Grateful Dead founder Phil Lesh has died at the age of 84

Phil Lesh, the founder of the Grateful Dead, died Friday morning at the age of 84.

According to an Instagram post, the bassist “passed away peacefully” surrounded by family.

“Phil brought immense joy to everyone around him and leaves behind a legacy of music and love,” the post said. “We ask that you respect the privacy of the Lesh family at this time.”

The statement did not mention a specific cause of death. Lesh had bouts with prostate cancer and bladder cancer, according to The Associated Press, and underwent a liver transplant in 1998 that was necessary due to the debilitating effects of a hepatitis C infection and years of heavy drinking.

The band disbanded after 30 years, with Lesh leading a new jazz band called Phil and Friends, which often played shows in the Bay Area in the years before his death.

Lesh is survived by his wife Jill and their two sons, Grahame and Brian.

According to the Associated Press:

Although never a prolific songwriter, Lesh also composed music for, and sometimes sang, some of the band’s most beloved songs. Among them were the upbeat country rocker “Pride of Cucamonga,” the jazz-influenced “Unbroken Chain” and the ethereally beautiful “Box of Rain.”

Lesh composed the latter on guitar as a gift for his dying father, and he recalled that when Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter heard the instrumental recording, he approached him the next day with a lyric sheet. That sheet, he said, contained “some of the most moving and heartfelt lyrics I have ever had the pleasure of singing.”

The band often closed its concerts with the song.