Mickey Hart Remembers Bob weir as a ‘True Original’
Mickey Hart eulogized bob Weir at a public memorial in San Francisco on Saturday, remembering his late Grateful Dead bandmate as a singular musician and cherished friend. John Mayer also delivered a eulogy and performed at the event.
Hart recalled first hearing Weir in 1967, describing the guitarist’s sound as instantly familiar. “That night, the theater was dark… It was consuming. I felt the vibrations creep up my spine and, suddenly, I was whole. I was home,” he said. He painted a picture of Weir as both a musical visionary and the band’s source of humor, recounting a story about sneaking into a zoo to record animal sounds.
“There was nothing like Bob Weir,” Hart noted. “He was singular.He was not a copy of anything that came before; he was a true original. It was never just a band. It was a family. We grew up together. We lived together and raised our kids alongside each other.”
Hart believes Weir’s legacy lives on through the devoted Dead Head community. “The music was a necessity and the connection to a community was its power base… The songs of our lives are yours now, and it’s up to all of us to keep the refrain building. Love is real, not fade away.”
Other speakers at the memorial included Joan baez, speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, and San Francisco Mayor Daniel lurie.A video tribute featured Willie Nelson, Sammy Hagar, Wynonna Judd, Warren Haynes, Phish’s Trey Anastasio, and bruce Hornsby.
