Robert C. Hunter June 23, 1941 – September 23, 2019

Robert C. Hunter (June 23, 1941 – September 23, 2019) was an American lyricist, singer-songwriter, translator, and poet, best known for his work with the Grateful Dead.n a 1973 Rolling Stone profile of the Grateful Dead, An early friend of Jerry Garcia, they played together in bluegrass bands (such as the Tub Thumpers) in the early sixties, with Hunter on mandolin and upright bass.
The first lyrics he wrote for the Grateful Dead were composed while on LSD, and mailed to the band from Arizona: a suite that would later become “China Cat Sunflower”/”The Eleven” (these were performed together for a short time). “China Cat Sunflower” would later find a partner in “I Know You Rider”. he joined the Grateful Dead 1967,