It is descended from Old Englishwé, which was pronounced something like way in modern English. It is related to Germanwir, Dutchwij, Frisianwy, and Danishvi.
... made the stylistic switch from folk music to rock music, with Jerry Garcia, Ron Pigpen McKernan and Bob Weir[?] from the Jug Champions joined by Bill Kreutzmann[?] and Phil ...