Seems like a good day to revisit this one.

https://youtu.be/9P202C3mm8g

Damn Robertson was a cheese dick.

Levon Helm was good stuff though.

Who is the black lady singer.

Never heard of em

Good stuff. Levon was never afraid to share the spotlight. That's pretty rare.

No idea but she's smooth as glass.

Yes she is

Helm and Danko.

I believe that is the Staples Singers accompanying..........great song, thanks for posting.

Rick Danko was the man:



Loved Levon’s voice, as well.

Mavis Staples.
https://www.openculture.com/2014/06/mavis-staples-and-the-band-sing-the-weight.html#:~:text=Staples%20patriarch%20and%20guitarist%20Roebuck%20sings%20some%20lead,toward%20the%20mic%2C%20and%20says%2C%20almost%20inaudibly%2C%20%E2%80%98Beautiful.%E2%80%99%E2%80%9D

Yep.

Fuggin bass players....

I love the original, but this is a cool version if you're looking for something different.

I'd like to add Lukas Nelson to the Cheesedick list...

Levon Helm & The Band performs 'Deep Elem Blues' with Bob Weir at Gathering Of The Vibes


<> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o54AKyNDAo

That grin on Levons face!

Prego chick in pink dress? That you P Weed?

I knew them when they were playing for Ronnie Hawkins when he was singing at a couple of honky tonks at the Univ. of Arkansas, called The Rockwood Club and The Shamrock Club. That was 1961 and early 1962. I knew Ronnie pretty well as he'd been a student at the U. of A. starting a year before I arrived. They performed at honky tonks all over the south and some in the midwest. Some of those places were so rough when you went in, they checked you for a gun. If you didn't have one, they gave you one.

At that time the group was called "Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks." Years later they ended up in Canada, hooked up with Bob Dillon and became "The Band." Hawkins became a single performer. i think he still is living in Canada where he made a big name for himself.

I believe today that Robbie Robinson and Dillon are the only two of the original Band who are still alive. They were one helluva group ... long ago and far away.

L.W.

Seeing first Paul Simon's Graceland tour many years later in Berkeley and The Last Waltz at the Cow Palace prior was about it.

Points for "Bob Dillon".

That was great!

Saw this too. A great song I thought.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KP9PNSUME4

What a cheese dick.

Robertson said they played at Jack Ruby's club in Ft. Worth. It didn't pay
much, but they got more pussy than Frank Sinatra.

Mavis Staples of The Staples Singers. That was Pops and her sisters doing back-up. 1976. The Last Waltz. Most of those folks are dead now except Robbie, Garth, and Mavis.

Robertson is a self centered prick and pretty much responsible for breaking up The Band. He's younger than the rest and since he's the only one left who's coherent, so he gets to write the narrative.

Your Mom.





...sorry, couldn't resist.

Mavis Staples - of The Staple Singers

Yep sang the theme song for Christmas Vacation

Always loved "the Band" just a different sound back in the day,
Seen the Band and Levon solo many times
Was a sad day for me when Levon passed

Caught The Last Waltz in the theater, Dolby sound system had just been installed. Good stuff.

Levon's best non musical line: Still got the shovel.

Danko is my favorite.

Levon is the best.

Garth is great, especially on here.

One of my all time favorites.


Love their other stuff too.

Give "Daniel and the Sacred Harp" a listen. Levon Helm's singing is something. Good slide from Robertson.

For some reason, when I hear The Weight, it always evokes an image from 1972… slowly cruising into Angeles City on my Kawasaki, very late afternoon, going by Joe Banzai’s bike shop in that late afternoon sun with a lot of yellow in it… going to spend a few days or a week away from Olongapo, just hanging out in Angeles.

He was the Canadian singer

One of The Staple Singers.

Yes she is very good

Good one. I think Robbie Robertson is the only member of The Band still alive.

Mavis Staple, she is still alive.

That was good. Thanks!

Thanks! Couldn't remember her name.

He did pretty good in Sniper, too

Garth Hudson is also still living.

Rick Danko 1999
Richard Manuel 1986
Levon Helm 2012

Garth rockin' the accordion...I think this was post Robertson....

Robbie Robinson will be 79 years old in July. Getting kinda long in the tooth ... but aren't we all?

L.W.

79? That'll make him the same age as slo' Joe, eh?

The Last Waltz, of course, is iconic.

When growing up if your grandma still called it the "War of Northern Aggression" you have to appreciate this one...

Shooter.

Garth on keys doing “Chest Fever!” Salud.

Levon also did a great job as Chuck Yeager's crew chief in "The Right Stuff".

Hard to believe he's been gone ten years.

You young guys, never heard of the band, but post news about some dead rapper, unknown to the world before they get waxed. Sheesh!

Helm was great in that one. Cripple Creek in The Last Waltz was great as well.

I remember reading or hearing a quote attributed to Elton John: "A drummer should never sing....unless your name is Levon"....or something to that effect.

Agree; saw The Band in Tuscaloosa in the 70's; top five show for sure. And;Graceland tour was exceptional.

Some gun movie....

I am lucky enough to live an hour from Levon's home in Woodstock and saw him several times. I saw a Midnight Ramble at his home after his first bout with throat cancer and saw him play at a local farm (the Gill farm). Levon was so down to earth. Garth Hudson also still lives in the Woodstock area. The Band is one of my all-time favorite bands, yet I never saw them in concert. Robertson was easily replaced as a guitar player and he was a lousy singer, such that most of the time his mic was turned way down during a concert. He was a good song writer but didn't give his bandmates any credit for their contributions. Levon was very bitter about that. They still hold Midnight Rambles at Levon's home as Levon's last wish was to "keep it going." The pregnant lady in the pink dress is his daughter Amy and she is a fixture at the Rambles as is Larry Campbell and his wife Teresa Williams.

In the video linked below "Poor Old Dirt Farmer" you can see his friend Mr. Gill and see Levon drive a tractor and his Midnight Ramble Band. Mr. Gill was a veteran of Iwo Jima.

You musta been living under a rock or something!

I'm a percussionist in an Americana band and I've read a couple of Levon's books. I love his drumming philosophy of just keeping a nice pocket and letting the other musicians shine. Also, it's not easy to drum and sing at the same time.

This is a video as to how it all got started pre- "The Band." "Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks." The drummer in this video is a very young Levon Helm. When I used to see them playing the honkytonks in Fayetteville, Ark., Robbie Robbinson had joined the group.



Read the comments.

L.W.

Just thought I'd throw my opinion in this music thread.... New country SUCKS!

Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks had a circuit than went from Arkansas to Ontario Canada. It was up in Canada that he picked up Robertson, Danko, Manual and Hudson: Helm being the only US born member of The Band. Hawkins told his young band that he couldn't pay them much but that they would get all the pussy they could handle. Levon said that he got the clap so frequently in those early that he carried syringes of penicillin with him. BTW Levon hated the The Last Waltz film. Scorsese was infatuated with Robertson and much of the film keys in on him. It was Roberson's decision to stop touring. Also, much of the music on the film was over-dubbed which Levon greatly objected to (and would not participate in) as he felt it wasn't an honest representation of their last concert. Reportedly Robertson flubbed a number of songs including the leads to "It Makes No Difference." Levon said that Garth Hudson was The Band's best musician and Richard Manual was the best singer.

I liked The Band and The Weight is my favorite of their songs. GD