Watch Brent Mydland Lead Grateful Dead Through ‘Tons Of Steel’ In 1987: Pro-Shot Video

The Grateful Dead shared pro-shot video of “Tons Of Steel” as the latest in their All The Years Live series. The footage is from the band’s July 26, 1987 concert at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California.

Grateful Dead keyboardist Brent Mydland wrote and sang lead on “Tons Of Steel.” The band debuted the tune on December 28, 1984 in San Francisco. As Dead archivist David Lemieux pointed out in his notes accompanying the video, the song remained in steady rotation until 1987.

“Played 29 times between December 1984 and September 1987, Tons Of Steel was Brent’s only lead vocal contribution to the Grateful Dead’s 1987 commercial hit album In The Dark. Two years later, on the Dead’s final studio album, Brent had four songs, demonstrating his ongoing strong songwriting contributions to the Dead’s legacy right to the end of his tenure with the band.”

The Anaheim ‘87 “Tons Of Steel” features a typically powerful vocal performance from Brent along with backing vocals from Bob Weir and Phil Lesh. Jerry Garcia also delivers a scorching solo. Watch Brent Mydland lead the Grateful Dead through “Tons Of Steel” in 1987 below: