The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Canadians Rick Danko (bass guitar, double bass, fiddle, trombone, vocals), Garth Hudson (keyboard instruments, saxophones, trumpet), Richard Manuel (piano, drums, baritone saxophone, vocals), Robbie Robertson (guitar, vocals), and American Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, vocals). All five members were notable musicians in their own right.

The members of the Band first came together as they joined rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins's backing group, The Hawks, one by one between 1958 and 1963. Upon leaving Hawkins in 1964, they were briefly known as the Levon Helm Sextet with sax player Jerry Penfound being the sixth member, then Levon and the Hawks after Penfound's departure. In 1965, they released a single on Ware Records under the name Canadian Squires, but returned as Levon and the Hawks for a recording session for Atco later in 1965. At about the same time, Bob Dylan recruited Helm and Robertson for two concerts, then the entire group for his U.S. tour in 1965 and world tour in 1966. They also joined him on the informal recordings that later became ''The Basement Tapes.''

Because they were always "the band" to various frontmen, Helm said the name "The Band" worked well when the group came into its own and left Saugerties, New York, to begin recording 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.'' In 2004, "The Weight" was ranked the 41st best song of all time in ''Rolling Stone'''s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

The Band broke up in 1976, but reformed in 1983 without founding guitarist 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. The group was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked them #50 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and in 2008, they received the Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Overview

Every member was a multi-instrumentalist. 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 wide range of timbres from his Lowrey organ; on the choruses of "Tears of Rage", for example, it sounds like a mellotron. Helm's drumming was often praised: critic Jon Carroll 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 southern voice had more than a hint of country, Danko sang in a tenor, and Manuel alternated between falsetto and baritone. The singers regularly blended in harmonies. Though the singing was more or less evenly shared among the three men, both Danko and Helm have stated that they saw Manuel as the Band's "lead" singer.

Robertson was the group's chief songwriter, but he sang lead vocals on only three studio songs released by the Band ("To Kingdom Come", "Knockin' Lost John" and "Out Of The Blue"). This role, and Robertson's resulting claim to the copyright of most of the compositions, would later become a point of much antagonism, especially that directed towards Robertson by Helm, who, in his autobiography ''This Wheel's on Fire - Levon Helm and the Story of the Band'', disputes the validity of Robertson's place as chief songwriter, as the Band's songs were often honed and recorded through collaboration between all members. Robertson for his part angrily denied that Helm had written any of the songs attributed to Robertson and his daughter later pointed out in a letter to the ''Los Angeles Times'' that Levon Helm's solo work consists almost entirely of songs written by others. Strains appeared in the 1980s, when the bulk of songwriting royalties were going to Robertson alone while the others had to rely on income from touring. This had not arisen as an issue in the late sixties and early seventies, when a number of Band songs, mostly credited to Robertson alone, were covered successfully by other artists - such as Smith's version of "The Weight" for the ''Easy Rider'' soundtrack LP and Joan Baez's cover of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" in 1971.

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

While most of the Hawks were eager to join Hawkins's group, getting Hudson to join was a different story. He'd earned a college degree, 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; all music theory questions were directed 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. The piano-organ combination was uncommon in rock music, and for all his aggressive playing, Hudson also brought a level of musical sophistication.

With Hawkins, they recorded a few singles in this period and became well known as the best rock group in the thriving Toronto music scene. Hawkins regularly convened all-night rehearsals following long club shows, with the result that the young musicians quickly developed great technical prowess on their instruments.

By 1964, the group had 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 weary of Hawkins's 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 then had stiff penalties against marijuana possession.

Robertson later said, "Eventually, [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."

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

In 1963, Levon Helm met the groupie Cathy Smith, with whom he and other members of the Band would have a long association.

In 1965, Helm 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

After hearing the band play and meeting with Robertson, Dylan invited Helm and Robertson to join his backing band. After two concerts backing Dylan, Helm and Robertson told Dylan of their loyalty to their bandmates, and told him that they would only continue with him if he hired all of the Hawks. Dylan accepted and invited Levon and the Hawks to tour with him. The group was receptive to the 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 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 concerts from September 1965 through May 1966, marking Dylan's final transition from folkie to rocker. The tours, among the most storied in rock history, were also marked by Dylan's reportedly copious use of methamphetamines. Some, though not all, of the Hawks joined in the excesses. Most of the concerts were also met with the heckling of folk music purists. Helm was so affected by the negative reception that he left the tour within three months and sat out the rest of that year's concerts, as well as the world tour in 1966. Helm spent much of this period working on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

During and between tours, Dylan and the Hawks attempted several recording sessions, but with less than satisfying results. Sessions in October and November yielded just one usable single ("Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window"), and two days of recording in January 1966 for what was intended to be Dylan's next album, ''Blonde on Blonde'', were equally unsuccessful. However, by the time the album's sessions were switched from Columbia's New York studios to Nashville, Robertson had replaced Mike Bloomfield as Dylan's primary guitarist. The other members of the Hawks were not invited to Nashville, though ''Blonde on Blonde'''s credits also list Danko on bass and Hudson on keyboards and sax.

