Grateful Dead Performs ‘Big Boss Man’ In 1990
By Scott Bernstein Sep 19, 2019 • 8:25 am PDT
The Grateful Dead’s performance of “Big Boss Man” from June 16, 1990 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California is this week’s installment of the band’s All The Years Live video series. Jerry Garcia leads the Dead through the song first recorded by Jimmy Reed that was frequently played during the Pigpen-era.
“A staple of the Pigpen-era Grateful Dead, ‘Big Boss Man’ departed the repertoire when Pigpen departed the stage in 1972,” noted GD archivist David Lemieux. “Although it returned in 1981 for 15 performances over the next 15 years, it was sadly never incorporated into the setlist on a full time basis. This penultimate version features a gnarly lead vocal by Jerry.”
The band’s June 16, 1990 concert at Shoreline is featured on the 2002 video release, View From The Vault, Volume Three. Watch the Grateful Dead’s take on “Big Boss Man” from middle night of a three-show stand in Mountain View below:
