Throwback Thursday | Grateful Dead Debut Unbroken Chain

Twenty years ago this evening the Grateful Dead debuted a song at The Spectrum in Philadelphia that had been written over 20 years prior. Though “Unbroken Chain” appeared on From The Mars Hotel in 1974, it was never played live until March 19, 1995.

[Photo by Mark Scialdone]

The Dead went on to perform “Unbroken Chain” a number of times in 1995 before Jerry Garcia’s death. Watch fan-shot video featuring the debut of “Unbroken Chain” from 20 years ago tonight at The Spectrum in Philadelphia:

This audience recording really shows off the screams of joy from the crowd including chants of “Yes! Yes! Yes!”:

Check out a recording from Lesh’s monitor feed from March 17, 1995 in Philadelphia as the band works out the soon-to-be-debuted “Unbroken Chain”:

Finally, take a listen to the song’s acoustic demo which gives us a feel for the roots of “Unbroken Chain” and includes comments from Lesh: