The Band - The Band
On this week's episode, we discuss the Band and their second LP, The Band (also affectionately known as the Brown Album). With 50 plus years having passed, its difficult to understand the impact the Band had on the music industry, but it was HUGE.
It is also hard to find a band that incorporated more American music traditions into their sound than the Band did, which is odd when you consider all but one of the members was Canadian. After years of honing their skills in individual groups, they found each other while playing together as unit backing rockabilly great Ronnie Hawkins and later baking the newly electrified Bob Dylan. On this, their second album, the Band continues the exploration of musical genres and lyrical themes they started with the debut album: Music From Big Pink. Like its predecessor, The Band is a collection of outstanding songs played expertly by some of the best musicians in all of rock. Yet The Band feels like a more cohesive statement and may arguably be their masterpiece. And it is fitting that we explore this album in the wake of the recent passing of main songwriter and guitarist, Robbie Robertson.
THINGS WE DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE
For the story of the Band, all roads point to a Arkansan rockabilly musician named Ronnie Hawkins. Hawkins had a knack for grabbing up and coming musicians for his backing band. Levon Helm (left) was the first member of what would become “the Band” to join Hawkins backing group the Hawks.
Hawkins found his fame in Canada, where he eventually grabbed up other future “Band” members, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson from various Canadian outfits.
By 1957, Richard Manuel was in a band called the Revols. He was the primary vocalist. In 1960 the Revols opened for Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawk, Hawkins, was blown away by Manuel’s piano playing. By September 1961, Hawkins had recruited Manuel as his piano player. He was 18.
Around 1957, Robbie Robertson formed his band: Robbie and the Rhythm Chords. After watching the movie Forbidden Planet, the band changed the name to Robbie and the Robot. That band eventually morphed into the Suedes.
In 1959, Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks (with Levon Helm on drums) performed their song “Forty Days” on Dick Clark’s Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show. The entire show had a western theme, and the bad performed in “western” attire.
According to Robbie Robertson, the Hawks eventually outgrew Ronnie Hawkins and as a result, they set out on their own. They were briefly known as the Levon Helm Sextet, with sixth member (sax player Jerry Penfound).
When Penfound left, they became Levon and the Hawks.
Pictured (L to R): Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Robbie Robertson.
The Hawks famously backed Bob Dylan on the tour where he chose to “go electric.” The band has roundly booed by hardcore Dylan fans. At a show during the UK tour at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England, someone in the audience yelled “Judas.” Dylan’s response was to play “Like a Rolling Stone” and instruct the band to play as load as the could. You can watch it ll unfold in the clip below.
The booing got to Helm who left soon after the tour after a month, and sat out the rest of that year's concerts, as well as the world tour in 1966. Dylan and Robertson for the most part took it all with a sense of humor.
Following Dylan to the Woodstock, NY area while he recovered form a motorcycle accident. Most of the guys move into a house in Saugerties, NY (pictured) that they called "Big Pink.” It was where they wrote most of the songs that would end up on their debut LP Music From Big Pink.
After the success of their debut LP, the Band were the artist on everyone’s lips. They were so big, they were listed as a headliner for Woodstock music festival. They were not included in the film version of the festival, but you can watch them perform “the Weight” from their set below.
In January 1969 the Band relocated to southern California to get away from the long winter and what Levon Helms called the temptations of Woodstock life . They rented a house that belonged to Sammy Davis, Jr.’s house in the Hollywood Hills.
The pool house was converted to a studio where they worked on the songs for their second LP: The Band.
Watch the band perform “Up On Cripple Creek” from The Band on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1969.
In November of 1976, the band gather a bunch musical guests at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco to put on what was billed as the Band’s farewell concert. The show was filmed by Martin Scorsese and released as the concert film The Last Waltz. Here’s a clip of Van Morrison performing “Caravan” whit the Band from that show.
