The Band in the basement of Big Pink. Formerly The Hawks, and Bob Dylan's backup band, these country gentlemen created a timeless American music (though all but one were originally Canadian) in a basement in West Saugerties, New York. "The Basement Tapes," recorded with Bob Dylan while he recovered from a nearly fatal motorcycle accident, became one of the most famous bootlegs to ever leak. At a time when everyone else was making heavy psychedelic rock, these guys seemed to go back to the Civil War. Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Richard Manuel left Dylan to make some classic albums. They toured with him again in 1974.
Ross Reynolds of KUOW in Seattle produced a radio show on Robbie Robertson, with an interview by Bob Santelli of the Experience Music Project. I assisted Reynolds as music director of the piece, which gave me an excuse to obsessively pour over the music of Dylan and the Band, something I continue to enjoy on a regular basis.
To hear the show, click HERE.
at the last waltz...
