Last Waltz

Craig Harris dives deeply into The Band, including the myths and confusions surrounding its members, and provides a wide-ranging account from their very beginnings with Ronnie Hawkins, collaboration with Bob Dylan, to the present.

A half-century after The Band’s original lineup, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson, and Levon Helm played together for a final time at a star-studded concert—the “Last Waltz”—on Thanksgiving 1976. The group’s blend of folk, blues, country, Dixieland, and rock ‘n’ roll is revered as a root of Americana music.

Harris interweaves original and previously unpublished interviews with the late Robertson, Danko, and Hawkins, as well as producer/sideman Aaron “Professor Louie” Hurwitz, drummer Rick Ciarlante, the Helm Band’s Larry Campbell and his wife Teresa Williams, and others. Recordings, concerts, festivals, film appearances, Robertson’s soundtracks for Martin Scorsese, and others are assessed closely.

But this isn’t just a story celebrating the group’s countless hits, successes, and victories. Despite their lasting influence, The Band’s journey was far from smooth. Drug and alcohol abuse, poor health, bankruptcies, and bitter conflicts over songwriting credits took their toll. Craig Harris looks at it all.