- published: 30 Oct 2008
- views: 5696
The Band was a Canadian-American roots rock group, originally consisting of Rick Danko (bass guitar, double bass, fiddle, trombone, vocals), Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, vocals), Garth Hudson (keyboards, saxophones, trumpet), Richard Manuel (piano, baritone, drums, vocals) and Robbie Robertson (guitar, percussion, vocals). 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.
In 1964, they separated from Hawkins, after which they toured and released a few singles as Levon and the Hawks and the Canadian Squires. The next year, Bob Dylan hired them for his U.S. tour in 1965 and world tour in 1966. Following the 1966 tour, the group moved with Dylan to Saugerties, New York, where they made the informal 1967 recordings that became The Basement Tapes, which forged the basis for their 1968 debut album, Music from Big Pink. Because they were always "the band" to various frontmen, Helm said the name "The Band" worked well when the group came into its own. The group began performing as the Band in 1968 and went on to release ten studio albums. Dylan continued to collaborate with the Band over the course of their career, including a joint 1974 tour.
Adam Nyerere Bahner, (born July 6, 1982) better known by the pseudonym Tay Zonday, is an American singer, musician, announcer, voice artist, actor, comedian and YouTube personality.
He is known for his bass singing voice. He garnered mainstream exposure when his song "Chocolate Rain" became a viral video in July 2007. As of September 2015 "Chocolate Rain" has over 105.3 million views.
Zonday was born Adam Nyerere Bahner in Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 6, 1982 and graduated from The Evergreen State College in 2004. He attended the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, however, dropped out before graduating. Early in his career, Zonday regularly performed at Balls Cabaret at The Southern Theater in Minneapolis.
In July 2007, Zonday was a graduate student in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was soon making appearances on national television. He appeared on the Opie & Anthony Show,G4TV's Attack of the Show!, VH1's Best Week Ever,Lily Allen and Friends, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Tosh.0 and Maury where he performed "Chocolate Rain" on national television a little over three months after he posted his composition on YouTube. He made the front page of Sunday's Los Angeles Times on August 12, 2007 with additional features in The Toronto Star, The Chicago Tribune's RedEye, The Star Tribune and People and has appeared on CNN for a televised interview. On February 12, 2008, he appeared on the television show Lily Allen and Friends on BBC Three, and performed a cover of Lily Allen's debut "Smile". In March 2008, the video won a YouTube-award in the category "Music".
If you say you're the ring finger on my stone
Well I say I'm a kite with a key
If you say that you are unsure of things
Well I'm not accepting defeat
Are we strong enough
Is it good enough
Am I brave enough
For the both of us
I will sing you songs
Even though you can't put 'em on your finger
I'll never be a diamond mine, I'm just a singer
I will sing you songs
Wishing my words carried on as long as a stone
On a band of gold
You're sleepwalking through the daylight
How else am I supposed to follow a dream
And now you say I can't wait on you to connect these hands
But I'm still trying to reach
So are we strong enough
Is it good enough
You pray hard enough
For the both of us
I will sing you songs
Even though you can't put 'em on your finger
I'll never be a diamond mine, I'm just a singer
I will sing you songs
Wishing my words carried on as long as a stone
On a band of gold
'Cause I'm just a rolling stone in a band on the road
I know words don't mean
Much on their own
But what I sing to you
Is worth more than a stone
I will sing you songs
Even though you can't put 'em on your finger
I'll never be a diamond mine, I'm just a singer
I will sing you songs
Wishing my words carried on as long as a stone
On a band of gold
'Cause I'm just a rolling stone in a band on the road
You said you want a stone
On a band of gold
What you got is a rolling stone
In a band on the road
Yeah I'm just a rolling stone in a band on the road
I haven't seen the sun in days
Man, it's getting to me
Well that's our industry
I lost my happy thoughts
Caught up in a tree
Flying's harder for me now
And kiss my ass you dream
I hope you're hearing me
No one's bet on you quite like I did
It's taken everything I've got
To keep myself on the road
I don't wanna drive no more
I am a stubborn bull
I am a caveman
A cheap tattoo
Gone from black to blue
So I don't wanna hear it from you
Never gonna be a spaceman
Sitting on my tin can
Never come back
I spend my afternoons
Making masterpieces
People would later understand
Well damn you wishing well
You should've told me
I bought dreams you wouldn't sell
It's taken everything I've god
To keep my hands from my face
I don't wanna cry no more
I found dangers in
Acting out
Dreams never meant
To be carried out
Oh, but I am the stubborn bull
Yeah, I am a caveman
A cheap tattoo
Fading from black to blue
So I don't wanna hear it from you