The latest installment in the Grateful Dead‘s All The Years Live archive video series is available now on the band’s YouTube page. This entry highlights the Dead’s performance of “From The Heart Of Me” recorded on New Year’s Eve 1978 at the famous Closing of Winterland show at Bill Graham‘s San Francisco venue.
Coming exactly four months following its debut on August 31st, “From The Heart Of Me” places vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux centerstage with her second original contribution to the Dead’s songbook. The song is by no means a jam vehicle, but it allows Donna to step into the limelight out of her typical corner of the stage as a backup singer. The rest of the band plods along on the serene instrumentation that supports Donna’s singing, which acts as the key instrument in this Shakedown Street track. Jerry Garcia finds some space to offer up idyllic descending patterns but in the end, this is Donna’s moment.
Grateful Dead archivist/legacy manager David Lemieux notes in the video’s description,
The second of Donna’s original contributions to the repertoire, after 1977’s Sunrise, From The Heart Of Me joined the setlist in August 1978, and stuck around until Keith and Donna’s final show on 2/17/79, played a total of 27 times, as well as appearing on Shakedown Street. This is from the famous Closing Of Winterland show.
Watch the Grateful Dead perform “From The Heart Of Me” at Winterland Ballroom on December 31st, 1978.
Grateful Dead – “From The Heart Of Me” – San Francisco, CA – 12/31/78
Previous installments of the Grateful Dead’s All The Years Live video series have included: