The band

This article is about the rock band The Band , see The Band (disambiguation) for additional meanings .

The band
The Band with Bob Dylan 1974
General information
Genre (s)	Rock , folk rock
founding	1967, 1983
resolution	1976, 1999
Founding members
Vocals , guitar , piano	Robbie Robertson
Vocals, bass , double bass , violin	Rick Danko †
Singing, drums , percussion , mandolin	Levon helmet †
Singing, keyboard , piano, percussion	Richard Manuel †
Organ , saxophone	Garth Hudson

The Band was a Canadian-American rock band that is one of the most influential formations in rock history . The Band accompanied Bob Dylan on tours and recordings in the mid-1960s and early 1970s . They established their style-defining status in American rock music with seven studio albums, which they released with the original line-up between 1968 and 1977. Her farewell concert with guest appearances by numerous musical greats of her time was filmed on November 25, 1976 by Martin Scorsese under the title The Last Waltz and is one of the classics of concert films .

Band history

Career

The band met when they played for Ronnie Hawkins in his group The Hawks . Levon Helm first joined Hawkins, Robertson, Danko and Manuel in 1957 in the early sixties. Hawkins sent the musicians to a tough school: for several years they were on stage six evenings a week. " That kept those guys out of trouble. And we were all staying together, so I could keep an eye on them ", Hawkins remarked years later in an interview (" so these guys couldn't get into trouble and because we were always together I could keep an eye on them ") .

In 1965 the four young men left the Hawks - they wanted to play their own sound. From 1963 to 1965 they were under the name "Levon and The Hawks" in clubs and taverns until they were discovered by Bob Dylan. They accompanied Dylan on his “ Electric ” tour (1965 to 1966) and for the “ Basement Tapes ” in 1967. Their “Basement Tapes” from 1967, which were only released as a bootleg for a long time , mark the beginning of the more intensive employment of various American rock musicians the so-called roots music . Country , in particular , which the band woven into their music, was rejected as reactionary by the youth movement until the mid-1960s. The band was part of the beginning of an alternative country music paired with the spirit of rock.

The band played their own songs and concerts over the years. Songs like The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down , The Weight and King Harvest (Has Surely Come) have made rock history. After 16 years on the road , the five musicians got tired. They had played in countless clubs in the United States and knew most of the stadiums and concert halls. They had played for four people and for 600,000. " We filled up that glass to such an extent that I didn't have any great hunger for it anymore " (Robertson). 16 years on tour had also taken their toll on health, and The Band saw what had happened to Elvis, the Beatles, Janis Joplin and others. " The hardest thing in rock'n'roll are knowing when to quit and how to do it with class. "

The Band decided to give a brilliant farewell concert.

The Last Waltz

The Band (not in the picture: Richard Manuel) with Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison and Neil Diamond during The Last Waltz Concert on November 25, 1976

They had five weeks to prepare for the big moment: guest musicians, the repertoire, money for the film, a script, the set design and a director had to be found. The first thing Robertson called her fan Bill Graham , one of the largest concert promoters in San Francisco. He immediately agreed to make his Winterland hall with 5,400 seats available to them. Winterland was the venue where The Band made their stage debut as The Band in April 1969. Graham, who had promoted The Band on their 1974 tour, was enthusiastic about the idea of ​​a “Rock'n'Roll last supper” and he accepted the logistical challenge: 200 turkeys had to be organized, 150 kg of salmon, 200 kg of pumpkin. Graham also organized a classical orchestra to play the waltz, as well as professional dancers to assist guests with two left feet.

After dinner, Graham's people had to work a miracle and remove the tables and chairs from 5,000 people in a matter of minutes before The Band took the stage. Graham also had the idea of ​​having poetry read aloud while he was eating. He organized poets from San Francisco, including Lawrence Ferlinghetti , Michael McClure and Frank Reynolds (from the Hells Angels ).

In their quarters in Los Angeles, the members of The Band thought about the concert. Should you re-enact your first concert? Or should they do something completely different? Then they thought they could invite Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan. If these two came, Eric Clapton would also have to be invited. Finally, the following names were on the list: Paul Butterfield , Van Morrison , Dr. John , Neil Young , Joni Mitchell , Neil Diamond , Muddy Waters , Emmylou Harris , Ringo Starr , Ron Wood , The Staple Singers . Songwriter Bobby Charles was supposed to help with the arrangements. Rock Brynner , the son of Yul Brynner and a friend of Robertson's, came up with the brilliant idea for the name of the concert.

Shortly before the concert and the filming, The Band had the name (" The Last Waltz ") but no title song. While the talks for the film were still taking place, Robbie Robertson began to compose. The concert itself, on Thanksgiving Day , November 25, 1976, was a huge success. Although the tickets cost $ 50 (an unimaginable price for the time) the Winterland Hall was sold out. Everything of standing and name poured into San Francisco. The band and their fellow musicians played and jammed for five hours. After the last notes had faded and the band had already moved, Bill Graham came backstage: "You've got to do something, these people want one more" ("You have to do something, these people want another song") . So they went out again and played the song that started their success: Don't Do It! by Marvin Gaye . After they had finally said goodbye to the audience, the band and their guest musicians jammed for hours in the hotel. "The best was never filmed or recorded," said Bobby Charles later with regret.

After The Last Waltz

After the successful farewell to the audience, the story of "The Band" was not over: First the film had to be completed and a recording contract had to be fulfilled. Two songs that can be heard in the film were recorded after the concert: Evangeline with Emmylou Harris and The Weight with The Staple Singers . The original version of The Weight was already on the 1968 album Music from Big Pink and can also be heard in the 1969 film Easy Rider . For legal reasons, the song appeared on the Easy Rider soundtrack album in a cover version by the California band Smith .

The film The Band of Martin Scorsese came in the spring of 1978, 16 months after the concert, in the cinemas. Robertson and Scorsese had worked on the sound engineering alone for four months, with success: the film was nominated for best sound at the 1979 Oscars (also for best editing and best documentary). However, Robertson changed the original soundtrack very much through overdubs ; so he played his guitar solos again in the studio. That is why the record and film reproduce the concert event brilliantly, but no longer quite authentically. In the Bob Dylan song Forever Young, for example, the second verse was cut out. Unedited recordings of the concert have since appeared as black pressings .

Then the members of The Band went their own way. In 1977 they recorded their last album together, Islands , which, however, could no longer build on their earlier successes.

Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm made careers in the music and film industry, Rick Danko tried to start a solo career. But all band members except Robertson mourned the old days. In 1983 they tried a comeback without Robertson, who should be replaced by Earl Cate . In 1986 Richard Manuel , who was severely depressed and addicted to alcohol, committed suicide . Robertson dedicated a song to him on his first solo album from 1987: Fallen Angel .

In 1993 Danko, Helm and Hudson recorded another album: Jericho . It didn't sound like The Band without guitarist and main songwriter Robertson, but it was still well received by critics. A year later they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . The album High on the Hog followed in 1996 and, on the band's 30th birthday in 1998, the last album Jubilation . Rick Danko died on December 10, 1999 - that was the final end of the band.

In February 2008, The Band were honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Los Angeles . On April 19, 2012, Levon Helm died of throat cancer at the age of 71. The disease had already been diagnosed in the late 1990s.

Discography

Albums

Albums with Ronnie Hawkins

• Ronnie Hawkins (1959)
• Mr. Dynamo (1960)
• The Folk Ballads of Ronnie Hawkins (1960)
• Sings the Songs of Hank Williams (1960)
• The Best of Ronnie Hawkins (1964)

Chart albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1968	Music from Big Pink	DE69 (1 week) DE	-	-	UK- silver UK	US30th gold (40 weeks)US	in DE only in 2018 in the charts number 34 of the Rolling Stone 500 (2003); Grammy Hall of Fame
1969	The band	-	-	-	UK25th gold (12 weeks)UK	US9 platinum (49 weeks)US	45th place in the Rolling Stone 500 (2003); Grammy Hall of Fame in UK including re-entry 1997 for 2 weeks (place 41)
1970	Stage Fright	-	-	-	UK15 (6 weeks) UK	US5 gold (22 weeks)US
1971	Cahoots	-	-	-	UK41 (1 week) UK	US21 (14 weeks) US
1972	Rock of Ages	-	-	-	-	US6th gold (28 weeks)US	Live album, recorded on December 31, 1971 at the Academy of Music in New York
1973	Moondog matinee	-	-	-	-	US28 (20 weeks) US
1974	Planet Waves Bob Dylan with the Band	-	-	-	-	US1 gold (21 weeks)US
	Before the Flood Bob Dylan / The Band	DE24 (4 weeks) DE	AT3 (24 weeks) AT	-	UK8 (7 weeks) UK	US3 platinum (19 weeks)US	Live album
1975	The Basement Tapes Bob Dylan and the Band	-	-	-	UK8 (10 weeks) UK	US7th gold (14 weeks)US	recorded in 1967
	Northern Lights - Southern Cross	-	-	-	-	US26 (19 weeks) US
1976	The best of the band	-	-	-	-	US51 gold (14 weeks)US	Best of album
1977	Iceland	-	-	-	-	US64 (10 weeks) US	Studio album that had to be recorded after the band broke up in order to fulfill a recording contract. The Band never promoted the album themselves.
1978	The Last Waltz	DE13 (7 weeks) DE	AT23 (4 weeks) AT	-	UK- silver UK	US16 (21 weeks) US	Live album, the farewell concert on November 25th, 1976 in Winterland in San Francisco
1993	Jericho	-	-	-	-	US166 (1 week) US
2003	The Last Waltz [DVD]	DE66 (3 weeks) DE	-	-	-	-	Video album from the farewell concert in 1976
2012	Greatest hits	-	-	-	UK- silver UK	US83 (2 weeks) US	Best of album
2013	Opus Collection	-	-	-	-	US91 (3 weeks) US	Best of album
	Live at the Academy of Music 1971	-	-	-	UK81 (1 week) UK	-	Live album
2014	The Basement Tapes Raw: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11 Bob Dylan and the Band	DE9 (4 weeks) DE	AT6 (4 weeks) AT	CH12 (4 weeks) CH	-	US41 (3 weeks) US
	The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11 Bob Dylan and the Band	-	-	-	UK17 (3 weeks) UK	US42 (2 weeks) US

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More albums

• In Concert (1973) - live
• The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (1990) - live
• Live at Watkins Glen (1995) - live

Later publications (excluding Robbie Robertson)

• High on the Hog (1996)
• Jubilation (1998)

More albums with Bob Dylan

• Self Portrait (1970)
• Tribute to Woody Guthrie (1972)

Later Dylan releases that The Band also plays on

• Masterpieces (1978)
• Electric Lunch (1983)
• Biographer (1985)
• Bootleg Series Vols. 1-3 (1991)
• Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 (1995)
• The Best of Bob Dylan (1997)
• The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Live 1966 (1998)
• The Best of Bob Dylan Vol. 2 (2000)
• The Essential Bob Dylan (2000)
• Live 1961-2000 (2001)

Tribute albums

• Endless Highway - The Music of the Band (2007)

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		UK	US
1968	The Weight	UK21 (9 weeks) UK	US63 (7 weeks) US	Author: Robbie Robertson # 41 on Rolling Stone 500 (2004); Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
1969	Up on Cripple Creek	-	US25 (14 weeks) US	Author: Robbie Robertson
1970	Rag mama rag	UK16 (9 weeks) UK	US57 (8 weeks) US	Author: Robbie Robertson
	Time to kill	-	US77 (4 weeks) US	Author: Robbie Robertson
1971	Life is a Carnival	-	US72 (6 weeks) US	Authors: Levon Helm , Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko
1972	Don't do it	-	US34 (11 weeks) US	Live recording 1964 a hit for Marvin Gaye under the title Baby Don't You Do It Authors: Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland
1973	Ain't Got No Home	-	US73 (7 weeks) US	1956 Clarence's first hit “Frogman” Henry Writer: Clarence Henry
1974	Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) Bob Dylan / The Band	-	US66 (5 weeks) US	Recorded Live Author: Bob Dylan
1976	Ophelia	-	US62 (4 weeks) US	Author: Robbie Robertson

More songs

• Chest Fever (1968)
• I Shall Be Released (1968)
• This Wheel's on Fire (1968)
• The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (1969, 245th place in the Rolling Stone 500 (2004); Rock and Roll Hall of Fame )
• The Shape I'm In (1970)
• Stage Fright (1970)
• (I Don't Want To) Hang Up My Rock'n Roll Shoes (1972)
• Caledonia Mission (1973)
• The Great Pretender (1973)
• Third Man Theme (1973)
• Something There Is About You (with Bob Dylan , 1974)
• Georgia on My Mind (1976)
• Right As Rain (1977)
• Out of the Blue (1978)
• Remedy (1993)
• Atlantic City (1993)
• Stand Up (1996)
• Free Your Mind (1996)

Awards

• 1989: entry into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame of CARAS
• 1994: Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• 1998: The album Music from Big Pink is inducted into the NARAS Academy Hall of Fame
• 1999: The album The Band is inducted into the NARAS Academy Hall of Fame
• 2004: Rank 50 of Rolling Stone's 100 greatest musicians of all time
• 2008: Received the NARAS Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b} Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Band in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , accessed June 21, 2014
2. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
3. ^ The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7
4. ↑ Awards for Music Sales: UK Gold / Platinum Database of the RIAA (USA)
5. ↑ Top Pop Singles 1955-2006 by Joel Whitburn , Record Research 2007, ISBN 978-0-89820-172-7 .
6. ↑ junoawards.ca , accessed June 21, 2014.
7. ↑ ^{a b} GRAMMY Hall Of Fame , accessed June 21, 2014.
8. ↑ 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Rolling Stone , December 2, 2010, accessed August 8, 2017 . 
9. ↑ www.grammy.com , accessed June 21, 2014.

literature

• Levon Helm & Stephen Davis: This wheel's on fire - Levon Helm and the story of The Band. New York, 1993. ISBN 978-1-61374-876-3 .
• Greil Marcus: The band. Pilgrimage . In: Greil Marcus: Mystery Train. The dream of America in songs of rock music . Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1981, pp. 53-82, ISBN 978-3-8077-0255-1 .
• John Niven : Music from Big Pink . Heyne Verlag, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-453-67622-0 .
• Robbie Robertson : Testimony. New York, 2016. ISBN 978-0-451-49728-4 .

Web links

Commons : The Band  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• About The Band (English)
• The Band at Allmusic (English)
• The Band at Music VF