The Band
Originally rising to prominence as Bob Dylan's backing group, the quintet known simply and authoritatively as The Band later emerged as one of rock music's most seminal acts. Crafting highly literate, austerely luminous songs probing the mythology of the American experience (the great irony of their work, given the Canadian origins of all but one of their members), their music fused the rural beauty of old-time country and blues with the spirit of rock 'n' roll to forge a uniquely evocative aesthetic far removed from the work of their contemporaries. The Band comprised guitarist J.R. "Robbie" Robertson (1944, Toronto, Ontario), pianist Richard Manuel (1944-1986, born in Stratford, Ontario), organist Garth Hudson (1937, London, Ontario), bassist Rick Danko(1943-1999, born in Simcoe, Ontario) and drummer Levon Helm (1942, Marvelle, Arkansas); Robertson was the unit's chief songwriter, and Manuel, Danko and Helm shared vocal duties. The group slowly came together under the tutelage of American rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins, who first hired the Arkansas-born Helm before relocating to Toronto at the close of the 1950s, where he gradually recruited the other four musicians to round out his backing unit, dubbed the Hawks.
After scoring a 1963 hit with a cover of "Bo Diddley," they left Hawkins to tour on their own, performing on the American club circuit under names including Levon & the Hawks, the Crackers and the Canadian Squires while honing a loud, gritty repertoire heavily influenced by R&B, soul and gospel. Upon recording two songs in New York, "Go Go Liza Jane" and "The Stones I Throw," Levon & the Hawks returned to Canada; while performing a club date they were spotted by fledgling blues singer John Hammond Jr., who recruited them to play on his 1964 debut single "I Wish You Would." Through Hammond, they were introduced to Dylan, who enlisted Robertson and Helm to play in his newly-electrified backing group for a controversial August, 1965 Forest Hills performance; Dylan and Helm soon had a falling out, but the rest of the group, with replacement drummer Mickey Jones, subsequently signed on for Dylan's landmark 1965-1966 world tour, sparking a longstanding collaboration that resulted in some of the most brilliant music in the rock canon.
In 1966, Dylan was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. During his recovery period he sought refuge in the secluded upstate New York area of Woodstock, and the Hawks (newly reunited with Helm) soon joined him there, taking up residence in a large house nicknamed Big Pink. A period of intense writing and recording followed, with the much-bootlegged results officially appearing in 1975 under the title The Basement Tapes; here the Hawks, soon to rechristen themselves The Band, began to develop the lyrical, pastoral style of their finest work, and they ultimately began crafting material independently of Dylan. Finally, in 1968 The Band's debut LP Music From Big Pink appeared to widespread critical acclaim, with songs like "The Weight" and "This Wheel's on Fire" emerging as instant classics. Upon moving to Hollywood, The Band began recording their second LP, a self-titled masterpiece issued in 1969; a commercial success as well as a critical favorite, both "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Up on Cripple Creek" became FM radio favorites, and established Robertson among the greatest songwriting talents of his generation.
By Jason Ankeny, The All Music Guide
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Wallflowers regularly cover songs like “The Weight” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”
Bob Dylan's most important influence on his son was as a "positive parent," Jakob Dylan said. "And, indirectly, probably everyone I admire was influenced by him," including Van Morrison and especially The Band, which backed Bob Dylan on several albums and concert tours.
"I like The Band a lot," Dylan said. "I know those records fairly well - really well, actually." (Kansas City Star 3.5.93)
Their "style" is something the Wallflowers try to emulate at times in their own music. According to Mike's interview in the 8.97 issue of Guitar Player:
There were a few songs where they were really specific about what they wanted, though. "Josephine" was one of these: Ward’s mournful, vibrato-heavy lead was played to order, even though he didn’t exactly understand Dylan’s instructions." Jakob goes, ‘You know how Robbie Robertson would play it"’ And I go, ‘Yeah, yeah!’ But I don’t know the first thing about Robbie Robertson! I thought, ‘Play something absolute polar opposite of what I would normally play.’ I took a stab at it, and he was like, ‘Perfect! That’s exactly it!’ It was really funny."
