Robbie Robertson - Tele-Man of The Band - Ask Zac 103
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- Опубліковано 17 тра 2024
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The late Robbie Robertson and The Band turned the music world on its collective ear with the release of Music From Big Pink. Extended guitar solos, fuzz, psychedelic references, and screaming vocals were nowhere to be found. Instead, the listener found the understated guitar, storytelling songs, thoughtful arrangements, and brother-like vocal harmonies. In today's player spotlight, we take a look at Robertson's early days with the Hawk, through the mid-era of The Band, mainly focusing on the period of time that Robertson played a Telecaster. We also take a look at the black Tele he was gifted by Dylan, which was modified through the years and was his main guitar through much of the Band era. Robbie passed away on August 9th, 2023 at the age of 80.
open.spotify.com/playlist/65w...
Gear used:
1959 Fender Harvard with stock Jensen P10R
1957 Fender Esquire with added neck pickup. Restoration and aging on the body by Dan "Danocaster" Strain. Bridge re-wind by Ron Ellis
Strings:
D'Addario NYXL 10-46
Pick:
Medium-Heavy
#askzac #robbierobertson #telecaster
I was getting really into The Band and discovering much of their music. I had unknowingly bought a black tele with a white pickguard a week ago.. RIP Robbie Robertson.
When I was younger, I always wanted to do Band music. But whenever I got into a country band, they said it was too rock, and whenever I got into a rock band, they said it was too country. Shows how unique and special the Band was.
The Band are the best American band from Canada ever
Agree.
3 of the 4 members were Canadian 🍁. Another band that we lost sadly due to Border Jumping. The list of artists/musicians is too long to mention ...
@@End-Putler4evaThere were 5 members of The Band, so it would have been 4 out of 5 from Canada.
Robbie is definitely one of the most innovative guitarist of the 60s&70s. Always made them short, sweet and left you wanting more. The last waltz showed he could out guitar anyone. Still want more.
Love Robbie’s playing. The solo in King Harvest is so melodic and has so much taste. Thank you for this episode!
I love that solo.
Nice bio. A few notes:
"Robbie started a whole school of guitar playing up in Canada"- It was called "white funk" - like you said, Robbie's harmonics were more "funky sounding".
After Tour '74, Bill Graham called Robbie one of the two or three most selfless lead guitarists, and "the best, bar none" of any guitar player who plays with a vocalist, in unison with the singer.
In the 1976 summer tour, Robbie used two Music Man amps together, a 210-HD One Thirty and a 212-HD One Thirty, because "nothing else got loud enough" although they "broke down a litle too much" for him. The Music Man amps were scary loud.
He got the idea to put the humbucker on his Tele because Rick Danko did it first. Pete Traynor also gave Rick some bass amps, until he switched to the 300 Watt Ampeg SVT with the 8x10" cab, to go with his Ampeg fretless bass.
Jonathan Taplin and John Simon both said that Robbie wrote the songs, and Larry Campbell said that Levon wasn't a writer.
Also check out "Mystery Tain" by Greil Marcus, where he write about The Band, and Robbies Rolling Stone interview in 1970.
The song, "Jawbone" is inspired by the Tele thief...
Really enjoyed this episode Zac. I’ve been a big fan of the Band since I got into Dylan in the early 70’s - Robbie’s playing on “Blonde on Blonde” especially moved me as a young guitar player. You’re right about the first 2 Band albums - they changed rock music, and led people like George Harrison and Eric Clapton in to new directions in their music.Loved your intro to “The Weight” - really captured the Robbie sound.
The Band remind of this old jam band called The Grateful Dead. They had a guitarist named Bob who could voice a chord every which way.
Amazing how the Band kind of flew under the radar (at least as far as radio play) yet had profound influences on Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Elton John, etc. Like many of that era, they produced an incredible body of work in a short period of time. As I get older, I have come to believe that 60s - 70s music is indeed classic and will stand the test of time as some of the best ever. It was a very special time and might not be matched for some time to come.
Here is a great story about Ronnie Hawkins....I am a retired musician and was doing a home show in Toronto, Ontario and a kitchen cabinet company had hired Ronnie to front their booth at the show, and my booth was right next door, I had my own walk in bath tub company at the time...for three days I jawed it up with Ronnie Hawkins, and heard more stories about the Rolling Stones, Janie Joplin and on and on and on...the most memorable three days of my life, and if any one wants to know, I will spit in the eye of anyone who doesn't say a kind word about The Hawk, he came to Canada to play because of the race strife south of the border. and even though I got to see him in the Golden Rail here in Hamilton, On, it wasn't till a few years back when I got to sit down with him for three days...a pure gentleman and one hell of a story teller....
NICE!!!!
Wait a minute, Ronnie Hawkins came to play Canada because of the racial strife in the American South? Explain that..
Now, I can see if Ronnie was black and wanted to leave the south...but he wasn't. Far from it.
No, Ronnie left the South to play Canada because there was a market for him up there. Simple as that.
Did he also tell you he marched right behind Dr King in Washington in 1963?
You are a lucky man..
Robbie is one of the great underrated guitar player and songwriters - Rick is one of the great underrated bass players - Levon is one of the great underrated drummers - and so on with the whole band. Me and my friends would sit around and play music and listen to The Band all the time - and wonder how and the hell they weren't more popular.
UNDERRATED😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡
Robbie switched to strats post hawks dylan tour...he said he preferred the stratocaster overall but that it just wouldn't stay in tune. Hendrix showed him how to pre stretch strings and later clapton showed him how to tighten the claw and use a piece off wood to block the the bridge/hardtail it.
A large majority of the band/dylan recordings are Strats....throughout the Hawks his 1st expensive non Sears guitar was indeed a Tele...Dylan's first electric newport 65 was a Strat (this is before Hendrix had come along) and Bob too found tuning issues so Robbie suggested albert buy Dylan that maple neck black and white 66 european tour tele...robbie now owns that tele but it's heavily customized
Thank you for not getting into their differences, but focusing heavily on their similarities: Robbie and Levon. Both completely underrated and underplayed, in my opinion. I didn’t think much of them when I first heard them in my teens, but now at 35 I can say their one of my favorite “Band”’s to listen to. I will definitely be checking out the suggested reading, thanks Zac!
I am the nephew of legendary Roy Buchanan my name is Manny Lopez was married to his niece Carla... Robbie Robinson is a great guitarist ..thank you for sharing the biography of his guitar playing and his life I was married to Roy Buchanan's his niece Carla Clermoms. Thank you for sharingt Robbie Robertson story by accident I came across your site Coyote red skies that's my stage name going to buy his books thank you
love Robbie Robertson, for me a great example of his playing style is his solo at the end of To Kingdom Come on the Music from Big Pink
That song doesn't get talked about much. But every fan of The Band knows it, and praises it.
I love listening to when the band performed at the Isle of Wight with Bob Dylan. Thats some good tele playing from Robbie
Hi Zac, great video once again highlighting one of the best bands of the late '60's in my opinion and Robbie one of the great Telecaster players of the period!... 🎸🙂
I used to see Robbie around Santa Monica all the time. Got to meet him briefly. He was very cool and could see how much admiration I had for him. It really was like meeting a hero. Those songs, man. those songs.
Like you, I also own and have read and re-read the many books on The Band. The Band was the greatest.
Awesome playing Zac! Really enjoyed the episode, thank you!
My pleasure!
Big fan of Robbie’s playing. Would love to see an episode on Terry Kath, One of my favourite tele players! Love the videos Zac🤘
Another great episode. Thanks, Zac.
Ive always thought how fun it had to have been hanging out writing and playing songs at the big pink.
As a teenager in the mid-80s I saw "The Last Waltz" on PBS. After that I put aside the Clapton, SRV and Betts records and started trying to cop Robbie's licks off of The Band's records. Then in '87, Robbie's first solo album came out. It's still one of my desert island records. Next for underated guitarists, Mike Henderson. Cheers!
Henderson!
Robbie's solos from The Last Waltz had way too many pinch and artificial harmonics for my taste. Don't forget that there were overdubs and mistakes were fixed in the studio before it was released.
Great episode, Zac! The Band weighed heavily on my understanding of what a "band" should/could be when I was growing up. Though their first two records should really be listened to by anyone who loves music, I would also recommend Robbie Robertson's 1st solo album as a must have -- especially considering the amazing guitar sounds on that particular record.
You really did capture what it was like to hear Big Pink for the first time when it came out way back when, and appreciated how you focused more on Robbie’s talent and contributions than the infighting that quite frankly I suspect goes on in bands all the time. Btw, I always see the Chris Hillman book on your shelf (also have the Beatles Gear book). To me, Chris is another one of those incredible talents who has been so influential well beyond his songwriting and playing with the Byrds. Well done Zac!
I've had the same thought many times. I wish Zac would post a complete bibliography of his library with comments on each book.
I'll do more episodes on my books.
Robbie is one of my big inspirations as a guitarist
Wonderfully detailed appraisal in such a short space of time. Loved The Band's tastefully understated music since the first time I heard it. I have subscribed on account of this video. I wonder if you have analysed the soulful, surrealist music of Lowell George. His abstract genius isn't celebrated enough...
Tank you for the video Zac. The band are my favourite band.
Being torontontian myself and both a dylan and band afficianado . I was thrilled to see this episode. You took me to school Zac
Outstanding video Zac!
Nice work, Zac !
I loved Up On Cripple Creek as a kid of 12 in '69 but never bought anything.
'76 or so, there's a guy on the cover of Guitar Player Magazine at a local shop that i didn't recognize.
Sorta plain cover shot, etc...
Owner "That's the guitar player for The Band". Bought it.
Strat player then. Debated whether it was Robbie or Steve Winwood got Clapton playing a Strat.
All i know is my most memorable moment now from The Last Waltz is EC and Robbie jamming on Further On Up The Road and after the intro, Clapton almost drops his guitar,,,upper strap slips,,, "Whoa!!!".
Robbie jumps in and cranks things up.
Gonna look for "Showdown At Big Sky". Great track.
Thanks for the memories !
Yes! The one I requested! 😉 Thank you, sir!!
Whoa !!!! Right on , Zak !!!! I still listen to the Band all the time .... They were just amazing talents , all of them . They all brought something to the table that made the whole . Each was integral to the Band .
Probably my favorite solo by any guitar player ever is Robbie on the LP 'Rock of Ages' the song is 'The Unfaithful Servant' . It's just jaw dropping and filled with emotion ...... Anywhoo .... Thanks for another great episode , Zak !
Oh yeah that's a killer solo and he even makes a virtue of a minor fluff. What a song too! So beautiful, sad and gothic.
Hey Zac I have been a fan of the Band and Robbie Robertson for decades. I’m pretty sure I discovered them 1st thru Joan Baez cover of “The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down” RR truly is a great songwriter and as you stated an underappreciated guitar player. This video was really a treat, thank you so much!
Fantastic episode. I loved your intro licks and I’m a huge fan of the Band.
Glad you enjoyed it, Lonnie.
I think the band is the most severely under appricated group there loved by people who know what's up but I can't belive how many people I've met who never hers of them, Richard, Rick, Levon, Robbie sadly the last guy name escapes my memory right now for some reason, they were so talented and versatile by far one of my all time favorite groups ever, love the video defiantly subbing and wish you the absolute best
You hit the nail on the head. Drastically underrated both for their killer music but also for their Influence on music. They were the first band I remember refusing to be labeled as one style. They played all styles (rock, folk, country, jazz, blues and more) and blended them into beautiful music. I think their Influence can be heard alot in the next wave of Country rock especially (Allmans, Skynerd, Marshall Tucker) etc. They made it ok to "take what you need and leave the rest" of whatever style you feel.
Garth Hudson.
Certainly enjoyed Robbie's book "Testimony". A great read and his details on the Hawks early days are well documented in the book. Canada can be proud of the Band's musical legacy they left us. Music from Big Pink was a big game changer. Rock on...... Cheers.
Great episode on Robbie Robertson Zac. I don`t think there is enough made about his song writing and guitar playing and technique. The Band gathered influences from different genres and fused them altogether creating their own unique sound and style. Vocally, Levon, Rick and Richard conveyed so much emotion. Not many singers can touch a person like the way they did. Five special people that should never be forgotten. Zac, why does nobody talk about Danny Gatton any more. He was such an extraordinary player, an untouchable force of nature.
I have done a video on Gatton, and mentioned his Rhythm video many times.
The piece of gear of Robertson’s that most of the old guys around here in Southern Ontario remember the most is his Gibson GA400 because it was really really loud. This is for the days of the Hawks and earlier.
Zac love your vids...BTW you tripped the over sensitive Canadian Alert system ;-). Yonge Street is pronounced like Young and Robbie spent a lot of his youth on Six Nations Reserve just outside of Brantford, Ontario. Keep up the great work!!!
Hey Zac great topic for a post. I've yet to watch but let me tell you I always loved Robbies playing a lot more with a Tele than a Strat. Dylan '66 World Tour (no better live band at the time, just listen to the concert releases) and the first 3-4 Band albums. Brilliant stuff. His Rockabilly meets R/B with Dylan was incendiary with fire and attitude but not a note out of place. Then the Band Albums with a beautiful restrained Curtis Mayfield influenced attitude. Played more notes later on with the Strat which appealed to me less, though the guitar work on Dylan's Going Going Gone is brilliant, but in his prime he was revelatory!
Awesome video! Informative and interesting
One of my favorite guitarists. Saw the band live, three or four times in NYC.
You could be the coolest dude on the tele planet. Thanks for all the goodness!
'Look out Cleveland' might be my favorite. I love how abrupt the end is.
Most enjoyable - thank you.
Great video and also nice jacket! As a 30 something I sort of backed my way into loving them by way of 90s artists like Counting Crows, Wallflowers and then alt country via Lucero. Took me a while but once I dived in, a big part of my taste snapped into focus as that ‘Americana’ label you mention, of which they were the instigators.
Fantastic episode!!! Love The Band and really enjoyed how you did a great deep dive on RR!!
Being a person who grew up around Toronto, I don’t think I’ve ever heard Yonge St pronounced like that. Never noticed the phonetics of the word lol
I was wrong....
Traynor amps kicked A$$. They still do. They are legendary for their quality/durability!
Canada's Peavey!!!
Excellent playing Zac.
great video. robbie is one of my favs. note that there is a great video documentary about the band also.
Robbie is a fantastic songwriter and underrated guitar player..he has an incredibly unique style with hybrid picking and the pinch harmonics. He always played with taste and he always gave the song what it needed if anything. A great live player too. One of my favorite tones of all time comes from his little so called “black box” on “Tears of Rage”. What a sound.
Six Nations is the reserve he spent time at. It's about a 30-40 minute drive from where I live in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada where if you know your Rock n Roll history is where Ronnie Hawkins and Conway Twitty would play a lot of local clubs, being that Hamilton is 1/2 way between Buffalo at the border and Toronto, both about 40 minute drives on either side.
Thanks for your perspective, Zac. I lived in the Hudson Valley in New York; for a time, and the point-of-view there was that Robbie’s songwriting consisted of writing his name on the sheet music sent to the publisher. Haha. (I knew that wasn’t true). Thanks for your insight into his Tele playing, as I only ever saw pictures of him with that Strat/sans middle pickup. Great stuff as usual!
I bypassed the Strat era. Yes, there is much conjecture on writing credits.
There is a great line in Barney Hoskyns book about Robbie's sound in the Hawks as being like, ''thousands of birds screaming'', which I think was attributed to Robbie himself. Then of course there is that, ''thin, wild mercury sound'', as Dylan described his style during the '66 tours.
Thx for covering The Band sir!! Their funkier songs, along with the Beatles, CCR, Simon & Garfunkel, and jazz albums on Blue Note get me interested in making music as a teen.
Beautifuly done...really dug it
Thank you so much 😀
Another fine episode!
Zac, you’ve done your homework! Great low key examination of Robertson’s style and influences. Thanks for not including any bad mouthing of him and Levons bad blood. I believe after the “Last Waltz” show\album they still remained as a band and made that dud album “Islands”. How about a disertation on Roy Buchannon!
Awesome video of knowledge like always 😎
So nice of you
A lady use to play an organ at the walking horse show at our local county fair in Russell Springs ky. ( boy home of Steve Wariner) and she played through a speaker that had a spinning horn.... it was very distinctive sounding..
Great for horse shows...
His highly individualistic playing on Bob Dylan's Planet Waves is right out front, especially the Tele playing on Going, Going, Gone and the 6 string acoustic on Dirge. Pretty raw and exposed, powerful if you're into that.
He also played an Epiphone Riviera like in my photo
It really seemed like just everybody but The Who went earthy after the band. Clapton quit Cream, the White Album, Beggars Banquet, etc… They were inescapable. Sad irony that drugs had such a devastating effect on them, despite the olde timey initial presentation
The Band was wrecked by drugs as well. Except for Garth for the most part. Grand Marnier and Cocaine led to Richard Manuels suicide. They were all addicted to heroin and cocaine to the point that Levon left the group to go home to clean up cold turkey at his parents house. They had to buy pounds of cocaine for The Last Waltz at $30-40k a piece for everybody. Robbie was so strung out he was a skeleton. After The Band broke up Robbie and Martin Scorsese rented a house in Beverly Hills where they covered all the windows and would go on coke binges.
An important record is Ronnie Hawkins version of 'Hey Bo Diddley' /'Who do you love'. Very exciting solo by Robbie and the tone he gets is amazing considering it's the early 60's. Every guitar player in Toronto wanted to sound like him. He was responsible for many Telecasters being bought.
Good shot! It’s pretty incredible to hear all that string bending and amp overdrive and then realising it was recorded in 1963! I think that makes him one of the very first to do that, even before Bloomfield and Clapton?
Its on the playlist. open.spotify.com/playlist/65wx3DVBWs7rNGY4BoiRhc?si=20b1befff7aa4986
@@epajanssen Check out the 1961 62 roy buchanan stuff.
Awesome!!! Love The Band! It’s funny if I ask people if they know them they say “no”. If I name some of there songs they usually know most of them! Lol! Great video sir keep it up!!! Thanks!
Love the video Robbie Robertson is one of my favourite artists. On a side note, where did you get the jacket? It's awesome!
I stole it from a friend.
Nice Zac, Robbie does get a bit overshadowed by the Band Legacy when it comes to his guitar playing but he definitely cut a pretty unique path, very subtle. I was heavily exposed to the mystique growing up across the river in New York State from Woodstock and Saugerties in the late sixties. Some guys from my area went on to play in Levons later versions of the Band. You also mention Traynor not to digress but they were hooked up with a local Albany NY music store and I bought a YBA1A bass head in 1970 that was a beast! I appreciate the work you do bringing these very interesting music stories!
Zac…Loved this, thanks…your Harvard sounded fantastic….Robbie information thanks
Thanks, Dale!
Agree 100% on the Levon book. I read it several years ago and absolutely loved it. I was surprised to learn about the rift between Robertson and Helm. 2 sides to every story. I watched the Last Waltz again after reading the book and got a whole different take. Nothing diminishes the brilliance of the music!
Totally agree!
yes, Chuck G - and Martin Scorseses' und Robbies' encore "ONCE WERE BROTHERS" is even more deplorable in screwing up "THE STORY THE BAND" than "THE LAST WALTZ"
You might want to read Robbie's book Testimony or for a more balanced view Barney Hoskyns biography of The Band "Across the great divide". No one is blameless, all had their faults. However, I think Levon was too bitter, and didn't take responsibility for his own drug use and perhaps mishandling of money. According to Hoskyns book they all made a lot of money.
Pure gold..
Fine vid man. Just subbed. Dig your Tele :-)
Bought "So Many Roads" second-hand while bumming around NYC in the mid-60s. Who ARE these guys?!?!? Saw the Band three times with Robbie and three times post-Robbie. Always a stellar group; Weider is brilliant and his instruction DVDs are magic. Last time I saw Levon he was jamming with Steady-Rollin' Bob Margolin, Hubert Sumlin, and Mookie Brill. YASSIR!!! Thanks, ZAC!
The Band was undoubtedly a major phenomenon in the late 60s music scene. I was a huge fan, and am to this day. I sometimes wonder how things would have gone if Bob Dylan hadn’t had his motorcycle accident. Here’s how I remember that time, from my vantage point as a university student in California: Bob had become hugely influential; an oracle for a generation, was continuing to evolve, and then just disappeared with news of his accident. In the following year, there was scant information about what had happened. Was Bob alive? In a coma? Permanently disabled? But a few signs of life began to emerge, notably, the release of You Ain’t Goin Nowhere (The Byrds), The Mighty Quinn (Manfred Mann), then Big Pink. That album signaled that Bob was indeed alive and creating. My friends and I regarded it as a “message from Bob”. It had unique credibility because Robbie Robertson’s name was among musicians listed on Blonde On Blonde, and he had co-authored songs on Big Pink. The album and The Band had been anointed by Bob Dylan. All that followed received well deserved attention.
Well said. Did not hurt that Bob painted the cover.
@@AskZac Oh, yeah, I'd forgotten about that detail!
I rode into Nazareth, I was feeling ‘bout half past dead! Great episode Zac, thanks. You mentioned that Robbie used Music Man amps later in his career. Any chance of an episode on those? It’s a kind of hidden subject that could do with opening up.
Great idea!!! I owned a couple
It’s PULLED INTO NAZARETH…
Curses! If only I’d known that 8 months ago.
I had the good fortune to see Bob Dylan in Memphis Tn. in 1966. His band was The Hawks with Robbie Robertson playing guitar. They were so great! I saw The Band in 1971 again in Memphis. They were also Great!
As a teenager, I used to watch and hear Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks play at venues around Northwest Arkansas (Ronnie's home stomping grounds). The first time I heard Robbie play, I was blown away by his blues style. He would stretch those strings and crank up his Fender 4/10 Bassman, and it would literally bring the house down! Every guitar player that heard him during those days wanted to play just like him. When I first heard Big Pink, I was a bit disappointed that he didn't play in the same style that I had remembered from earlier years. However, the departure from their former blues style is most likely what took them to the top...
I remember a few years later that both Robbie and Rick were both playing through Traynor amps, designed by their good friend Pete Traynor...
I love how you pronounce Yonge St. It's really just pronounced "young"! (source: me, a former Torontonian). Great video, Zac. Spreading the Robbie gospel like you do is always appreciated.
The 3rd mention of my mispronunciation. I am sorry
@@AskZac Please, no apologies necessary! In true Canadian fashion, I'm sorry for pointing it out. No harm, no foul.
@@jakebermel6193 I have been on that street, and I am sure my friend told me the right way to say it. I just forgot.
@@AskZac Word of warning Zac. Don't get into an "I'm sorry" thing with a Canadian because they'll out "sorry" you every time. Sorry to point this out but I'm Canadian, sorry!!!
7:15 - I once briefly saw that video when it was playing in a guitar shop many many moons ago and I’ve always wanted a copy and I never seem to find it SO if anyone’s got a link……🤔
When Fender came out with a costly(for me@least)tribute “last waltz“ Strat I enquired at many places where they bronze shoes, etc and all of them said it was impossible to put a bronze coat on a wooden body!!
I’d love to do that to a lightweight body🤞
Hi Zac -- epiphone Sheraton or Riviera too -- also the innovative two pickup placement on the strat --- in the bridge position.. He also plugged into/thru Garth's filters and effects etc on Northern Lights - Southern Cross & Moondog Matinee for some unique guitar sounds I think.
I kept to the Tele era. Yes, there is filmed footage of them doing a couple of tunes with the Rivera.