With Mickey Jones on drums (replacing Sandy Konikoff, who had taken over when Levon Helm departed), Dylan and the Hawks appeared at Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England, in May 1966. The gig became legendary when, near 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!" With that, they launched into an acidic version of "Like a Rolling Stone".

The Manchester 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." When it finally saw official release in 1998, critic Richie Unterberger declared the record "an important document of rock history."

On July 29, 1966, while on a break from touring, Dylan was injured in 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 influential series of demos, subsequently released on LP as ''The Basement Tapes''.

''Music from Big Pink'' and ''The Band''

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 "The Weight", the use of which in the film ''Easy Rider'' would make it probably their best known song. 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 guitar playing with Hawkins and Dylan, Robertson opted for a more subdued, riff-oriented approach, often mixed low down in the song.

After the success of ''Big Pink'', the band went on tour, including a performance at the Woodstock Festival (which was not included in the famed ''Woodstock'' film due to legal complications) and an appearance with Dylan at the UK Isle of Wight Festival (several songs from which were subsequently included on Dylan's ''Self Portrait'' album). 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 contrast to other popular music of the day. Although it should be noted that, by this point, several acts, notably Dylan on ''John Wesley Harding'' and The Byrds on ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'', had made similar stylistic moves. ''The Band'' featured songs that evoked oldtime rural America, from the civil war in "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" to unionization of farm workers in "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)".

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 stated 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 was also featured on the cover of ''Time Magazine's'' January 12, 1970 issue.

A critical and commercial triumph, ''The Band'', along with works 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 success by such artists as the Eagles. Both ''Big Pink'' and ''The Band'' also influenced 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 wanted to join the group.

''Stage Fright'', ''Cahoots'', and ''Northern Lights - Southern Cross''

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 "Ain't 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 tunes such as Bob Dylan's "When I Paint My Masterpiece," "4% Pantomime" (with Van Morrison), and "Life Is A Carnival," the last featuring 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 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.

In 1975, now relocated to California and having built their own studio, Shangri-La, The Band released ''Northern Lights - Southern Cross'', their first album of all-new material since 1971's ''Cahoots''. All eight songs were written exclusively by Robertson. Despite poor record sales (due to the elongated period of inactivity by the band) the album is favored by critics and fans alike. Levon Helm regards this album highly in his book, ''This Wheel's on Fire'': "It was the best album we had done since ''The Band''." Highlights from the album included the Helm sung New Orleans sounding "Ophelia" and Rick Danko's emotionally driven vocal on "It Makes no Difference," both of which were performed live in ''The Last Waltz''. Another notable song from the album was the epic story "Acadian Driftwood" which was also performed at the Last Waltz, but not included in the movie. The album also produced more experimentation from Hudson switching to synthesizers, heavily showcased on "Jupiter Hollow."

''The Last Waltz''

By 1976, Robbie Robertson was weary of touring. After having to cancel some tour dates due to Richard Manuel suffering a severe neck injury in a boating accident in Texas, Robertson urged the Band to retire from touring, and conceived of a massive Thanksgiving Day concert on November 25, 1976 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 other Canadian acts Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. Two of the guests were fundamental to The Band's existence and growth: Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan. Other guests they admired (and in most cases had worked with before) included Muddy Waters, Dr. John, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Ronnie Wood, Paul Butterfield, and Neil Diamond.

The concert was directed and filmed by Martin Scorsese. Concert footage and interviews with the band members and friends were combined with soundstage performances with country singer Emmylou Harris ("Evangeline") and gospel-soul group The Staple Singers ("The Weight"). The resulting concert film-documentary was released in 1978, as was a triple-LP soundtrack.

Post-Waltz

Reformation

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

The band participated in former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters' The Wall Live in Berlin concert in 1990, and in Bob Dylan's 30th anniversary concert celebration in New York City in October 1992. The group was the opening band for the final Grateful Dead shows at Soldier Field, in Chicago, Illinois in July 1995.

Richard Manuel's position as pianist was filled first by old friend Stan Szelest (who died not long after), then by Richard Bell. (Bell played with Ronnie Hawkins after the departure of the original Hawks, and was best known from his days as a member of Janis Joplin's Full Tilt Boogie Band.) The reformed group recorded ''Jericho'' in 1993 with much of the songwriting being handled outside the group. Two more post-reunion efforts followed, ''High on the Hog'' and ''Jubilation'', the latter including guest appearances from Eric Clapton and John Hiatt.

