Phil Lesh
Net Worth 2024, Height, Wiki, Age, Bio

Early life and education - Lesh was born in Berkeley, California, and started out as a violin player.
While enrolled at Berkeley High School, he switched to trumpet and participated in all of the school's music-related extracurricular activities,  developing a keen interest in avant-garde classical music and free jazz.
After attending San Francisco State University for a semester, Lesh was unable to secure a favorable position in the school's band or orchestra and dropped out.
He then successfully auditioned for the renowned Sixth Army Band (then stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco), but was ultimately determined to be unfit for military service.
Shortly thereafter, he enrolled at the College of San Mateo, where he wrote charts for the community college's well-regarded big band and ascended to the first trumpet chair, dropping out again after less than a semester.
In the spring of 1962 , he studied under the Italian modernist Luciano Berio in a graduate-level course at Mills College.

First jobs - Post Office Department employee and keno marker in Las Vegas,  Post Office employee in San Francisco.

Debut as bassist - Lesh was talked into becoming the bassist for Garcia's new rock group (then known as The Warlocks) in the fall of 1964.
This was a peculiar turn of events, as Lesh had never played bass before. 
He joined them for their third or fourth gig (memories vary) and stayed until the end.
Since Lesh had never played bass, it meant that to a great extent he learned "on the job", yet it also meant he had no preconceived attitudes about the instrument's traditional rhythm section role.

Legacy - Lesh was an innovator in the new role that the electric bass developed during the mid-1960s.

Career - Lesh is a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career.
Lesh's high tenor voice contributed to the Grateful Dead's three-part harmony sections in their group vocals in the early days of the band.
In 1985, he resumed singing lead vocals on select songs as a baritone.
After the band's disbanding in 1995, Lesh continued the tradition of Grateful Dead family music with side project Phil Lesh and Friends, which paid homage to the Dead's music by playing their originals, common covers, and the songs of the members of his band.
Lesh operates a music venue called Terrapin Crossroads.
He scaled back his touring regimen in 2014 but continues to perform with Phil Lesh & Friends at select venues.
From 2009 to 2014, he performed in Furthur alongside former Grateful Dead bandmate Bob Weir.
He also performs select show at venues throughout the United States, notably the Capitol Theatre, as well as at festivals.

Honors - In 1994, he was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead.

Trivia -  He's Courtney Love's godfather.

Health - In October 2015 Lesh announced that he had bladder cancer surgery.
In August 2019 Lesh announced that he had to undergo back surgery, in which he and his band had to cancel upcoming engagements.
He is expected to make a full recovery.

Social media stats as of August 2020:

• 200.5K followers on Facebook

• 6.2K followers on Twitter

• 5.8K followers on Instagram

• 1.52K subscribers on YouTube

• 13.1K monthly listeners on Spotify