Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I've seen alarmingly little mention on these forums of The Band, perhaps because they were never Rickenbacker users, but that shouldn't count them out as one of the best rock bands of all time, and a band worthy of a mention in this forum!

A little history: Levon Helm (drums, vocals, mandolin, b. 1940), Richard Manuel (piano, vocals, b. 1943-d. 1986), Rick Danko (bass, vocals, fiddle, b. 1942-d. 1999), Garth Hudson (organ, piano, synth, saxophone, b. 1937), and Robbie Robertson (guitar, b. 1943) got their big break as Bob Dylan's band for his infamous "electric" tour of 1966. They were known as The Hawks at that time - a name given to them by their former frontman, Ronnie Hawkins.

After Dylan's alleged "motorcyle crash" in July 1966, he and The Band worked on some home recordings (later released as The Basement Tapes) until The Band decided to record and release an album of their own - Music from Big Pink (1968), complete with three songs written or co-written by Dylan, album art by Dylan, and The Weight, by Robbie Robertson. The Weight would become the bands most well-known song, and Robertson would subsequently emerge as The Band's de facto songwriter.

The Band's first two albums, Music from Big Pink and their second, self-titled release (1969, aka The Brown Album), were both extremely well-received by critics and fans, and The Bands eschewing of media attention from their hideaway in Woodstock/Bearsville, NY would only serve to let their legend grow larger.

They were featured on the cover of Time on 12 January 1970, for an article dubbed "The New Sound of Country Rock", a title they disliked.

While their subsequent albums would ultimately not be quite as well-received by critics, The Band's relentless worldwide touring schedule would propel them to become one of the biggest bands in the world.

In 1976, the bands leader and songwriter Robertson decided that he had had enough of life on the road (the four other members had no say in the matter), and they held their final concert on Thanksgiving Day, 1976, at Winterland - the site of their first concert as The Band. With an impressive array of special guests including Dylan, Hawkins, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Neil Diamond, Ringo Starr, Van Morrison and more, the concert is one of the most famous of all time and was immortalized in celluloid as The Last Waltz, directed by Martin Scorsese.

While The Band would later tour and record without Robertson, they could never attain the heights reached during their heyday, and were sadly relegated to being a nostalgia act. The Band were further silenced through the years by losing their singers - Manuel committed suicide in 1986 while on tour with The Band, and Rick Danko died in his sleep in 1999 - a lifelong heroin addict and workaholic.

Helm lost his to throat cancer in the late 90's, but later miraculously recovered, and holds concerts with his band - featuring his daughter Amy - at his barn studio in Woodstock to this day. I had the incredible privilege of seeing one of these shows in December, with Dave Pascoe, his friend, and Chris Clayton. It was nothing short of incredible.

Levon released Dirt Farmer in 2007, and it won a Grammy for "Best Traditional Folk Album" in 2008.

Robertson got involved in film scoring, and would eventually move to California.

Garth Hudson - The Band's musical genius and keyboard whiz - still resides in upstate NY, like Levon, and is still active in playing sessions with various groups.

Recommended listening: Start with The Band (1969).
Music from Big Pink.
Stage Fright.

Recommended viewing: The Last Waltz.
Classic Albums: The Band.

Recommended reading: This Wheel's On Fire, by Levon Helm.

Excellent post, JB! "Rag Mama Rag" is one of my favourite tracks.

My VHS copy of "The Last Waltz" is tired..... time to move into the 20th century and get it on DVD. As for the 21st century....... I'm hiding from it!!

Great write up John.

That was one of the best shows (Levon) that I ever went to.

Also happy birthday to Levon.

Fantastic piece John, extremely well written and factual. Unfortunately this is a band that has flown under many peoples radar. They were an absolutely fabulous act. Ronnie Hawkins is no slouch either.

I have always liked them and I think they deserved to be well remembered in the annals of rock.

John asked me if I’d add anything, so I’ll just ramble…like the “midnight rambles” Levon explained in several interviews? No, but ramble about the Band nonetheless.

I lent John their first two albums. I never did ask him which one he played first, and how long it took him to get into them.

But it would appear that he subscribes at least in part to the theory that the motorcycle accident is fiction. I believe this as well as there’s no evidence that it did happen, and Dylan’s on record as saying he felt like the business was ripping him off at that time, and tour footage shows he was as sick of the road by ’66 as his buddies in the Beatles, who coincidentally (NO!) quit the road in ’66, as did Brian Wilson.

I’ve read about how, after their first two releases, the reviews of Stage Freight were overly critical. Had it been their first, I think it would be as well regarded as Big Pink. It is a great record.

In the spring of ’68, their first album had a huge impact on the Beatles, and Harrison in particular, who through the 80s was still talking about how much he loved the Band, and of course, Ringo was trying to get Levon’s sound with all those towels on his kit (I bet this, even more than any “calf skin” heads, is why the drums on Abbey Road sound as great as they do. You simply can’t get a better floor tom sound than that which you’ll find on “the Weight.”) And Clapton said as soon as he heard it, he was looking to get out of Cream.

All of the Band did move to LA in the 70s, I’m not sure when Levon, Garth, etc., moved back to the Woodstock area. Levon’s book is a great read if only for all of the stories of other groups and personalities they met on the road in the early 60s, and I believe Rick battled the bottle as well as various substances.

My favorite part of the Last Waltz is when Robbie and Rick do an impromptu version of “Old Time Religion” after a few too many drinks, and a carton and a half of cigs.

One of my favorite stories of them song writing is the story of the typewriter that was said to be on a table in Big Pink. It is said people would type a line or two, then leave it to someone else, who'd write a bit more.

I was lucky enough to travel there last Labor Day. I felt like I was treading on no less hallowed ground than when I ventured to Abbey Road, as Overlook Mountain loomed nearby, just like the record jacket said. I could hear the words "when I get off of this mountain, you know where I wanna go...."

Other definite recommended listening is the Basement Tapes. In some ways that release is the most eclectic, and spine tingling material they, or anyone else, ever put to tape, lo-fi or otherwise.

The only thing else I'd like to add is this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_hsp4SBwO4

Levon's daughter is in a band I like. They are called Olabelle, in honor of, well, you know, Olabelle......

To be honest Glenn, I'm not sure which I played first either - most likely "Big Pink", because I already knew of "The Weight", but I've taken the most liking to the self-titled album - it's in my top 3 all-time if not # 1 with a bullet. Without hesitation or exaggeration, I can say it changed my life.

I didn't give much of a mention to "Stage Fright" in my write-up, but I absolutely love the record! I'm just now getting into "Cahoots".

The Band did indeed move to LA, to work and record at Shangri-La Studios, in the mid 70's, but I believe that it had a lot to do with Robbie's influence, and perhaps the ease of getting certain substances as well. Levon, Garth, Richard, and Rick would all return to upstate NY not long after the initial breakup of the band.

Love when they do "Old Time Religion" - it's one of the few things I can play on the fiddle.

As for Dylan's "motorcycle accident", I do subscribe to your theories on that - though I haven't done as much research as you have on the topic, I've read enough to know that the details around it are just too vague.

Great choice on the video - it's one of the best of them on YT.

Here's mine - while not a quintessential "band" clip or song, it showcases the late great Richard Manuel, who had one of the best white - or any, for that matter - blues voices around:

Speaking of Levon Helm, I've been asked to model something appropriate....... a gift from some guy. Can't remember his name but I'm told he lives somewhere between New York and Philadelphia..........

Now that's a "T" shirt!!!


I hate horn sections. However the Band is a huge exception. They always just fit in, where other rock bands that used them live sound forced.

Many modern day arrangers will admit to be trying to capture the Band sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Y987Uf ... re=related

dswp wrote:I hate horn sections. However the Band is a huge exception. They always just fit in, where other rock bands that used them live sound forced.

Many modern day arrangers will admit to be trying to capture the Band sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Y987Uf ... re=related

Agreed totally, Dave. Gotta give major credit to New Orleans arranger Alain Toussaint for The Band's great horn parts.

Not to risk a thread drift here, but when I heard this song, I thought "what a great tribute to the Band" (in the way it was recorded and the horn section). Of course I thought that I could of been wrong and it was a coincidences. Later I read that Aimee Mann was attributing the Band for an influence for that album.

I know that there are not too many Aimee Mann fans here, but I thought she really captured the Bands sound on this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMxWi_DQGUw

I must confess that when the Band was in it's heyday, I never liked them very much. For that matter, I didn't like Dylan either and I grew up in Minnesota (I think the fact that he was the only male in his HS class that didn't try out for the school hockey team was something I just couldn't forgive ).

It's only been in the last 5 years or so that I stumbled across some of their stuff and started to really "hear" it for the first time. Pretty cool....wish I had appreciated it a long time ago.

John, if you have not yet delved into the Basement Tapes, I think you will find it the closest thing to Big Pink going, and after all, it was recorded and conceived there.

I agree with you, though, that as interesting and cool as the first and 3rd LPs and the BT's are, the 2nd is 100 proof. I can imagine when you, for the first time, heard the first few bars of Across the Great Divide, you must have had a true WTF is THIS!? moment. (And wondered who was playing that lick and what they were playing it on.)

Imagine if you will, back in the days when all this info wasn't at your fingertips. Millions of people wondered about this for DECADES....that Garth, and what a great quote about fixin' screen doors and hitting your finger with a hammer.

You can imagine how 60s English musicians, who'd studied so many Chess, Sun, Coral, Specialty and Brunswick records, must have felt when they heard this stuff, like Lennon when he heard Good Vibrations. I wonder if they knew then that what they were hearing was 4/5s Canadian.

Also gotta credit John Simon with superb production of their stuff, and some horn playing on it as well.

"Now tell me Hon, what ya' done with the gun?"

studiotwosession wrote:I can imagine when you, for the first time, heard the first few bars of Across the Great Divide, you must have had a true WTF is THIS!? moment. (And wondered who was playing that lick and what they were playing it on.)

That was just the beginning. With each track, I had another "WTF is THIS!?" moment. I still do, sometimes.

I just received LP copies of "Stage Fright" and "Best of the Band" in the mail this morning. There were a few tracks on "Best of..." that I had never heard before, but the standout one is "It Makes No Difference" - a truly wonderful vocal performance by Rick Danko.

The records are dead mint, and the lot of 'em cost me $7.