Watch Grateful Dead Bust Out ‘Death Don’t Have No Mercy’ After Nearly 2 Decades At Shoreline In 1989

The Grateful Dead‘s performance of the Blind Gary Davis number “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” from the band’s September 29, 1989 concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California has been released as the latest installment of their All The Years Live video series. The song returned to action at Shoreline in 1989 after over 19 years on the shelf.

Guitarists Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir shared lead vocal duties on “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” in Mountain View with keyboardist Brent Mydland. The Grateful Dead’s first known performance of the song came on January 6, 1966. Over 40 versions followed through July 8, 1970 ahead of the band mothballing the tune. After bringing “Death Don’t” back on September 29, 1989 the Grateful Dead played the song twice later that year before a final performance on April 2, 1990.

The Grateful Dead lineup at the time of the Shoreline show on September 29, 1989 featured Garcia, Weir and Mydland joined by bassist Phil Lesh and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann. “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” was the penultimate song of the evening’s second set. Two concerts followed at the Bay Area venue on September 30 and October 1, 1989. Next up for the band was their famed “Formerly The Warlocks” shows at Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia, where “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” was trotted out again on October 9, 1989.

See the Grateful Dead summon “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” at Shoreline on September 29, 1989 below: