Of course I’d heard some of the Band’s songs before but after seeing this movie (several times now) I’m just blown away.
So, as I start to read more about them on the web, I learn that Levon Helm despises Robbie Robertson. (Based on second hand accounts of “This Wheel’s on Fire”.)
In the interviews I’ve read with Robertson, he seems pretty cool. It seems like Helm’s big gripe is that Robertson made so much in royalties from being credited as the writer of the songs. Is there more to it?
I don’t know the answer to the question (I suspect royalites have a big part to play), but I do know that the last time I saw Levon Helm on TV he looked really terrible.
Richard Manuel, Rick Danko…let’s hope Levon Helm holds on.
There was friction within the group because Robertson was the only one getting songwriting royalties. I hadn’t heard that Helm destested Robertson, though.
The Last Waltz is a great film, and the Band is one of the great forgotten groups in rock. People forget that at their height they were considered up with the Beatles, the Stones, the Dead, the Doors, and many other rock legends. But they had no hit singles and classic rock stations have generally ignored them.
“The Night…” was a hit for Joan Baez, not for the Band. “Up on Cripple Creek,” though I personally remember it as a heavy airplay item back in the day, was only a minor hit, reaching #25 on the singles chart.
“Up on Cripple Creek” got to #25 on the Billboard Charts. It was their most successful single.
Their version of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” never charted. (Joan Baez’s version did get to #3.)
So, no. They didn’t have any hits. A single song just barely making the top 25 hardly qualifies, and they are criminally overlooked by “Classic Rock” stations, who tend to stick with groups that had successful singles (the the exception of Traffic).
They were primarily an album group: The Band reached #9 and Cahoot hit #5.
Levon came down with a nasty case of throat cancer a few years back. He can’t sing anymore, but can speak well enough to give interviews. He still plays gigs, doing the drumming while his daughter, Amy, handles the singing chores.
I think the beef with Robbie Robertson is that various members of the Band believed they made legitimate contributions to some of the songs that Robertson claimed for himself.
I think it would go something like this: Robbie would come in with a piece of a song, or melody, or whatever. He’d say “Guys, I’m working on a new song, and this is what I’ve got. What do you think?” And then they’d all sit around and talk about it, and maybe come up with a lyric or a melody change or whatevre. Finally, Robbie would go away, write up the song, and take full credit.
To be fair, I think Robbie was definitely the genius behind The Band, and deserves the lion’s share of the credit. But whether he should get 100% of it, I don’t know. But that’s where the conflict is.
Also, having seen The Last Waltz a couple of times, Robbie’s demeanor sure is off-putting. He comes across as very arrogant at times and almost condescending. It may just be that he’s a jerk. I know almost nothing about him personally, so I don’t know if that’s the case.
I haven’t seen The Lasst Waltz in a long time, but I recently rediscovered my copy of their Greatest Hits CD and it’s been on heavy rotation on my iPod.
My dad and I did catch a bit of the film a few months ago; his favorite scene, where Van Morrison is getting himself psyched higher and higher and then busts an o-ring or something, because he immediately walks off stage, never to return.
Agreed. And she made some really pointless changes in the lyrics that also weakened the song (“so much cavalry”? :dubious: ), as though she hadn’t actually seen them.
My knowledge of The Band is pretty minimal. I have recordings of a couple of their songs and I saw “The Last Waltz.” Based on this interview, though, it would be hard to come to any other conclusion than Robbie Robertson is an arrogant prick.
*The Last Waltz * was The Band saying that life on the road sucks and they wanted no part of it. It was their last concert and a way of saying goodbye to that part of their lives and thanks to all of those they worked with. Robbie Robertson really meant it, the rest of them not so much. I think there was a lot of resentment that he never wanted to play with them again or go on the road after they got back together. I saw them open for CSN with all the original members except for Robertson. They were great. Soon after that Rich Manuel hanged himself. Robertson claimed to have the flu and did not go to the funeral.
Robbie Robertson did not stop making music, he just doesn’t tour. He put out one of my favorite records of all time many years ago. You may have heard Rod Stewarts shitty version of Broken Arrow. The album also features U2 as a backup band with Bono as a backup singer (on a couple of tracks).
I read the interview. He’s a pud. Yeah, he’s entitled to his opinion and all, but he certainly doesn’t sound like anyone I’d like to spend time interviewing.
Just goes to show you…sometimes it’s just better to listen to the music and leave it at that.