The Band

The Band

For other uses, see Band.

The Band were a Canadian-American rock group, active from 1967 to 1976 and again from 1983 to 1999.

The members of The Band first worked together as The Hawks, the backing band of rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins from 1959 until 1963. Afterwards, Bob Dylan recruited the group for his 1965–1966 world tour. They also joined him on the informal recordings that later became The Basement Tapes.

Dubbed "The Band" by their record company (a name derived from how they were referred to during their tenure with Dylan), the group left Woodstock, New York to begin recording in their own material. They recorded two of the most acclaimed albums of the late 1960s; their 1968 debut Music from Big Pink (featuring the single "The Weight") and 1969's The Band. They broke up in 1976, but reformed in 1983 without founding guitarist and main songwriter Robbie Robertson.

Although The Band was always more popular with music journalists and fellow musicians than with the general public, they have remained an admired and influential group. They have been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked them #50 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time..

Overview

Their music fused many elements: primarily old country music and early rock and roll, though the rhythm section often had a bouncy, funky punch reminiscent of Stax or Motown, and Robertson cites Curtis Mayfield and the Staple Singers as major influences, resulting in a synthesis of many musical genres. As to the group's songwriting, very few of their early compositions were based on conventional blues and doo-wop chord changes.

The Band comprised Robbie Robertson (guitar); Richard Manuel (piano, harmonica, drums, saxophone); Garth Hudson (organ, piano, clavinet, accordion, synthesizer, saxophone); Rick Danko (bass guitar, violin, trombone); and Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, bass guitar). With the exception of Robertson, every other member was a multi-instrumentalist; each person's primary instrument is listed first. There was little instrument-switching when they played live, but when recording, the musicians could make up different configurations in service of the songs. Hudson in particular was able to coax a range timbres from his Lowrey electronic organ; on the choruses of "Tears of Rage", for example, it sounds like a mellotron. Helm's drumming was often praised for its subtlety and funkiness. Critic Jon Carroll famously declared that Helm was "the only drummer who can make you cry," while prolific session drummer Jim Keltner admits to appropriating several of Helm's techniques.

Singers Manuel, Danko, and Helm each brought a distinctive voice to The Band: Helm's gritty, southern voice had more than a hint of country, Danko sang in a soaring, unfettered tenor, and Manuel alternated between fragile falsetto and a wounded baritone. The singers regularly blended in unorthodox harmonies. Though the singing was more or less evenly shared between the three men, both Danko and Helm have stated that they saw Manuel as the Band's "lead" singer.

Robertson was the unit's chief songwriter (he sang lead vocals on only two studio songs released by The Band: To Kingdom Come and Knockin' Lost John). This role, and Robertson's resulting claim to the copyright of most of the compositions, would become a point of much antipathy between the group's members, especially between Robertson and Helm.

Producer John Simon is cited as a "sixth member" of The Band for producing and playing on Music from Big Pink, co-producing and playing on The Band, and playing on other songs up through The Band's 1993 reunion album Jericho.

History

Early years: The Hawks

The Hawks gradually came together as a backing unit for Toronto-based rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins: Helm first (he journeyed to Canada from Arkansas with Hawkins), then Robertson, Danko, Manuel and Hudson. At the time, Hawkins was popular in Toronto, and had an effective way of eliminating his musical competition: when a promising band appeared, Hawkins would often hire their best musicians for his own group; Robertson, Danko and Manuel came under Hawkins' tutelage this way.

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While most of the Hawks were eager to join Hawkins' group, getting Hudson to join was a different story. He'd earned a college degree, and planned on a career as a music teacher, and was interested in playing rock music only as a hobby. The Hawks were in awe of his wild, full-bore organ sound, and often begged him to join. Hudson finally relented, so long as the Hawks each paid him $10 per week to be their instructor: if anyone had questions about music theory, they'd turn to Hudson. While pocketing a little extra cash, Hudson was also able to mollify his family's fears that his education had gone to waste. On The Last Waltz Hudson states, "There is a view that jazz is 'evil' because it comes from evil people, but actually the greatest priests on 52nd Street and on the streets of New York City were the musicians. They were doing the greatest healing work. They knew how to punch through music that would cure and make people feel good." The piano-organ combination was uncommon in rock music, and for all his aggressive playing, Hudson also brought a level of musical sophistication and elegance that was quite memorable.

