw Bob Weir on October 19, 1974 with the Grateful Dead at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. I last saw Bob Weir on June 14, 2024 as a member of Dead & Company at The Sphere in Las Vegas. Over the course of almost 50 years, it was my privilege to see Bobby perform countless times as a member of the Grateful Dead, Kingfish, Ratdog, the Other Ones, The Dead, Furthur, Dead & Company, the Weir Robinson & Greene Acoustic Trio, and probably others that I have failed to remember.
Other Posts
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 40 – September 28, 1975
Sometimes the cards ain’t worth a dime
Among the numerous motifs found in the lyrics of Grateful Dead tunes, there is none more omnipresent than the metaphoric theme of gambling. References to games of chance – particularly card games – are sprinkled liberally throughout a seemingly endless list of tunes: Loser (“If I had a gun for every ace I have drawn…”), Deal (“Watch each card you play and play it slow…”), Candyman (“Come on boys and gamble; roll those laughing bones…”), Me and My Uncle (“You know my uncle; he starts a friendly game…”), Dire Wolf (“The wolf came in, I got my cards, we sat down for a game…”), and Scarlet Begonias (“In the heat of the evening when the dealing got rough; she was too pat to open and too cool to bluff…”) are examples that come immediately to mind. And there are also similar references In China Cat Sunflower, Doin’ That Rag, Mississippi Half Step, Ramble On Rose, Stagger Lee, Stella Blue, and Tennessee Jed.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 19 - May 8, 1977
Take a step back
Accepting the premise that Spring ’77 was the apex of the Grateful Dead’s history, which one of the 30 shows the band performed during that period was the climax of the tour? The third week of the tour – which included stops in Boston, Ithaca, Buffalo, St. Paul, and Chicago – may provide the answer, although choosing any one of these shows as the Dead’s best show of all time may be as futile an endeavor as trying to choose the most beautiful national park, the best full-suspension mountain bike, or the greatest athlete ever.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 28 - July 8, 1978
Sometimes we live
When a band has played more than 2300 shows, it’s hard to imagine that any one of them would achieve legendary status. But there are certain Grateful Dead concerts that firmly fit into that category. For starters there’s little disagreement that 5/8/77 at Cornell University’s Barton Hall would be on such a list; the 12/31/78 Closing of Winterland comes to mind; 2/27/69 at the Fillmore West – from which the epic, Side 1-long Dark Star on the Live Dead album was derived – would have to be included; the Great American Music Hall show on 8/13/75 is an obvious choice; 5/26/72 at London’s Lyceum Theater, the final date of the Europe ’72 tour, has been immortalized on the album of the same name; and more recently, the 12/15/86 show at the Oakland Coliseum arena – the Dead’s first performance in more than 5 months after Jerry Garcia collapsed in a diabetic coma on July 10 of that year and almost died – easily deserves such distinction.
All Material Copyright 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 by Stewart Sallo