Phil Lesh originally played the trumpet and the violin. He learned to play the bass when he joined the Grateful Dead (then the Warlocks) in 1964. Jerry Garcia taught him how to play the instrument during one long lesson.
Lesh's musical background in jazz and classical music influenced his bass playing. He also co-wrote several Grateful Dead songs, including "Truckin'," "Unbroken Chain" and "Box of Rain."
He wrote "Box of Rain" for his dying father. You can watch Lesh and the Grateful Dead perform "Box of Rain" on July 7, 1989, in Philadelphia, by going here.
The photo in this episode's thumbnail shows Lesh performing in 2008. It's attributed to Tony, CC BY 2.0 and is available on Wikimedia Commons.

This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written and recorded in honor of the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.
Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email [email protected] with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.