With Hawkins they recorded a few singles in this period, and became well known as perhaps the best rock group in the thriving Toronto music scene.

By 1963, the group split from Hawkins over personal differences. They were tiring of playing the same songs so often and wanted to perform original material, and they were tired of Hawkins' somewhat dictatorial leadership. He would fine the Hawks if they brought their girlfriends to the clubs (fearing it might reduce the numbers of available girls who came to performances) or if they smoked marijuana (alcohol and pills were acceptable, but Canada had stiff penalties against marijuana possession).

Robertson later said, "Eventually, he (Hawkins) built us up to the point where we outgrew his music and had to leave. He shot himself in the foot, really, bless his heart, by sharpening us into such a crackerjack band that we had to go on out into the world, because we knew what his vision was for himself, and we were all younger and more ambitious musically." [1]

They recorded two singles and toured almost continually (usually billed as "Levon and the Hawks"), but they found little success, partly because without Hawkins, they lacked a magnetic frontman.

Also in 1963, Levon Helm met Cathy Smith, with whom he and other members of The Band would have a long association. Smith later met and influenced musicians Gordon Lightfoot and Hoyt Axton, and was involved in the death of John Belushi.

In 1965, Levon and the band met blues singer and harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson. They wanted to record with him, offering to become his backing band, but Williamson died not long after their meeting.

With Bob Dylan

Their fortunes changed, however, following their recommendation to Bob Dylan by singer John P. Hammond, who'd recorded with some of the Hawks on his album So Many Roads.

Dylan invited them to tour with him. Levon and the Hawks were receptive to Dylan's offer, knowing it could give them the wider exposure they craved, but they simultaneously feared that their music was too different from his. They thought of themselves as a tightly rehearsed rock and rhythm and blues group, and they knew Dylan mostly from his early acoustic folk and protest music. Furthermore, they had little inkling of how internationally popular Dylan had become.

With Dylan, they played a tumultuous series of 1965 and 1966 concerts, marking Dylan's final change from folkie to rocker. According to some accounts (and as documented in a scene in Eat the Document) some of the Hawks joined in Dylan's reportedly copious drug use in this era. These tours remain some of the most storied in rock music history, and arguably mark a major turning point in popular music.

At their best, Dylan and the Hawks were an electrifying live ensemble; Dylan famously described their "thin wild mercury sound" as the one he'd been seeking. These concerts saw them sometimes heckled by folk music purists (Helm was so bothered by the negative reception that he quit the group temporarily, instead working on an oil rig).

There were some abortive recording sessions with the Hawks, but Dylan was dissatisfied with the results. However, Robertson replaced Mike Bloomfield as Dylan's primary guitarist on sessions for Blonde on Blonde, released in mid-1966. The album's credits also include Danko on bass and Hudson on keyboards and sax.

With Mickey Jones replacing Helm, Dylan and the Hawks appeared at Manchester's Free Trade Hall in May, 1966. The gig became legendary when, towards the end of Dylan's electric set, an audience member shouted "Judas!". After a pause, Dylan replied, "I don't believe you. You're a liar!" He then turned to the Hawks and said "Play it fucking loud!" just before they launched into an acidic version of "Like a Rolling Stone".

This performance was widely bootlegged (and mistakenly placed at the Royal Albert Hall). The recording of this gig became one of the most famous of Dylan's career, often inspiring a rapturous response in those who heard it. A 1971 review from Creem stated "My response is that crystallization of everything that is rock'n'roll music, at its finest, was to allow my jaw to drop, my body to move, to leap out of the chair ... It is an experience that one desires simply to share, to play over and over again for those he knows thirst for such pleasure. If I speak in an almost worshipful sense about this music, it is not because I have lost perspective, it is precisely because I have found it, within music, yes, that was made five years ago. But it is there and unignorable." [2] When it finally saw official release in 1998, critic Richie Unterberger declared the record "an important document of rock history."[3]

While on a break from touring, Dylan suffered a motorcycle accident, and retired into semi-seclusion in Woodstock, New York.

For a while, the Hawks returned to the bar and roadhouse touring circuit, sometimes backing other singers (including a brief stint with Tiny Tim).

