A reader notes: I’d like to think virtually no musician has lived a better life than Bob Weir. More than 60 years touring and doing what he loved. We should all strive for that much joy in our lives.

This rings completely true in the world of rock/blues music.

And in classical music, the situation is notable worse, as many of our heroes like Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin lived brief and/or disease-ridden lives.

There were exceptions, however.

Gioacchino Rossini (pictured), known mostly for his operas, loved fine food and drink and lived to be 76 years old.

Louie Moreau Gottschalk, the first American musical celebrity, who was, I’m told, as popular in the mid-19th Century as Elvis Presley was in the mid-20th, traveled the world, playing his intricate piano pieces, and “hanging out” (shall we say) with beautiful ladies.

On the Passing of Grateful Dead Co-founder Bob Weir