Electric guitar

An electric guitar is a guitar that uses a pickup to convert the vibration of its strings—which are typically made of metal, and which occurs when a guitarist strums, plucks or fingerpicks the strings—into electrical impulses. The vibrations of the strings are sensed by a pickup (music technology), of which the most common type is the magnetic pickup, which uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is plugged into a guitar amplifier before being sent to a loudspeaker, which makes a sound loud enough to hear. The output of an electric guitar is an electric signal, and the signal can easily be altered by electronic circuits to add "color" to the sound or change the sound. Often the signal is modified using effects such as reverb and distortion and "overdrive", with the latter being a key element of the sound of the electric guitar as it is used in blues and rock.

Invented in 1931, the amplified electric guitar was adopted by jazz guitarists, who sought to be able to be heard in large big band ensembles. Early proponents of the electric guitar on record included Les Paul, Lonnie Johnson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, T-Bone Walker, and Charlie Christian. During the 1950s and 1960s, the electric guitar became the most important instrument in pop music. It has evolved into an instrument that is capable of a multitude of sounds and styles. It served as a major component in the development of electric blues, rock and roll, rock music, and many other genres of music.

Robbie Robertson

Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson,OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist best known for his work as lead guitarist and primary songwriter for the Band. As a songwriter, he is credited for "The Weight", "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "Up on Cripple Creek", "Broken Arrow", "Somewhere down the Crazy River" and many others. He has been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

Biography

Early life

Robertson was born Jaime Royal Robertson. His mother, Rosemarie Myke Chrysler, was Mohawk, born and raised on the Six Nations Reservation. His father was a Jewish professional gambler. Robertson has said that both traditions have influenced his religious outlook. His father died in a hit-and-run accident when Robbie was a young child, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. and his mother later married James Patrick Robertson, who adopted Robbie and whose surname Robbie took. He had his earliest exposure to music at Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, where he spent summers with his mother's family.

Levon Helm

Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American rock 'n' roller, Americana musician, and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and regular lead vocalist for the Band. Helm was known for his deeply soulful, country–accented voice, multi-instrumental ability, and creative drumming style, highlighted on many of the Band's recordings, such as "The Weight", "Up on Cripple Creek", and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down".

Helm also had a successful career as a film actor, appearing as Loretta Lynn's father in Coal Miner's Daughter, as Chuck Yeager's friend and colleague Captain Jack Ridley in The Right Stuff, and as a Tennessee firearms expert in Shooter.

In 1998, Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer, which caused him to lose his singing voice. After treatment, his cancer eventually went into remission, and he gradually regained the use of his voice. His 2007 comeback album Dirt Farmer earned the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album in February 2008, and in November of that year, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him No. 91 in its list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. In 2010, Electric Dirt, his 2009 follow-up to Dirt Farmer, won the first Grammy Award for Best Americana Album, a category inaugurated in 2010. In 2011, his live album Ramble at the Ryman won the Grammy in the same category. On April 17, 2012, his wife and daughter announced on Helm's website that he was "in the final stages of his battle with cancer" and thanked fans while requesting prayers. Two days later, Helm died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

Richard Manuel

Richard George Manuel (April 3, 1943 – March 4, 1986) was a Canadian composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the pianist, regular lead singer, and occasional drummer of the Band. He was a member of the original band from 1967 to 1976 and the re-formed band from 1983 until his death.

Biography

Early life and career

Richard Manuel was born in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. His father, Ed, was a mechanic employed at a Chrysler dealership, and his mother was a schoolteacher. He was raised with his three brothers, and the four sang in the church choir. Manuel took piano lessons beginning when he was nine, and enjoyed playing piano and rehearsing with friends at his home. Manuel received a diploma from the Ontario Conservatory of Music in lap steel guitar; this was his only formal music certification. Some of his childhood influences were Ray Charles, Bobby Bland, Jimmy Reed and Otis Rush.

He and three friends started a band when he was fifteen, originally named the Rebels but later changed to the Revols, in deference to Duane Eddy and the Rebels. The group also included Ken Kalmusky, a founding member of Great Speckled Bird, and John Till, a founding member of the Full Tilt Boogie Band. Although primarily known as a naturally talented vocalist with a soulful rhythm and blues style and rich timbre (often compared to that of Ray Charles), Manuel also developed an intensely rhythmic style of piano unique in its usage of inverted chord structures. These talents were showcased in the Revols.

Rick Danko

Richard Clare "Rick" Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter and singer, best known as a member of the Band.

Biography

Early years (1943–1960)

Richard Clare Danko was born on December 29, 1943. in Blayney, Ontario, a farming community outside of the town of Simcoe, to a musical family of Ukrainian descent. He was the third of four sons. He grew up listening to live music at family get-togethers, and to country, blues and, later, R&B on the radio. He was especially fascinated with country music, and often his mother would let him stay up late to listen to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio. His musical influences included Hank Williams, the Carter Family and, later, Sam Cooke. He also drew inspiration from the music of his eldest brother, Junior. Danko's second-eldest brother, Dennis, was an accomplished songwriter, and his younger brother, Terry, also became a musician.

Rick made his musical debut in front of his first-grade classmates on a four-string tenor banjo