Dylan invited the Hawks to join him in Woodstock, where they recorded a much-bootlegged and hugely influential series of demos, subsequently released on LP as The Basement Tapes.

Music from Big Pink and The Band

Reunited with Helm, the Hawks began writing their own songs in a rented large pink house in West Saugerties (near Woodstock). When they went into the recording studio, they still didn't have a name for themselves. They wanted to call themselves either "The Honkies" or "The Crackers", but these names were vetoed by their record label, who dubbed them "The Band" on the first pressings of Big Pink. Initially, they disliked the moniker, but eventually grew to like it, thinking it paradoxically both humble and presumptuous.

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Their first album, Music from Big Pink (1968) was widely acclaimed. The album included three songs written or co-written by Dylan ("This Wheel's On Fire", "Tears Of Rage", and "I Shall Be Released") as well as Robertson's "The Weight", whose use in the film Easy Rider would make it probably their best known song (later, the director Lawrence Kasdan would integrate the song into his 1983 film The Big Chill). While a continuity certainly ran through the music, there were stylistic leanings in a number of directions. Never a specifically "psychedelic" group, the Band's first record did contain at least one song ("Chest Fever") demonstrating some similarities with that genre. In contrast to his wild, squealing guitar playing with Dylan, Robertson opted for a more subdued, riff-oriented approach.

After the success of Big Pink, the band went on tour (which included a performance at the Woodstock festival, which was not included in the famed Woodstock film due to legal complications). That same year, they left for Los Angeles to record their follow up, The Band (1969). From their deliberately rustic appearance on the cover, to the songs and arrangements within, the album stood in stark contrast to the prevalent hippie culture of California and psychedelic music. (Although it should be noted that, by this point, several acts, notably Dylan - on John Wesley Harding - and The Byrds - with Sweetheart of the Rodeo - had made similar aesthetic maneuvers.) The Band featured songs that evoked oldtime rural America, from the civil war ("The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down") to unionization of farm workers ("King Harvest Has Surely Come").

Greil Marcus suggests that "King Harvest" might be The Band's finest song, and the best example of their unique approach to songwriting and performing. First, the song's structure is unusual: unlike nearly all popular music, the choruses (sung by Manuel and Helm) are subdued while Manuel's verses are more energetic. The song's subject (labor unions) is a staple of protest songs, but "King Harvest" addresses it with a personal intimacy and sense of halting uncertainty largely absent in protest music. With increasing desperation, the narrator (an unnamed, poverty-stricken farmer) details the misfortune which has befallen him: there was no rain and his crops died, his barn burnt down, he ends up on skid row. A union organizer appears, promising to improve things, and the narrator tells his new associates "I'm a union man, now, all the way", but, perhaps ashamed of his station, begs them "just don't judge me by my shoes." Though strictly speaking, "King Harvest" is not a blues, the song has a distinct blues feel. The aching desperation to Manuel's voice is strongly shaped by country music, but otherwise, the song has a sweeping, almost cinematic quality rarely heard in country. All these different threads are woven together, however, to create something compelling and distinctive.

These first two records were produced by John Simon, who was practically a group member: He aided in arrangements, and played occasional instruments (piano or tuba). Simon reported that he was often asked about the distinctive horn sections featured so effectively on the first two albums; people wanted to know how they had achieved such memorable sounds. Simon was slightly embarrassed to admit that, besides Hudson (an accomplished saxophonist), the others had only rudimentary horn skills, and achieved their sound simply by creatively utilizing their limited technique.

Rolling Stone magazine lavished praise on The Band in this era, giving them more attention than perhaps any other group in the magazine's history; Greil Marcus's articles in particular contributed greatly to The Band's mystique. The Band also were featured on the cover of Time Magazine for their January 12, 1970 issue. [4]

A critical and commercial triumph, The Band, along with work by The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, established a musical template (sometimes dubbed country rock) that later would be taken to even greater levels of commercial, if not artistic, success by such artists as Eagles. Both Big Pink and The Band were also hugely influential on their musical contemporaries, with both Eric Clapton and George Harrison citing The Band as a major influence on their musical direction in the late 1960s and early 70s. Indeed, Clapton later revealed that he had aspired to join the group.

