July 03, 2023

1978 - April: The Band “The Last Waltz”

40 minutes

The Band was a Canadian-American rock group formed in the mid 60's as the backing band for Bob Dylan when he made his controversial switch from acoustic to electric. Originally called “The Hawks,” when they toured as the backing band for Ronnie Hawkins, they toured as “Bob Dylan and the Band” when they joined Dylan. After leaving Bob Dylan to do their own work, they stuck with the generic name “The Band.” They combined rock, folks, Americana, and other genres of music to create their own influential sound.

The Last Waltz is a triple album which documents The Band's farewell concert held on Thanksgiving Day in 1976 at Bill Graham's Winterland Ballroom where The Band debuted back in 1969. The concert itself was a 5 hour affair for 5,000 spectators and included a Thanksgiving dinner and ballroom dancing. Over a dozen special guests were involved in the concert including Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and Joni Mitchell. Martin Scorsese filmed the concert and turned it into what is considered one of the greatest documentary concert films ever produced.

The Band influenced many artists in the rock and folk genre including George Harrison, Elton John, and the Grateful Dead. They were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Though the original quintet did not tour after this concert, they did produce a seventh studio album entitled “Islands” to fulfill their record contract.

Wayne brings us this iconic live album for the podcast.

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

This anti-war song written by Robbie Robertson (and perhaps by Levon Helm as well, though uncredited) hearkens back to the Civil War and the devastation inflicted on the American South. It would be difficult to make this song today, because the subject is a poor white Southerner suffering during the last year of the Civil War. Nevertheless, a number of artists have covered it including Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, John Denver, and the Black Crowes.

Baby Let Me Follow You Down

Bob Dylan joins The Band onstage on this traditional folk song. It appeared on Dylan's debut album and was made electric in 1966 with The Band behind him. In a farewell concert with special guests it would be expected that Bob Dylan would make an appearance due to the connection between him and The Band.

Mannish Boy

The Band is joined by blues legend Muddy Waters on this classic blues track. This standard was an "answer song" to Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man," which was in turn inspired by Waters' and Willie Dixon's "Hoochie-Coochie Man." Muddy Waters is known as the "father of modern Chicago blues," and inspired much of what we know as Rock and Roll today.

Up on Cripple Creek

One of the best known songs by The Band, this one reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Drummer Levon Helm is on lead vocals for this track about a long-haul trucker who gambles, drinks, listens to music, and spends time with "little Bessie" in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:

Theme from the prime time drama series “Dallas”

We were introduced to J.R. Ewing and the other members of the oil family on this prime time soap opera which debuted as a mini-series in 1978.

STAFF PICKS:

Lay Down Sally by Eric Clapton

Lynch starts of the staff picks with a hit that went to number 3 in the US and number 39 in the UK. Marcy Levy, one of Clapton's backup singers, wrote this song with Clapton and sings on it. It is about staying in bed in the morning rather than leaving quickly.

Thank You for Being a Friend by Andrew Gold

Bruce's staff pick was a hit for Andrew Gold at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 long before Cynthia Fee covered it in her re-recording as the theme song for “The Golden Girls.” Gold referred to this song as “just this little throwaway thing” that took “about an hour to write.”

Count on Me by Jefferson Starship

Rob brings us the next iteration of Jefferson Airplane, which made it to number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Marty Balin is on lead for this song written by composer and flutist Jesse Barish. It is off Jefferson Starship's fourth album, “Earth.”

Every Kinda People by Robert Palmer

Wayne features Robert Palmer from Yorkshire, England, who lived for a time in Malta where his father worked in British naval intelligence. This reggae-infused song was Palmer's first top 40 hit in the United States, reaching number 16 on the charts. The upbeat and positive lyrics remind us that everyone is the same inside regardless of skin color.

INSTRUMENTAL TRACK:

Jam #1 by The Band

We do a little double-dipping on the instrumental this week as we go back to The Last Waltz for this jam.

Thanks for listening to “What the Riff?!?”

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**NOTE: What the Riff?!? does not own the rights to any of these songs and we neither sell, nor profit from them. We share them so you can learn about them and purchase them for your own collections.

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By Rob Marbury, Wayne Rowan, Bruce Fricks, John Lynch

4.9

4747 ratings