“When Jerry left, that was the end of the Grateful Dead. Period. There’s just no way that you can replace Jerry Garcia”: The Grateful Dead on Jerry Garcia’s lasting impact on their legacy – and how they felt the band couldn’t go on without him

View of, from left, American Rock musicians Jerry Garcia (1942 - 1995) and Bob Weir, both on guitar, and Phil Lesh, on bass guitar, all of the group Grateful Dead, as they perform onstage at Nassau Coliseum (later Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum), Uniondale, New York, November 1, 1979.

The late Jerry Garcia played a key role in cementing the Grateful Dead’s legacy as the behemoth it is today, serving as the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist. His influence was so profound that the rest of the band doubted whether the group could continue without him after his passing in 1995.

“I didn’t think it would [go on], because when Jerry left, that was the end of the Grateful Dead. Period,” drummer Bill Kreutzmann tells CBS Mornings. “There’s just no way that you can replace Jerry Garcia.