Stage Fright and Cahoots

Following their second album, The Band embarked on their first tour as a headlining act. The resulting anxiety from fame and its hang-ups was especially evidenced by the group as its songs turned to darker themes of fear and alienation; the influence on their next work, is self-explanatory Stage Fright (1970), which was engineered by whiz-kid musician-engineer-producer Todd Rundgren. "Stage Fright" was recorded on a stage in Woodstock, NY, but the fraying of the group's once fabled unity was beginning to show. On this album, Robertson takes the majority of songwriting credit, whereas the earlier two albums had more balance in credit. Also, the trademark vocal style of the Band's three lead singers was much less prominent on this work.

After recording Stage Fright, The Band was among the acts participating in the Festival Express, an all-star rock concert tour of Canada by train that also included Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead. In the concert documentary film, released in 2003, Danko can be seen intoxicated participating in a drunken jam session with Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Joplin while singing "Aint No More Cane."

At about this time, Robertson began exerting greater control over The Band. This has become a point of antipathy, especially between Helm and Robertson. Helm charges Robertson with authoritarianism and greed, while Robertson suggests his increased efforts in guiding the group were due largely to some of the other members being unreliable. In particular, Robertson insists he did his best to coax Manuel into writing or co-writing more songs, only to see Manuel's talents overtaken by addiction.

Despite mounting problems between the musicians, The Band forged ahead with their next album, Cahoots (1971). Cahoots included some of their best-known tunes such as Bob Dylan's "When I Paint My Masterpiece," "4% Pantomime" (with Van Morrison), and "Life Is A Carnival." The latter featured a horn arrangement from Allen Toussaint. Toussaint's contribution was a critical addition to the Band's next project.

One of their most notable later albums is the live recording Rock of Ages (1972), recorded at a 1971/1972 New Year's Eve concert and featuring the line-up, bolstered by the addition of a horn section, in exuberant form. The horn arrangements were written by Allen Toussaint. Bob Dylan appeared on stage for the concert's final four songs, including a version of the rare song "When I Paint My Masterpiece".

In 1973 The Band released Moondog Matinee, an album of cover songs. There was no tour in support of the album, which garnered mixed reviews. However they did open for the Grateful Dead for two summer shows at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey. They also played at the legendary Summer Jam at Watkins Glen. This massive concert took place at the Grand Prix Raceway outside Watkins Glen, New York on July 28, 1973. The festival, which was attended by over 600,000 music fans also featured sets from the Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers Band.

Next, The Band reunited with Dylan, first in recording Dylan's album Planet Waves, released in January 1974, and then for the Bob Dylan and The Band 1974 Tour, which played 40 shows in North America during January and February 1974. Later that year, the live album, Before the Flood was released, documenting the tour.

The Last Waltz

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The Last Waltz logo.

Main article: The Last Waltz

By 1976, Robertson was weary of touring. After having to cancel some tour dates due to Manuel suffering a severe neck injury in a boating accident in Texas, Robertson urged The Band to retire from touring with a massive Thanksgiving Day concert on November 25, at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, California. The concert featured a horn section with arrangements by Allen Toussaint, and a stellar list of guests, including Hawkins, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Dr. John, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Ronnie Wood, Paul Butterfield and Neil Diamond.

The concert was filmed by director Martin Scorsese, and was subsequently combined with interviews, as well as separately-recorded soundstage performances with country singer Emmylou Harris ("Evangeline") and gospel-soul group The Staple Singers ("The Weight"). Released in 1978, the concert film-documentary was accompanied by a triple-LP soundtrack.

After one more studio record, entitled Islands, featuring a version of "Georgia On My Mind" for Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign, the band split.

Post-Waltz

All the Band's members remained active in music to some degree, though Robertson had the most successful musical career. He became a music producer and wrote movie soundtracks (including acting as music supervisor for several of Scorsese's films) before a highly praised comeback with a Daniel Lanois produced, self-titled solo album in 1987.

Helm received many plaudits for his acting debut in Coal Miner's Daughter, a biographical film about Loretta Lynn, and for his narration and small supporting role opposite Sam Shepard in 1983's The Right Stuff while the remaining members interspersed session work with occasional solo releases.

Multi-instrumentalist Garth Hudson has released two acclaimed solo CDs, The Sea To The North in 2001, and LIVE at the WOLF in 2005, both featuring his wife, Maud, on vocals. He has also kept busy as an in-demand studio musician.

Reunions

In 1983, The Band reformed and recommenced touring, though without Robertson. Several different musicians were recruited to replace Robertson and to fill out the group. The reunited Band was generally well-received, but found themselves playing in smaller venues than during the peak of their popularity.

While the reunited Band was touring, on March 4, 1986, Manuel committed suicide in his Florida hotel room. It later emerged that he had suffered for many years from chronic alcoholism — according to Helm's autobiography, in the later stages of his illness, Manuel was consuming eight bottles of Grand Marnier per day.

The surviving members participated in former Pink Floyd bandleader Roger Waters' massive performance of The Wall in Berlin, and in Bob Dylan's 30th anniversary concert celebration in New York City on October 1992, but it would be another three years before the reformed group recorded an album, Jericho (1993). Much of the songwriting was handled by outsiders. On December 10, 1999 The Band lost another member, when Rick Danko died in his sleep at age 56.

Influence

The song "The Weight" was covered many times, by performers ranging from Rock to Soul. As the nineties arrived, a new generation of bands carrying The Band's influence began to gain popularity, including Counting Crows and The Black Crowes. Counting Crows showed their obvious influence in their tribute to the late Richard Manuel in the 2002 song "If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel Is Dead)", and through covering Band songs during live performances. The Black Crowes would often play some of The Band's most popular songs during concerts, including "The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down", which appears on the band's DVD Freak 'n' Roll Into The Fog.

In 2004 southern rock-revivalists Drive-By Truckers released the track "Danko/Manuel" on the album The Dirty South. Indie Rock band My Morning Jacket is often compared to the Band, for their southern rock/alt-country sound bears strong similarity to the Band, especially in songs such as "Lay Low" and "Just Because I Do". In 2006 it was announced that a tribute album for the band was in the works including My Morning Jacket covering "It Makes No Difference", Death Cab for Cutie covering "Rockin' Chair", and Gomez covering "Up on Cripple Creek". Released on January 30, 2007, the compilation album, entitled Endless Highway: The Music of The Band, was released, with others contributing to the record including Josh Turner, Guster, Jack Johnson, Govt Mule, The Allman Brothers, ALO, Leanne Womack, Los Lobos, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Roseanne Cash, Joe Henry, and Bruce Hornsby.

Discography

• Uh-Uh-Uh / Leave Me Alone (1965 single, as The Canadian Squires)
• The Stones I Throw / He Don't Love You (1965 single, as Levon and the Hawks)
• Go Go Liza Jane / He Don't Love You (1968 single, as Levon and the Hawks)
• Music from Big Pink (1968)
• The Band (1969)
• Stage Fright (1970)
• Cahoots (1971)
• Rock of Ages (live, 1972)
• Moondog Matinee (1973)
• Northern Lights - Southern Cross (1975)
• Islands (1977)
• The Last Waltz (live/studio, 1978)
• Jericho (1993)
• High On The Hog (1996)
• Jubilation (1998)

Compilations

• The Best of The Band (1976)
• Anthology (1978)
• To Kingdom Come (anthology, 1989)
• Across The Great Divide (box set, 1994)
• Live at Watkins Glen (1995)
• The Best of The Band, Vol. II (1999)
• Greatest Hits (2000)
• The Last Waltz (box set edition, 2002)
• A Musical History (box set, 2005)
• From Bacon Fat to Judgement Day (box set, 2006) (as Levon and the Hawks, et. al.)

With Bob Dylan

• Planet Waves (1974)
• Before the Flood (1974)
• The Basement Tapes (1975)
• The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert (1998)

References

• This Wheel's on Fire by Levon Helm with Stephen Davis (ISBN 1-55652-405-6)
• Across the Great Divide: The Band and America by Barney Hoskyns (ISBN 1-56282-836-3)
• Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes by Greil Marcus (ISBN 0-8050-5842-7)

External links

• A definitive The Band resource
• The Band CD reviews
• The Band - A Musical History, official site from Capitol Records
• The Band Tablature and chords
• The Band at Rollingstone
• The Band and I by Barney Hoskyns