The Band

For other uses, see Band (disambiguation).

The Band
The Band sitting on a log
The Band in 1969. Left to right: Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson, Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson and Rick Danko.
Background information
Also known asThe Hawks
Levon and the Hawks
Canadian Squires
The Crackers
OriginToronto, Ontario, Canada
Woodstock, New York, U.S.
Genres
DiscographyThe Band discography
Years active
  • 1967 (1967)–1977
  • 1983–1999
Labels
Past membersRick Danko
Levon Helm
Garth Hudson
Richard Manuel
Robbie Robertson
Jim Weider
Stan Szelest
Randy Ciarlante
Richard Bell

The Band was a Canadian-American rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1967. It consisted of Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, drums, vocals), Robbie Robertson (guitar, vocals, piano, percussion), and American Levon Helm (drums, vocals, mandolin, guitar, bass). The Band's music combined elements of Americana, folk, rock, jazz and country, which influenced artists such as George Harrison, Elton John, the Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton and Wilco.

Between 1958 and 1963, the group was known as the Hawks, a backing band for rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins. In the mid-1960s, they gained recognition for being the backing group for Bob Dylan, with his 1966 concert tour being notable as Dylan's first with an electric band. After leaving Dylan and changing their name to The Band, they released several records to critical and popular acclaim, most notably their 1968 debut, Music from Big Pink and its succeeding album, 1969's The Band. According to AllMusic, Music from Big Pink's influence on several generations of musicians has been substantial: Pink Floyd member Roger Waters called it the second-most influential record in the history of rock and roll,[2] and music journalist Al Aronowitz called it "country soul ... a sound never heard before".[3] Their most popular songs included "The Weight" (1968), "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (1969), and "Up on Cripple Creek" (1969).

The Band performed their farewell concert on November 25, 1976. Footage from the event was released in 1978 as the concert film The Last Waltz, directed by Martin Scorsese. It would be the last performance of the original five members. After five years apart, Danko, Hudson, Helm, and Manuel reunited in 1983, without Robertson, for a reunion tour. Robertson had taken up a new career as a producer and composer for film soundtracks. Manuel died in 1986, but the remaining three members would continue to tour and occasionally release new albums of studio material until 1999, when, upon the death of Danko, the remaining members decided to break up for good. Helm would go on to have a successful solo career, winning multiple Grammy Awards in the folk and Americana categories until his 2012 death, while Hudson worked as a featured session musician. Robertson died in 2023, leaving Hudson as the only living member of the original lineup.

Music critic Bruce Eder described The Band as "one of the most popular and influential rock groups in the world, their music embraced by critics ... as seriously as the music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones."[4] The Band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.[5][6] In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them 50th on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time",[7] and ranked "The Weight" 41st on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[8] In 2008, the group received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.[9] In 2014, they were inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.[10]

  1. ^ Voice of Youth Advocates. Vol. 8 (2-6 ed.). Scarecrow Press. 1985. p. 153.
  2. ^ Moon, Tom (June 1, 2018). "50 Years On, The Band's 'Music From Big Pink' Haunts Us Still". NPR. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  3. ^ "The Beginnings of the Band: Getting Started, Meeting Bob Dylan and 'Music From Big Pink'". Rolling Stone. August 24, 1968. Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  4. ^ "The Band: A Brief History". The Band. Archived from the original on April 9, 2003.
  5. ^ "Canadian Music Hall of Fame". Carasonline.ca. Archived from the original on August 2, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  6. ^ "The Band". Rockhall.com. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  7. ^ Williams, Lucinda (April 15, 2004). "The Immortals – The Greatest Artists of All Time: 50, The Band". Rolling Stone. No. 946. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  8. ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". RollingStone.com. Archived from the original on April 16, 2007. Retrieved June 2, 2007.
  9. ^ "Lifetime Achievement Award". Grammy.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2008.
  10. ^ "Canada's Walk of Fame". Canada's Walk of Fame. Retrieved August 7, 2019.