The Grateful Dead Perform ‘Iko Iko’ At Shoreline In 1989: Pro-Shot Video

The Grateful Dead shared pro-shot video of “Iko Iko” as this week’s installment in their All The Years Live video series. The footage is from GD’s September 30, 1989 concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California and comes on the heels of Fat Tuesday.

“Iko Iko” came out of the New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian tradition and tells the story of a meeting between two groups of Mardi Gras Indians during a parade. James Crawford’s Sugar Boy And The Cane Cutters first recorded a version of the song under the name “Jock-A-Mo” in 1953 and the Dixie Cups would go on to have a hit with the tune as “Iko Iko” in 1965. Legendary New Orleans keyboardist Dr. John also recorded the number in 1972.

The Grateful Dead debuted their version of “Iko Iko” in May 1977, as per The Setlist Program. It would remain a steady staple cover for the band for the rest of their tenure but went through different setlist positions until finding a home as an opener, as Dead archivist David Lemieux attests to in his notes accompanying the Shoreline video.

“Although some early versions of ‘Iko Iko’ appeared out of ‘Drums’ and ‘Space,’ by 1984 it was primarily a set opener, both the first and second sets,” Lemieux wrote. “Whenever those opening notes of ‘Iko Iko’ opened a first or second set, it felt like party time was starting, and a fun set was coming up.”

Watch the Grateful Dead kick off set two of their September Shoreline show in ‘89 with “Iko Iko” below via the JamBase Live Video Archive: