Grateful Dead Founding Member Bob Weir Dead at 78
Is Bob Weir the most beloved living US musician who is NOT a household name?
Bob Weir, Grateful Dead Co-Founder, Dead at 78
Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir has passed away aged 78
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(1947-10-16)October 16, 1947
San Francisco, California, U.S.
(1947-10-16)October 16, 1947
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Because of his connection to the Grateful Dead, probably at least 50,000,000 Americans view him as a legend and a direct link to the psychedelic era.
He’s at 5 or 6 generations of fans at this point.
But for the other 250,000,000+ Americans his name probably doesn’t even ring a bell.
It’s a really weird space to occupy, where the “cult” of Deadheads views his as the last man standing but the general public doesn’t know any of his work whatsoever.
He’s not like a Willie Nelson, where he’s acknowledged as a living folk hero and the general public knows his name even if they’ve never heard his music, but to a large large group of Americans he’s probably in their top 3 favorite living musicians.
I imagine if he’s in a small town, he goes unrecognized but if he’s out and about in a major metro, he has to deal with fan interactions.
If it’s not Bob, who else kind of fits in this spot? I’ve been thinking about it the last few days and I can’t think of anybody else in the same situation.