The Juno Awards of 1989 hosted a special reunion of several band members when The Band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. This was also the year that Robbie Robertson won three awards for his self titled album. With Canadian country rock superstars Blue Rodeo as a back-up band, Music Express called the 1989 Juno appearance with Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, and Garth Hudson a symbolic "passing of the torch" from The Band to Blue Rodeo.

In 1994 Robertson appeared with Danko and Hudson as The Band for the second time since the original group broke up. The occasion was the induction of The Band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Helm, who has feuded with Robertson for years over accusations of stolen songwriting credits, did not attend.

On 10 December 1999 another member was lost when Rick Danko died in his sleep at age 55. He had been a long-time drug user. In 1997 he had been found guilty of trying to smuggle heroin into Japan. He told the presiding judge that he had begun using the drug (together with prescription morphine) to fight life-long pain resulting from a 1968 auto accident. No drugs were found in his system at the time of his death. Following the death of Rick Danko, The Band broke up for good.

Post-reformation

On 15 June 2007, The Band's late-period keyboardist Richard Bell died from multiple myeloma.

Although The Band received The Grammy Award's Lifetime Achievement Award on February 9, 2008, there was no reunion of all three living members, as Levon Helm held a "Midnight Ramble" in honor of the event in Woodstock, NY.

Members' other endeavors

Robertson 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, eponymous solo album in 1987. He released a second solo album, Storyville, in 1991 and another album in 2010. He also released a newly remixed version of the already heavily overdubbed The Last Waltz.

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''. He has appeared in small roles in a number of other films.

After the breakup of the Band, in the late 70s and 80s Helm released several solo albums and toured with a band called Levon Helm and the RCO Allstars. In 2007 Helm released a new album, a homage to his southern roots called ''Dirt Farmer'', which was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album on February 9, 2008. ''Electric Dirt'' followed in 2009 which also won a "Best Album" Grammy Award. Helm regularly performs concerts at his barn studio in Woodstock, New York and tours. At Helm's encouragement, Capital has re-released the first three the Band albums as a set.

In 1984, Rick Danko joined members of the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers and others in the huge touring company that made up "The Byrds Twenty-Year Celebration." Several members of the band performed solo songs to start the show including Danko who performed "Mystery Train". Danko also released a number of solo albums.

Hudson played keyboards on the first three albums by The Call. 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. He is featured extensively on recordings of Country/Indie star Neko Case. Hudson contributed an original electronic score to an Off-Broadway production of ''Dragon Slayers,'' written by Stanley Keyes and directed by Brad Mays in 1986 at the Union Square Theatre in New York, which was re-staged with a new cast in Los Angeles in 1990.

Influence

In the nineties, a new generation of bands influenced by The Band began to gain popularity, including Counting Crows and The Black Crowes. Counting Crows indicated this influence with their tribute to the late Richard Manuel, "If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel Is Dead)" from their album Hard Candy. The Black Crowes frequently cover Band songs during live performances, such as "The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down", which appears on their DVD ''Freak 'n' Roll into the Fog''. They have also recorded at Helm's studio in Woodstock.

Chicago's Umphrey's McGee has covered both "Ophelia" and "Don't Do It". Both were covered for the first time at their New Year's Eve concert from 2004, ''Wrapped Around Chicago''. "Ophelia" appears on that release. They have also covered "The Weight" twice with Huey Lewis on vocals.

Southern-based "jam band" Widespread Panic has covered "Ophelia" consistently from 1987 to 2007, and in 2006 they began covering "Chest Fever" as well.

In 2004 southern rock-revivalists Drive-By Truckers released the track "Danko/Manuel" on the album ''The Dirty South''.

In January 2007, a tribute album, entitled ''Endless Highway: The Music of The Band'', was released which included contributions by My Morning Jacket, Death Cab for Cutie, Gomez, Guster, Bruce Hornsby, Jack Johnson and ALO, Leanne Womack, The Allman Brothers Band, Blues Traveler, Jakob Dylan, and Rosanne Cash, amongst others.

In June, 2010, jam band Phish covered "Look out Cleveland" to open a show at Blossom Music Center outside of Cleveland, OH.

The 2010 Dukes of September Rhythm Revue tour (Donald Fagen, Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald) features a mini-tribute to The Band including Caldonia Mission (Fagen), Rag Mama Rag (Scaggs) and The Shape I'm In (McDonald) in the middle of the set.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

;with Bob Dylan

Personnel

Timeline