By 1978, the Grateful Dead were a lean mean music machine. With a firmly cemented lineup that included Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Keith Godchaux, and Donna Jean Godchaux, the Dead continued to press its songwriting abilities to their fullest potential. The late ’70s yielded some of the band’s most enduring material, including “Terrapin Station” and “Estimated Prophet”, both debuted on the same night in February 1977.
Meanwhile, the mainstream music scene became was caught up with a new genre called disco, and not even the Dead were immune from the trend. Their sole attempt at disco would be “Shakedown Street”, a song that made its first appearance during a show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on this day in 1978.
In audio of the song’s debut, you can hear the crowd responding to the jam when Garcia lets loose with a solo, not recognizing the tune but getting down to it all the while. Though no one knew it at the time, “Shakedown Street” would become one of the band’s most well-known songs, as well as the unofficial name for the row of vendors that popped up in the parking lots outside of concerts.
Listen to the full 1978 performance with the first-ever “Shakedown Street” below, courtesy of the DeadLists Project
Grateful Dead – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO – 8/31/78 – Full Audio
[Taped: Paul B; Seeded: T. Wiley; Uploaded: Jonathan Aizen]
Setlist: Grateful Dead | Red Rocks | Morrison, CO | 8/31/78
Set One: Mississippi Half-Step, El Paso, Peggy-O, New Minglewood Blues, Candyman > From the Heart of Me, Jack Straw
Set Two: Shakedown Street, Good Lovin’, Ship of Fools, Samson and Delilah, Terrapin Station, Playin’ in the Band > Drums > Not Fade Away > Nobody’s Jam > Not Fade Away, Black Peter, Sugar Magnolia
Encore: Johnny B. Goode
[Originally published 8/31/17]