The Band

The Band were an influential Canadian-American rock and roll group of the 1960s and 1970s.

Related Topics:
Canadian - American - Rock and roll - 1960s - 1970s

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The members of The Band first worked together as The Hawks, the backing band of rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins from 1959 until 1963. Afterwards, Bob Dylan recruited the quintet for his history making 1965/1966 world tour and they joined him on the informal recordings that became the acclaimed Basement Tapes.

Related Topics:
Rockabilly - Ronnie Hawkins - 1959 - 1963 - Bob Dylan - 1965 - 1966 - Basement Tapes

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Dubbed "The Band" by their record company (a name derivative of what the group was referred to as during their tenure with Dylan), the group left the comfort of their communal home in Woodstock to begin recording as a group unto themselves. The Band recorded two of the most important albums of the late 1960s: their 1968 debut Music from Big Pink (featuring the hit single "The Weight") and 1969?s The Band. These critically praised albums helped conceive country rock as something more than a genre, but rather as a celebration of "Americana." As such, throughout their career they would repopularize traditional American musical forms during the psychedelic era. The Band dissolved in 1976 but reformed in 1983 without founding guitarist and main songwriter Robbie Robertson.

Related Topics:
1960s - 1968 - Music from Big Pink - Single - The Weight - 1969 - The Band - Country rock - Americana - Psychedelic era - 1976 - 1983 - Guitar - Robbie Robertson

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Although always more popular with music journalists and fellow musicians than the general public, The Band has remained an admired and influential group. They have been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Related Topics:
Canadian Music Hall of Fame - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

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