In the Grateful Dead song universe, I love the way “Iko Iko” ties in with other songs. Opening with Hell In A Bucket, the band then jumped right into their unofficial party anthem, a song that was always certain to get everyone up and dancing: Iko Iko. The Grateful Dead's latest addition to their 'All The Years Live' archive video series showcases their performance of "Iko Iko" at JFK Stadium in July 1989. An interpretation in Louisiana Creole French is: Watch Dead & Company perform “IKO IKO” from the XL Center show that’s now available to stream.. Based on the battle chants of the legendary Mardi Gras Indian tribes of New Orleans, this song first appeared in recorded form in 1953 as “Jock-a-Mo,” by James “Sugarboy” Edwards, then resurfaced under its current title as a smash 1965 single by the vocal group the Dixie Cups. A Sample Riff. “Ruben and Cherise” comes to mind every time I hear the song, and the fact that “Man Smart (Women Smarter)” has an almost identical feel to it bring that one into the circle, too. This staple of the New Orleans sound at which the Dead were adept at playing was always a buoyant, ebullient entry in any Grateful Dead setlist. The song was performed just a few times each year through the late 1970's and early 1980's and then more regularly through the mid and late 1980's and early 1990's. Linguists and historians have proposed a variety of origins for the seemingly nonsensical chorus, suggesting that the words may come from a melange of cultures. Grateful Dead Identifier GratefulDead Mediatype collection Num_top_ba 10 Numeric_id 3 Publicdate 2004-03-27 12:49:52 Publisher Internet Archive etree.org Show_related_music_by_track true Subject grateful dead, jam, rock, jerry garcia Title Grateful Dead Title_message Free Music Iko Iko was first performed by the Grateful Dead in May 1977. Iko Iko None (Traditional) Last Updated 12/28/96 Typical GD version. D D A A A D D Hey now, Hey now, A Iko Iko ah-nay A Joc-a-mo-fee-no-ah-nah-nay D Joc-a-mo-fee-nah-nay D My spy boy to your spy boy, A They were sittin' along the bayou, A My spy … The Grateful Dead performed Iko Iko several time in concert Linguistic origins.