Deep in the Heart of a Lonely Kid

Rick's school photo

Welcome to the first blog post about Rick Danko! It is exciting to be starting this endeavor. The purpose of it is to tell the story of this incredible man's life. To the average listener, he is Rick Danko, the bassist and one of the lead singers of The Band. Most noted for singing "It Makes No Difference". For the big fans, he is Crazy Chester, the kid with the stage fright, or simply Ricky. Those who pay close attention to the Band's career from Music From Big Pink all the way through Jubilation and Rick's solo career are aware that as a singer, he never wavered. Somehow he managed to do justice to any genre whether it be rock, folk, country, blues, or soul. He could sing in the high or low register. If he didn't feel it, he didn't do it. Fans are also aware how, much like the others in the Band, he could play just about any instrument as well. I hope that with this blog, I can help tell the story of Rick Danko not just as a musician, but as a person as well. The professional and the personal side.

This first blog will touch on his humble beginnings. Rick was born at home on December 29, 1943, in Green's Corners (near Simcoe), Ontario, Canada to his father Maurice (of Ukrainian, Mongolian, and Romanian descent) and his mother Leola (of Welsh descent). Similar to George Harrison with his birthday confusion, Rick also has always had two different dates. When he was born, his parents did not file for a birth certificate immediately and when they did, the official record had 1942 on it. However, his older siblings have claimed that the records are wrong and he was in fact born in 1943. Rick being the mischievous child, tried to use that mistake for his personal benefit. He would claim that he was born in '42 so he could do everything a year ahead, such as driving, and would even try to convince his mother who of course never fell for it!

Rick was the third of four boys but was the sickliest. He had chronic allergies, asthma, and eczema which required tar treatments. All of this limited him with what he could do. Prone to having asthma attacks, he ended up nearly becoming a shut-in. One of the few enjoyments that he had was music. Growing up the majority of his childhood without electricity, he listened to music on a battery-powered radio. Being a sickly child, his mother gave him a few extra privileges, such as staying up late at night so he could hear the Grand Ol Opry being broadcasted live all the way down in Nashville, Tennessee. Country music was his earliest influence and he loved Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb, and the Carter Family. His first dream at seven years old was to go to Nashville and become a country singer.

Listening to music on the radio was not the only musical influence he had. Rick grew up in a musical household. Both of his parents and all of his brothers played music of some sort and he was certainly no exception. The first instrument that he picked up was the four-string tenor banjo and he would play with his older siblings at family gatherings. His first "public debut" was in front of his first-grade classmates. While he was a self-proclaimed "painfully shy" child and could not even look at people when they would talk to him, this didn't last for long. Soon he was making advancements on other instruments such as guitar and fiddle and was playing in various bands that did country, polka, and rockabilly. His musical interests grew from just country to soul music and early rock and roll. Sam Cooke and Fats Domino were other big vocal inspirations for Rick and he started incorporating the new sounds into his performances with his brothers and with friends.

From a very young age, it became apparent to Rick that music was his main driving passion and what he only wanted to do. At the age of 14, he dropped out of school to solely focus on performing. He took a job at the Simcoe meat market as a butcher's apprentice to support his budding career. At the market, he was known as a friendly boy, popular with the girls, and a comedian with the customers. A story that goes around is that he would place his thumb on the scale while measuring out the meat pranking the customer with a twinkle in his eye.

It wasn't too long during that period when word got around to Ronnie Hawkins about this popular Danko boy who was playing around the local scenes. Rick and his band The Starlights opened up for Ronnie Hawkins in September 1960, and soon Ronnie approached Rick asking him to learn the bass
and join his backing band, The Hawks. While Rick was excited about this idea, he was also nervous about whether he should go or not. Starlights drummer Glen Silverthorn encouraged him to make this leap in his music career, and Maurice Danko said to Ronnie "Sure, let him go.". Leola was nervous about Rick being only 16 and going, and the boss at the butcher shop told him "You'll be back.".

As Rick hopped in the back of Ronnie Hawkins' white Cadillac, he would not be coming back. In fact, there was no looking back as this young boy took the first big leap on this crazy and wonderful journey. There was only going forward.

All photos owned by Terry Danko