The Album Heard Around the World

Early 1968 saw a lot of changes for The Band. Thanks to Rick Danko and Sally Grossman (Albert Grossman's wife), they had a brand new recording contract with Capitol records. After taking a sabbatical and working with Bob Dylan on over a hundred new songs, they were itching to get back to business and actually become an independent band. There was one issue though: they had everything but a name. During a meeting at Big Pink, the boys discussed what name they should come up with since it was pretty essential for their record contract. Rick suggested that they come up with a pretentious, satirical name for fun. Richard Manuel came up with trendy, psychedelic names such as Marshmallow Overcoat and Chocolate Subway. Levon Helm, however, had the winning name: The Crackers. While it was quite provocative and not exactly one that makes people comfortable, for them it was descriptive of the southern, down-home sound that they were making that was reminiscent of southern white people. When Capitol asked them what the group was called, they answered "The Crackers", and that is what they were signed as.

Rehearsing at Big Pink was a time of hard work but also a lot of fun. It was a relaxed atmosphere with laughter, tossing around a football, hanging out with Bob Dylan who would come by frequently, and just kicking back and relaxing. Rick also painted the floor of his bedroom (what is now the sunroom) red, which is still the color today. Yet when they were working, however, it was focused and driven. Albert Grossman arranged for them to have a studio session where they could make their first reel. Songs that were recorded during this session were "The Weight", "Chest Fever", "Tears of Rage", "We Can Talk", and "Lonesome Susie". Albert sent these tapes off to Capitol which then arranged for them to have a month to finish recording the album that would become Music From Big Pink. This recording process was special for The Band, and they focused strongly on a sense of teamwork, equality, and collaboration. Each member of The Band had a chance to shine on the album and ideas were constantly tossed around and taken seriously.

Part of what made the album so close and special for them is that it mirrored their lives. Many of the names mentioned, like in "The Weight", for example, were real people that they knew over the course of their well accumulated years on the road. The lyrics on the album are very visual, social, and make you feel like you are there living through the songs with them. Even though Americana was not yet a genre, one could argue that this was the very first Americana album. In a time of heavy psychedelic, distorted, anti-authority, and politically-charged songs, The Band's sound was coming at a strange and aggressive time. For most listeners, these typical songs that were coming out were rebellious. They were songs that made your parents mad, were too loud, and taught about being your own person and not listening to your parents or any form of authority. For The Band, being rebellious was putting out an album that was none of those things. These boys were proud of their roots, close to their folks, not overtly political, and used rather simplistic instruments that were intimately recorded. Even on the gatefold of Music From Big Pink, all five are posing at Rick Danko's family's farm in Simcoe with their "next of kin". You see a wide range of ages from elderly parents, to children. It is rather ironic, but quite a statement, to have this photoshoot at a time when teenagers were running away from home to get away from their parents, yet these young men in their 20s are proudly and lovingly posing with them.

For Rick, this album was his first time to really shine and show his musical and vocal talents. Previously, Levon and Richard were the ones that mostly had the microphone, although Rick did sing a few songs with The Hawks, and a couple on The Basement Tapes. On MFBP, however, the boys were staying true to their belief system of everyone having an equal chance. The tracks that feature Rick's voice lead are "Caledonia Misson", a cover of country singer Lefty Frizzell's "Long Black Veil", and "This Wheel's On Fire" (which he wrote the music for on piano and Bob lyricized). He would join in for solo parts of two other songs though, "The Weight" and "We Can Talk". In 2000 on a special reissue, another solo song was released called "Ferdinand the Imposter". What is interesting, especially about "The Weight" is that Levon sings the first three verses with his thick drawl, and the listener gets used to his voice, yet for the final verse Rick's soft, fragile-sounding voice comes in for a surprise twist. It suits him well, and he would forever be synonymous with "Crazy Chester". The whole album feels like an introduction to the beautiful voice of Rick Danko, and that his heavy presence was on purpose after being in the shadows of Levon and Richard in The Hawks.

By 1968, The Band had settled in pretty well in Woodstock, New York. They loved the small, hometown feel where most people knew each other. Being one of the few musicians at the time living in the area, the residents came to refer to them as "the band". Everyone knew who they were referring to, and between that and also called "the band" during their stint with Bob Dylan, the name started to stick. When Music From Big Pink was released that summer, Capitol did not release it as The Crackers even though that is the name they had signed under. Instead, it listed all the members' names individually. It wasn't until their second album that it first showed them as simply, The Band. When MFBP came out, there was confusion as to who the group actually was since it wasn't listed on the cover. Some people thought the group was actually called Big Pink. This cryptic album made it all the more intriguing, and listeners were not disappointed. Some of these listeners were famous artists that would become highly influenced by this brand new, rootsy sound such as George Harrison and Eric Clapton.

By the time the spring of '68 came around, Big Pink was becoming extremely crowded from Levon moving in. Rick had to actually find a new spot to sleep so he wouldn't have to share the bed. The four of them decided to split up and Rick and Levon bought a house together in Bearsville on Wittenberg Road in late spring, and Garth and Richard also found a place on Spencer Road, which is located on Ohayo Mountain. While the early cuts of Music From Big Pink were recorded at its namesake, the rest of the tracks were recorded at the Wittenberg home in the basement studio. It was officially released in July of that year, and by August it entered the charts. For such a mysterious album with no band name, no album cover with their faces on it, and a cryptic-sounding title, it made quite the impact. These well seasoned and experienced musicians were finally on their own and getting their big break. It seemed like they were well on their way to touring on their own. In fact, by the end of that year, big-time promoter Bill Graham offered them a lot of money to perform at his venues. While they were content to just make records and not tour yet due to still being road-weary, they ended up having that ultimate decision made for them. The promising year of 1968 would take a drastic turn when Rick Danko had a nearly fatal accident that would put The Band out of commission for almost a year.