Music from the Big Pink

1968 was a watershed year in rock music. It was a terrific year for debuts. The following bands released their first album in '68: Steve Miller Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fairport Convention, Fleetwood Mac, Genesis, James Taylor, Randy Newman, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Joni Mitchell, Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night, Jeff Beck, and Jethro Tull. Another debut was by The Band, in their seminal album, Music from Big Pink.

The Band formed as the back-up singers for Canadian singer Ronnie Hawkins. After existing on their own for a few years they hooked up with Bob Dylan, and served as his back-up band. In a pink house rented by Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson in Saugerties, New York, they went into the basement to record with Dylan, which years later became his album, The Basement Tapes.

The Band then recorded some of those songs, and others, on their own album. Dylan did participate, but did not sing or play on the album to give his guys their own identity. He did write a few of the songs and his painting is one the cover. Because they were just known as "the band," that's the name they took, although they suggested The Crackers or The Honkies, but the record label turned them down.

The Band were the antithesis of the psychedelic music that was all the rage. They recorded roots music, or Americana, if you will (though four of the five members were Canadian). They also had a diversity of voices. They had four vocalists, and three of the band members wrote songs on their initial album. In addition to those named above, The Band included Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm.

The most famous song from this album is "The Weight," which is a staple of classic rock stations. It's a great song, written by Robertson with great vocals by Helm (one of the few rock drummers who sang while he drummed, which is harder than it looks). It's about a guy pulling into a small town called Nazareth and meeting a variety of strange characters:

"Crazy Chester followed me, and he caught me in the fog
He said, "I will fix your rack, if you'll take Jack, my dog."
I said, "Wait a minute, Chester, you know I'm a peaceful man."
He said, "That's okay, boy, won't you feed him when you can."

Dylan's contribution was co-writing "Tears of Rage" with Manuel:

"We carried you in our arms on Independence Day
 And now you'd throw us all aside and put us all away
Oh, what dear daughter 'neath the sun could treat a father so?
To wait upon him hand and foot and always tell him "No"

Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" ends the album, and the old favorite "Long Black Veil," is covered (my favorite version of that song is done by Mick Jagger with The Chieftains).

The Band stayed together until 1977, and their final concert was set down for posterity by Martin Scorsese in the film The Last Waltz. Sadly, Manuel committed suicide and Hudson and Helm have died of natural causes. But the music lives on.