Bill Walton Remembered by Grateful Dead as 'Biggest Dead Head Ever'

Members of the Grateful Dead have honored Bill Walton, the basketball legend and noted Deadhead who died Monday (May 27) from cancer at the age of 71.

"Bill was an irreplaceable force and spirit in our family. Father Time, Rhythm Devil, biggest deadhead ever. Over 1,000 shows and couldn't get enough. He loved this band and we loved him," reads a message posted by the band's latest incarnation, Dead & Company, on Instagram, along with a photo carousel of Walton attending Dead shows over the years, including some dressed up as Father Time.

Dead veterans Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann also posted their own individual statements. "Yo Bill, thanks for the ride," wrote Weir, who posted photos with the NBA Hall of Famer. "Thanks for the wonderful friendship, the years of color commentary - and the Hall of Fame existence that you wore like headlights."

Hart got more personal, saying, "Bill was my best friend, the best friend I ever had. He was an amazing person, singular, irreplaceable, giving, loving. His love for our music was beyond description. He called himself the luckiest man in the world but it was us who were lucky-to know him, to share the adventure with him. He was the biggest Deadhead in the world and used our music as the soundtrack to his life. After our shows, he would regularly send messages that said, 'thank you for my life.' Over 1000 shows, he just couldn't get enough. Bill had an incredible passion for drums. After any meal at his house, we would play. There was nothing like a Bill Walton... nothing. There are things you can replace. And others you cannot. Bon voyage, old friend, I love you."

Meanwhile, Kreutzmann shared "incredible stories about" Walton "that I promised him I would only tell after he passed away." "Sure, Bill Walton was an NBA legend. But in the Grateful Dead orbit, he was just a fan - and that made him a legend here, too. In many ways, he was our number one fan... but Bill would've taken issue with that ranking because, while he won many awards in his storied basketball career - including MVP - Bill insisted that the Grateful Dead was not a competition - and that all Deadheads were equal," he wrote.

"By that same notion, as I flash through decades of adventures with him, there isn't one favorite memory. They all shine through. And they're all important, because they all brought us both real happiness. And that's special. That's friendship," he added. "Bill was a genuine fan that became a genuine friend and someone I always looked up to. But his towering presence was more than just literal. Whenever I play, there will now always be a hole where a seat should be, about ten rows back, center, where Bill used to stand, eyes closed, arms raised, while he felt the music running through him. That was a happy place for him and seeing him out there was one of mine. We never did have a hard time finding him in the crowd," he continued.

"Similarly, when he walked into a room, you knew it - but it wasn't because of his size. It was because of that laugh of his that broadcasted joy, and it was his easygoing smile that beamed sunshine across any space he ever entered," Kreutzmann added. "So, yeah, losing Bill is an irreplaceable loss and, in simple terms, I am heartbroken. When somebody means that much to you, when their friendship is that important - that's called love. I loved Bill Walton. As we say in the land of the Dead: May the four winds blow him safely home."

Tags

Grateful Dead, Dead & Company, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann