The Song That Defined Bob Weir’s Role in the Grateful Dead

The instrumental theme of “Playing in the Band” consists of four notes, played in dueling harmony by the Grateful Dead’s two guitarists. Jerry Garcia, the ragtag band’s monkishly charismatic de facto leader, takes the twinkly top line; Bob Weir, the humble rhythm guitar man, supports him from below. The melody arcs inquisitively upward, then drifts down, then up once more, then finally tumbles to the bottom of the scale. But it never settles there. Thanks to the unusual rhythmic sense…