Sunday Night Music Byte

The Last Waltz was a concert by the Canadian 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 saw The Band joined by more than a dozen special guests, including Paul Butterfield, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood and Neil Young.

The Band was a  group active from 1967 to 1976. The original group (1967-1976) consisted of four Canadians: Robbie Robertson (guitar, piano, vocals); Richard ManuelGarth Hudson (organ, piano, clavinet, accordion, synthesizer, saxophone); and Rick Danko (bass guitar, violin, trombone, vocals), and one American, Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, bass guitar, vocals). (piano, harmonica, drums, saxophone, organ, vocals);

The members of the Band first came together as they joined rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins’ backing group, The Hawks, one by one between 1958 and 1963. Upon leaving Hawkins in 1964 they were known as The Levon Helm Sextet (the sixth member being sax player Jerry Penfound), then Levon and the Hawks (without Penfound). In 1965, they released a single on Ware Records under the name the Canadian Squires, but returned as Levon and the Hawks for a recording session for Atco later in 1965. At about the same time, Bob Dylan recruited Helm and Robertson for two concerts, then the entire group for his U.S. tour in 1965 and world tour in 1966. They also joined him on the informal recordings that later became The Basement Tapes.

Because they were always “the band” to various frontmen, Helm said the name “The Band” worked well when the group came into its own and left Saugerties, New York, to begin recording their own material. They recorded two of the most acclaimed albums of the late 1960s: their 1968 debut Music from Big Pink (featuring the single “The Weight”) and 1969’s The Band. They broke up in 1976, but reformed in 1983 without founding guitarist Robbie Robertson.

Tonight’s music byte features Van “the Man” Morrison singing an inspired version of his mega-hit “Caravan” at the concert while being backed up by The Band. This is a terrific performance. You gotta love his 1970′s era maroon leisure suit. Watch the members of The Band closely. It is evident that they are having an absolute blast playing with Morrison. Finally, watch Morrison leave the stage before the number is finished in typical (for him) “ego inflated” style. Have fun watching this one.

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