RIP Eric Garth Hudson CM (August 2, 1937 – January 21, 2025). He was the treasured multi-instrumentalist— most notably, organ, clavinet, accordion and saxophone— for Canada’s transcendent rock organization, The Band. His saxophone solo on the Last Waltz version of this song has been known to bring chills to music lovers everywhere, and when combined with bassist …
The Last Waltz-as-an-actual-event was a Requiem for both a Sensibility and an Era (call it Classic Rock, if one must), even if no one present knew it. I’ve also always assumed that–as of this date in 1976 anyway–not a single person on that Winterland stage (Patti Smith’s pal Bob aside, of course, and as usual) …
At Mississippi Records in Portland this past weekend, not only did I find a DJ promo copy of Veedon Fleece on vinyl for $4, but also Cahoots by the Band, which I never knew had this collab with the Belfast Cowboy. “Oh, Belfast cowboy, lay your cards on the grade Oh, Belfast cowboy, can you …
A fitting tribute, straight from Sammy Davis Jr’s pool house 43 years ago. Funny, even color movies of the Band at this time look sepia toned. You could prove me wrong pretty easily, but it sure seems like Levon sang fewer songs after the first two Band albums; that might explain why the later ones …
[4/19/2012 – On his website, the family of Levon Helm has announced, “Levon Helm passed peacefully this afternoon. He was surrounded by family, friends and band mates and will be remembered by all he touched as a brilliant musician and a beautiful soul.”] A proud native of Arkansas, Levon Helm put the American, not to forget …
“It Makes No Difference” – The Band. Love + respect to the great Levon Helm. – Alicia Dara – @thevolcanodiary – #100songs100days http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys1pBhz5c9A
[Update 4/19/2012 – On his website, the family of Levon Helm has announced, “Levon Helm passed peacefully this afternoon. He was surrounded by family, friends and band mates and will be remembered by all he touched as a brilliant musician and a beautiful soul.” The material below was posted earlier in the week, prior to …
Robbie Robertson must’ve been feeling generous on this day, because he gave Richard Manuel a co-songwriting credit on this beautiful haunting song. – Randy Rendfeld http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKnPYcsf508
Apparently some of the enmity that exists among surviving members of The Band revolves around songwriting credits. Levon told Robbie about this thing he’d seen years ago — W.S. Walcott’s Medicine Show — and Robbie wrote it down. Wouldn’t it be the proper gentlemanly thing to do to record this as a collaboration and give …
[“For the induction of The Band into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson (backed by Blue Rodeo) perform “The Weight” at Canada’s Juno Awards (March 12, 1989).” – From the Youtube description.] This is new to me. I guess Levon was out of the country for this one. …
Another all-star celebrity cover of The Weight. Thanks to David Handelman for this, who adds, “Take a load off your fanny.” Bravo to Mavis Staples for her spunk and enthusiasm after all these years. Is Nick Lowe praying, shoegazing or reading the lyrics off an iPad? If he’s only reading lyrics off a piece of …
Tomorrow is the 35th Anniversary of The Last Waltz. According to the Wik, “The Last Waltz was a concert by the rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The Last Waltz was advertised as the end of The Band’s illustrious touring career,and the concert …
East Portland Blog’s favorite song by The Band. Keyboardist Richard Manuel is on vocals:
. . The 1978 concert movie “The Last Waltz” was unusual for a couple of reasons. One, it was directed by Martin Scorsese and two, it was a farewell show for an enormously popular group that had all it’s original members living, no real drop in popularity, and no band members with outstanding warrants (no …
After much negotiation, Ron Swanson submitted the following Top 25 list: I am not married to the list per se, but here’s the thought process, such as it is: put this out on the blog (more or less as is) and then add a link asking readers to vote for their fav songs to replace …
“The Weight” off The Band‘s 1968 album, Music From Big Pink has become the favored cover tune for every flavor and sector of Americana rock. Something in the loping, star-spangled bounce of the tune gives voice, meter and harmony to subtle, reassuring myths of rural America and has found appeal, not just in the land …