John Perry Barlow, long serving lyricist for The Grateful Dead and pioneer of Internet freedoms, has passed away at the age of 70.
It’s hard to think of a band whose name and influence is as synonymous with rock music, free love, and the rise of the counter-culture than The Grateful Dead. With the band’s music amassing an almost cult-like following, The Grateful Dead’s albums still sell like hotcakes, and their lyrics are frequently found quoted among the best of all time, and for that last point, you can thank John Perry Barlow.
Having joined The Grateful Dead in 1971, Barlow was, along with Robert Hunter, one of the few non-musical members of the band, becoming known for his ability to weave together words in such a way that they would become ubiquitous with the rock stylings of a band such as The Grateful Dead.
John Perry Barlow would remain with the group until its demise until 1995, at which point he shifted his focus over to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the non-profit digital rights group he co-founded in 1990 to help promote Internet civil liberties.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation shared a statement on its website earlier today stating that Barlow had passed away in his sleep on Wednesday.
“It is no exaggeration to say that major parts of the Internet we all know and love today exist and thrive because of Barlow’s vision and leadership,” the EFF said of John Perry Barlow’s non-musical legacy. “He always saw the Internet as a fundamental place of freedom, where voices long silenced can find an audience and people can connect with others regardless of physical distance.”
As Pitchfork reports, new of Barlow’s passing comes almost three years after he previously suffered a heart-attack which left him clinically dead for eight minutes.
Check out John Perry Barlow’s work on The Grateful Dead’s ‘Cassidy’:
