Initially associated with Bob Dylan with whom they toured and recorded, The Band were soon to be acknowledged as as a truly seminal band in their own right. The Band's eponymously-titled 1969 album reached number 9 in the billboard chart, secured 24 weeks in the Top 40, and was their second million seller. It is now regarded as a rock classic, emphasising their brilliant abilities to merge various musical influences including black, country, rockabilly and rock and roll music. The story of The Band and their classic album is told here in vivid words, pictures and music. Rock legends Eric Clapton and George Harrison, lyricist Bernie Taupin and music producer Don Was pay tribute to The Band and give reasons why their album is top of their classic album list.
It is unusual when two iconic musical influences have a deep-rooted history. Bob Dylan revolutionized the folk industry in the early sixties. Around the same time, a group consisting of four Canadians and one U.S. Southerner were cutting their rock and roll teeth as the back-up band to Ronnie Hawkins. An epiphany for rock and roll occurred at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival when Dylan went electric and outraged the folk community. A subsequent tour supported by The Hawks (later renamed The Band) became a watershed moment for modern music.
The Last Waltz was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The Last Waltz was advertised as The Band's "farewell concert appearance", and the concert saw The Band joined by more than a dozen special guests, including their previous employers Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan as well as Paul Butterfield, Bobby Charles, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood, and Neil Young…
On Thanksgiving Day 1976, The Band took the stage for the very last time at the Winterland Theatre in San Francisco. The concert, aptly billed as The Last Waltz, has become one of the most revered performances of all time…
Recorded on New Year's Eve 1971/72, this was the Band's last gig for a year and a half. Allen Toussaint was brought in again to write horn arrangements for many of the Band's classics. The results were inspired. Highlights are many, but of particular note are a cover of the Four Tops's "Baby Don't Do It" and a live recording of a track that had earlier been relegated to B-side status only, "Get up Jake." [AMG]