Weir still a King(fish) in the music industry (Created March 27, 2013)

Bob Weir's place in rock history is firmly cemented in stone. The singer, songwriter, guitarist and founding member of the Grateful Dead has been making music for a half-century. He is not just a living legend, but heralded for his rhythm guitar expression, of which there is no equal.

Weir was born in San Francisco in 1947. By the time he was 13, he had played the piano and trumpet and would finally pick up his first guitar. He never put it down. A year later, Weir was a fixture at a local music store and later took over teaching Jerry Garcia's guitar students. When Garcia himself was talked into starting a band, Weir was his ace in the hole and the only logical choice for rhythm guitar.

Few people know – outside of hardcore Grateful Dead fans – that the band actually started as the Warlocks. By the time they adopted the moniker that would eventually make them the most famous rock & roll band in history, Weir was on his way to penning some of the group's most memorable songs. His first, "The Other One," was simply enduring. Then came "Born Crosseyed," "Truckin," "Sugar Magolia," "Playing in the Band," "Cassidy," and "Mexicali Blues."

It was 1974 before Weir joined up with a band that was not the Grateful Dead. He worked instead with an outfit called Kingfish, and eventually went on to a number of other 'side effort' gigs. These included a solo project called "Heaven Help the Fool," a traveling tour of Bobby and the Midnites (featuring Weir and a number of session players), a duo with Rob Wasserman, and eventually, a band called RatDog.

In his long and illustrious career, there hasn't been anything Weir hasn't tried. And even now, many decades later, the ride continues.