In Memoriam pays tribute to those who have left this world, and the songs they left us to remember them by.
If there was a lifetime achievement award for cover songs, Bob Weir would certainly be a recipient.
Weir, who passed away on January 10 at the age of 78, had a career that spanned more than 60 years. As a member of the Grateful Dead, its various spinoffs (Furthur, the Dead, Dead and Company), as well as numerous solo projects and collaborations, Weir played and sang on countless cover songs. Since a majority of his live performances were recorded or preserved in some way, he left behind an immense body of material that spans his entire career.
To pay tribute to Weir, I decided to explore the history of one particular cover, his version of Little Feat’s “Easy to Slip.” While not a “hit” in the traditional sense, the song was a regular part of his solo concerts from 1978 through 2025. Looking at this 40-plus year evolution of this cover provides a window into the many remarkable chapters of Weir’s musical life beyond the Grateful Dead.
Heaven Help the Fool
“Easy to Slip” first appeared on Weir’s 1978 solo record, Heaven Help the Fool. Like many Dead records, the album failed to make any sort of commercial breakthrough. Unlike most of the Dead’s catalogue, it’s tricky to find, as it does not appear on any major streaming platforms like Spotify or Apple Music.
The terms “slick” and “overproduced” are often used by Dead historians to describe the album. But “Yacht Rock” is perhaps a better label. Many musicians associated with the genre played on the record, including Mike Porcaro of Toto, Bill Champlin (who later joined Chicago), and David Foster, a pianist who became one of the biggest pop producers of the ‘80s. The album opens with the poppy track “Bombs Away,” which has a jazzy, synth-powered feel that would have been at home on any Steely Dan or Doobie Brothers album from the era.
“Easy to Slip” is the second track . Written by Lowell George and Fred Martin, the song was first recorded by Little Feat on their 1972 album Sailin’ Shoes.
Weir’s version is a three-minute, radio-friendly recording. It shifts from sparsely arranged soft-rock sections to choruses with bombastic drumming and loud backing vocals. Weir comes across as very comfortable singing this type of arrangement as he easily hits the high notes. He would continue to perform “Easy to Slip” for the rest of his career. The whimsical lyrics fit in well with the nature of his existential cowboy repertoire.
It’s so easy to slip/It’s so easy to fall/And let your memory drift/ And do nothin’ at all/All the love that you missed/All the people that you can’t recall/ Do they really exist at all?
Bobby and the Midnites
Bobby and the Midnites were a quasi-supergroup that Weir fronted from 1980 to 1984. The group featured jazz luminaries Billy Cobham on drums and Alphonso Johnson on bass. Watching the videos available online, it’s clear their live shows were electrifying. During this performance from 1983, the band delivers a tightly-wound extended version of “Easy to Slip.” Guitarist Bobby Cochran plays an extensive guitar solo, rather than just fading out, the band comes back perfectly into the vocals at the end.
Weir and Wasserman
In the late ‘80s, the Grateful Dead emerged as one of the biggest bands in the country, routinely selling out football stadiums. During this time, Weir performed in a duo alongside bassist Rob Wasserman, a collaboration that continued well into the 2000s. “Easy to Slip” appeared often in their setlists and earned a spot on two live albums, Live (1988) and Fall 1989: The Long Island Sound (2013). This version from the latter features a stripped-down rendition of the track with just acoustic guitar and bass.
RatDog
RatDog grew out of the Weir and Wasserman project as they added more musicians. The band became Weir’s main musical project after Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995 and performed with various lineups until 2014. “Easy to Slip” was a regular part of their live shows. In this take from 2013, the band blends the song into a jam that includes the Dead’s “Dark Star” and the Beatles’ “Dear Prudence.”
Wolf Bros
Weir’s late-career renaissance began with the “Fare Thee Well” concert series in 2015. At the time, the shows were billed as the final appearance of the “core four” of Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann. However, it ended up being the start of a new beginning. Shortly after, Weir announced the formation of Dead & Company featuring John Mayer on guitar. Weir was suddenly playing in stadiums again. At the same time, Weir teamed up with bassist Don Was and longtime drummer Jay Lane to form Wolf Bros, which began playing live in 2018. Weir later expanded the lineup and even teamed up with a few orchestras. As the Wolf Bros sound got bigger, “Easy to Slip” became more and more stripped down as Weir would often play it as a solo, acoustic song.
“Easy to Slip” Final Performance
At his final performance of the song on January 3, 2025 (the Wolf Bros’ second-to-last show), Weir played it on the electric guitar, backed by Lane and Was.
Dark Star Orchestra
Although “Easy to Slip” was one of Weir’s concert standards, the Grateful Dead never played it live. That has not stopped Grateful Dead tribute bands from performing the song. Most notably among these is the Dark Star Orchestra. As of this writing, the group has played the song live 15 times. Oddly enough, they tend to play it more like a Dead song, with two drummers and Garcia-style lead guitar. There are many renditions available online, listen to a recent one here.
Near the end of his life Weir frequently stated that he hoped the Dead’s music would endure for at least 300 years. If that is indeed the case, it will be interesting to see how “Easy to Slip” lives on as part of this tradition, too.
RIP, Bobby.
