Across the Great Divide

In April 1969, The Band played their first show as officially The Band at Bill Graham's Winterland. After what seemed like numerous accidents, contract frustrations, and just sheer exhaustion from being on the road for so many years, the boys seemed ready to tackle the world. On April 17, they got ready to introduce their first live show as an independent group. However, there was an issue that memorialized the show as not just their first, but also with a bizarre incident... Robbie Robertson became ill with the flu suddenly and it seemed like he would not be able to perform. As their lead guitarist, this could cause the show to be a catastrophe. With a need for a quick intervention, Bill Graham in true late 60s fashion brought in a hypnotist that he knew to work some magic on Robbie. Everyone was speculative as to how (and if) this would actually work, but after a two-hour show delay, he suddenly felt the illness pass and was able to go on. Spectators at the show say that Robbie would glance back, supposedly at the hypnotist while performing who was giving him the power to keep playing. Unfortunately, they only lasted about 35 minutes when Robbie was about to pass out and had to lean against the piano to even stand up. When Robbie walked off, the rest of the group had to hang it up and suddenly say goodbye to the audience, much to the crowd's rage. It wasn't the best introduction to their independent beginnings, but the next show went much better and everyone was on their top game. In fact, the second show made the first time since they first set out on their tour with Bob that they hadn't been booed.

Music critic Ralph J. Gleason was in the audience and observed how each member presented themself and their stage presence. It was here that Gleason made that famous quote about Rick on stage how he looked like he could "swing Coit Tower" with the way he was always moving and swaying and aggressively would dip the bass around. He also praised Rick's voice by noting how he initially thought Levon was the lead singer, but when Rick took over he was amazed at how there was another great singer who could be lead.

While Rick was getting more lead vocal time behind the microphone, surprisingly he would have the least amount of tracks on their following album. The eponymous album also differentiated as The Brown Album only would have three songs that featured Rick as the lead singer, "When You Awake", "Look Out Cleveland", and "Unfaithful Servant". Later released bonus tracks would have his vocals on "Get Up Jake", but Richard still came out ahead, with Levon in second place. While not as many songs, "When You Awake" and "Unfaithful Servant" would become staple tunes for Rick's legacy as a singer for the rest of his life, with him keeping them occasionally in his setlist, especially per an audience member's request. The latter song would also be highly praised for Rick's vocal performance, with it often ranked as high as "It Makes No Difference".

The Brown album also showcased Rick's versatile instrumental abilities as well. Besides the bass on all tracks except "Rag Mama Rag", Rick played trombone on "Across the Great Divide" and "Unfaithful Servant", fiddle on "Rag Mama Rag" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", and the 6 string bass on "Jemima Surrender". Besides playing mandolin on the Basement Tapes' "Ain't No More Cane" and fiddle as well on "Chest Fever" from Music From Big Pink, this was the first time that he recorded anything else besides bass for their songs. Rick was well-rounded in numerous instruments and did not even consider himself as just a bassist, although it is the one that he is most famous for. Yet for him, it was more his "go-to" instrument to fill in the gaps for songs that needed extra beats and riffs. When one hears "Rag Mama Rag", it is impossible to not feel excited and energized by the easily recognizable opening fiddle sawing away. Rick's trombone playing with John Simon's tuba and Garth's saxophone is a perfect complement to the melancholy feelings that are in tune with the lyrics, especially the somber closing solo. With so little footage of Rick playing anything but bass or guitar, it can be easy to forget how he could pronounce any song stronger with whatever he picked up.

The summer of 1969 would hold several more monumental shows for The Band, such as Woodstock and the Isle of Wight festival a couple weeks afterward. While the boys were returning to considerably laying low after their Winterland debut, they had agreed to headline those shows, especially since Bob Dylan was going to be a part of it. When Bob Dylan grew disenchanted with the Woodstock town after reaching a near god status around the area, The Band wanted to drop out as well but had already promised to be headliners for the Woodstock festival. The Band played Sunday night on August 18th between 10:00-10:50 P.M. Their setlist was "Chest Fever", "Don't Do It", "Tears of Rage", "We Can Talk", "Long Black Veil", "Don't Ya Tell Henry", "Ain't No More Cane", "This Wheel's On Fire", "I Shall Be Released", and "The Weight". The crowd was eagerly awaiting to see them and they were met with thunderous applause, and even demanded an encore, which Rick personally took the lead on. His soulful and emotion-filled cover of The Four Tops' "Loving You is Sweeter Than Ever" became a staple of their shows, and he would include it in his shows promoting his solo album as well. While the show was a success and gained an even larger audience and promoted a greater following, ultimately they were not happy with how it went. Rick felt that they had a terrible sound system and equipment and that the quality that was produced was subpar. Since they were just flown in and immediately leaving afterward they didn't want to haul everything, but they realized that from then on they were going to use their own equipment and have set standards. This was the case starting from the Isle of Wight festival.

After reaching a worldwide status with the help of those two festivals in August 1969, The Band's self-titled album was appropriately released just in time to help boost their status even further. This album achieved a setting of No. 9 on the charts, with "Up On Cripple Creek" and "Rag Mama Rag" being hit singles. Although "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" was not released as a single nor did it chart, it would end up becoming a staple song for their concerts after Joan Baez would have a smash hit cover just two years later. With the success of the album came raving reviews from magazines and newspapers, praising The Band's album, sound, and musicianship, and even going as far as to rank their music right up with The Beatles' new Abbey Road album. Hearing how they got their start with Ronnie Hawkins, Rolling Stone magazine decided to interview him about their early days. Hawkins, never being one to exactly be discreet and with a tendency to highly exaggerate, started telling stories about their days together and making up wild and debaucherous tales of their parties. When the interview was published, the boys were quite embarrassed and Albert Grossman was outraged and threatened to sue Rolling Stone magazine for a million dollars. Rick called Ronnie as well, angry at him for potentially ruining their name and image and exaggerating drastically, and he stated how it was bad for them and to never mention their names again.

Overall, 1969 turned out to be the best year for the boys. They were on top, having been on the cover of Rolling Stone the prior year, playing two of the biggest festivals of all time, hit records and praising reviews, even being on the Ed Sullivan show that fall. When they got the phone call about being invited to be on the Ed Sullivan show, they were ecstatic. They had previously turned down the opportunity to be on Glen Campbell's show due to having a hillbilly setup and also would have to lipsync, which was against their standards. Ed Sullivan expected his guests to perform live, so this worked more in their favor. Rick Danko was especially excited, and his goal was to be able to shake Ed's hand. They performed "Up On Cripple Creek" but were not able to hear themselves due to not having any voice monitors, the guitar and bass plugged into one amp, and the sounds bouncing off one another. Amazingly, they did it without a hitch and sounded just as good as the studio recording. When they finished it, they felt relieved even though they were so nervous, and were about to walk off stage when to their disbelief Ed called them back to introduce them by name. When he motioned them back to the stage, Rick hurried over and immediately fulfilled his goal to shake Ed's hand. When one watches the video, it is apparent the admiration is mutual with Ed making a point to shake his hand one more time before they officially walked off.

In the psychedelic age of distorted voices and instrumentation, flashy bright clothes, and long songs, The Band was a breath of fresh air. Their songs were crafted with care and authenticity, yet more raw than what was happening around them. Their originality was a reflection of the roots of folk and country, yet was their own unique sound. Few artists worked as hard with so little as The Band, and it was paying off after so many years of grueling tours and negative crowds. The peaceful and scenic Catskill Mountains and the supportive town of Woodstock were helpful in making them fulfill their dreams, and for Rick and the rest of the boys, their inspiration and creativity were flowing amply.