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 20 - May 11, 1977
If ever I return
With all of the attention given to the Boston/Ithaca/Buffalo trilogy of shows, it’s easy to overlook some of the other gems of the Spring ’77 tour. During the week of May 11, Deadheads were treated to 5 wonderful shows by “Uncle John’s Band,” playing by the riversides (or lake, as the case may be) in the Midwest cities of St. Paul, Chicago and St. Louis, before heading south to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. While every show this week was first-rate, the May 11 show in St. Paul shines above the rest in T.W.I.G.D.H. (This Week In Grateful Dead History).
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 45 – November 7, 1987
Maybe you’ll find direction
Flying surprisingly under the radar, the Grateful Dead released a wonderful video in ’87, called So Far. In addition to the exceptional sound quality, what is so unique about this film is the way in which realtime onstage recordings, sans audience, are interwoven with actual concert footage, in seamless transitions that are goosebump inducing at the pivotal moments. Given that the Dead’s identity was far more connected to the live concert experience than the traditional studio recording model, it is fitting that the band employed this technique of simulating a live experience, while maintaining the kind of quality control that is possible only in a studio setting.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 46 – November 11, 1973
How does the song go?
One of the most unique aspects of the Grateful Dead experience is the existence and ready availability of thousands upon thousands of recordings of concerts, studio sessions and other archival material. The band’s willingness – whether intentional or accidental – to allow their fans to freely record and share what virtually any other band would protect as copyrighted music, was either the luckiest or the most brilliant marketing strategy in the history of modern music. What the Dead may have lost in revenue from the sale of live concert material was easily eclipsed by the increase in ticket sales resulting from turning their devotees into promotional agents, replete with product samples that were self-produced and widely disseminated.
All Material Copyright 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 by Stewart Sallo