Delve Into Danko

In the spring of 1975, The Band returned to the studio to work on what would become their first album of brand-new material in four years. It had been two years since the boys had left the cozy Catskill Mountain town of Woodstock, New York in October 1973 to follow Bob Dylan out to Malibu, California, and it appeared that they were not heading back east anytime soon. Rick Danko reflected in an interview with Barney Hopkins, "My original idea was to move to California for about three months. Instead, we came out and stayed eight years.". So many changes both personally and professionally had happened since they recorded Cahoots in 1971, and it seemed that The Band had almost given up on complete collaboration as they once had so effortlessly just a few years prior. Yet, The Band proved ever triumph with their new delivery and had a comeback album that would prove to rank as some of their best work along with Music From Big Pink and their self-titled (Brown Album).  Another not...

With the success of 1974's comeback albums, The Band enjoyed having more royalty money coming in while simultaneously enjoying their new studio setup. Shangri-La, a ranchette with a once sordid history as a bordello, was now The Band's new recording studio for up to 24 tracks while also being their clubhouse. This included a fully stocked bar and a pool table which became extra inviting for fellow neighboring musician friends to come by and party. While fans enjoyed Planet Waves and the live album Before the Flood, reviews by magazines were generally still positive, but were slowly becoming mediocre and criticizing. An example of this is Tom Nolan from Rolling Stone saying, regarding Before the Flood, that "...Dylan's vocal emphasis and The Band's busy arrangements make for an awkward listen.". Levon Helm wrote in his autobiography that it was "...as if the press were starting to tire of us after years of slavish reporting and reviews.". To make matt...

In 1974, The Band was adjusting to a brand new life. They were far away from the small, peaceful town of Woodstock, New York, and their small Bearsville Studios. This was the big time with larger studios, more intimidating businessmen, and many more demands in the big beach area of Malibu, California. A familiar face though was Bob Dylan, who had moved to Malibu in 1973 and inspired the rest of The Band to follow suit. Dylan had not released an album of original and new material since 1970 and was essentially on another hiatus. Similarly, for The Band, they were still on their hiatus and had not released original songs since Cahoots. Still held to their record contract, they had to come up with something for 1974. With Dylan and The Band being neighbors again, this gave him inspiration for Dylan's upcoming album. Bob Dylan and The Band had become a fan-favorite partnership, and after several years it seemed right to revisit this collaboration. David Geffen, who had convinced Dylan ...

The early 70s had brought much change and turmoil for The Band. They had some of their highest peaks and some of their deepest lows, both professionally and personally. By the time 1973 came around, it was destined to not be any different. This would be the middle of what became known starting 1972 as The Band's "in-between years". They were in the midst of their recording contract obligations with Capitol but completely drained dry of their creativity. The process of collaboration was tense and not as balanced as it was for their first three albums, and it was starting to show in their album productions. Robbie Robertson had mainly seized control of The Band and was making decisions without the group's input which was causing even greater resentment and tension. The most affected was Levon Helm who already started holding a grudge against Robbie and the outside management, and his bitterness showed with his declining passion. The rest of the group felt in a similar a...

December 10, 2022, makes 23 years since Rick Danko silently left this world. In a way, it is ironic that someone who was notorious for being described as a "bull in a china shop" would pass in such a quiet manner, but for such poor health that Rick had been in, it was not a surprise to those who knew him. Regardless, he is still tremendously missed by his family, friends, and generations of fans. Even though it has been over twenty years, the loss of such a beloved person hits as hard as if it were yesterday.  When I first discovered Rick Danko, it was the day after his birthday in 2019. Growing up, I was familiar with The Band with songs such as "The Weight", "Up On Cripple Creek", and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", but I had just assumed they had one lead singer. As much as I liked them, I never delved deep into discovering them beyond those songs for the most part. I did not even know who Levon Helm was. In December 2019, I can remembe...

The end of 1971 went out with a bang for The Band. After a hard and rigorous year of touring, the boys were feeling exhausted and ready to hang it up for a while. Yet, the contract demands that another new album come out in 1972. With the recording of Cahoots being highly strained and draining the last bit of original energy they had within them, The Band was left wondering what to do to satisfy the demands while trying to preserve the group from falling apart. The general consensus was that they would put out a double album to satisfy Capitol Records and then take a brief hiatus.  For four nights, from December 28-December 31, The Band took residence at the Academy of Music in New York City. To try out something new, they decided to have a backing horn band. For these arrangements, they contacted musician and arranger Allen Toussaint to write horn charts for their songs that would back up their usual sound. This new idea equally excited and terrified The Band. While they wanted to...