The Band were a paradox. Fourfifths Canadian, they nevertheless managed to embody a rural American mythos like no one before or since, their evocation of an imagined past rooted in a narrative tradition of country, blues, R&B, gospel, soul and rockabilly. Equally contradictory was the fact that they were an intensely private bunch, driven primarily by the need to create, who became unwitting superstars in their adopted US, bowing out with one of the starriest rock shows of all time. “It was a crazy ride, an unbelievable ride,” chief songwriter and guitarist Robbie Robertson told Classic Rock in 2019, reflecting on The Band’s sometimes troubled journey. “And a dangerous ride.”
That journey began in the early 60s, when the young quintet – Robertson, Helm, guitarist Rick Danko, piano player Richard Manuel and organist Garth Hudson, billed as The Hawks – toured the pit stops and bars of Canada backing rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins. By 1965 they werebefore The Band struck out alone with 1968’s