I like how you play it!
The intro to the Weight is timeless and pure magic.
Great primer on Mr. Robertson. That "So Many Roads" record was my introduction, along with Hammond's Leiber and Stoller produced "I Can Tell," on which Robertson burns the house down.
I was trying to remember which latter album had more of RR's playing. There it is. I will add it to the playlist! Thanks, Michael!
I bought my 68 Tele cause it looked like Robbies, Black with a maple board. Great song maker and guitar player!
Great storytelling of Robbie and The Band. Robbie was a great songwriter and a good guitarist. I also heard Robbie tell the story of when Eric Clapton wanted to join the band and Robbie remarked about the fact that he’s the guitar player so where would Eric fit in. Lol. The Last Waltz has some stuff with him and Clapton on stage that I enjoy watching too.
Freddie Keeler played in David Clayton Thomas’ band the Shays. They were a fantastic band and Freddie was on the road to becoming a legend himself. Sadly, someone in San Francisco spiked his drink with a powerful dose of LSD and it really messed him up. The other Tele star out of Toronto via Germany was John Kay who’s band the Sparrow went on to become Steppenwolf. Born To Be Wild is pure Toronto Yonge Street r&b with organ and Tele riffs. They all had that ice pick in the ear sound.
It’s so interesting that they wrote these epic historical American tropes…and that Robbie could channel this from his Canadian/Toronto upbringing. I’m an entertainment cameraman in Toronto and have interviewed and chaired with Robbie dozens of times in his later career. He’s definitely passionate….and he’s the ‘Paul McCartney’ of The Band’. Levon had recently passed, I asked him about his feelings. They loved each other as brothers for sure. He said he mended things with Levon just before he passed. I sensed that Robbie has some regrets, guilt and sadness….and that Levon wasn’t really able forgive him. Levon did heavy drugs, went broke, got cancer and died nearly penniless. Know one knows for sure what the circumstances were but them. Friendships, bands, Marriages…all difficult struggles for people who love each other. Certainly some of the most pure music ever written.
SEE THE MAN WITH THE STAGE FRIGHT...JUST STANDING UP THERE TO GIVE IT ALL HIS MIGHT , HE GOT CAUGHT UP IN THE SPOTLIGHT , BUT WHEN HE GETS TO THE END, HE WANTS TO START ALL OVER AGAIN !! ROBBIE & RICK TWO DUDES THAT ROCKED N ROLLED
Zac, i gotta say. I love the indigenous artist content.
OUTSTANDING! Growing up in Oklahoma City in the 60's, The Band was always "my" Beatles. Still are...
I traveled across the country this past summer, playing music everywhere, stopped in OK City and Norman because one of the bootlegs of the Band when they were the Hawks has a song where Levon says "I'd like to dedicate this to our friends down in Norman." It's the Onyx Club 1965 OK City recording. Did you ever see them live as the Hawks?
Great stuff as always Zac! Have y’all done anything on ARLEN ROTH? Stay safe Dallas.
Not yet!
Man i love robbie Robertsons guitar playing bc hes in a elite class of player that played for the song. Guys like george harrison did that sort of thing and i think thats the reason their work lasts for so long. When clapton went solo thats also how he approached guitar. I also love bob dylan and my dream guitar is a black early maple cap tele w nitro and the small logo. Otherwise its gotta be a black slab rosewood board tele with the single ply guard on it.
Robbie robertson is so influential and his music is so different and always was. If the beatles laid out the platform that most 60s bands would follow the band powered by robertsons song writing carved their own way. Likewise dylan was also another one of those artists that was inimitable.
As a player the ideal setup to me is the aforementioned dream tele through either a vox ac30 or a tweed fender bassman/blackface super reverb.
I love Levons King Bisquit stories when he was a kid. Buying the doughnuts. Great book. Sonny Boy. WOW!
Sonny Boy Williamson with Robert Jr. Lockwood on guitar. Lockwood was a HUGE influence that few people know about. He was on dozens of records at Chess. The King Biscuit shows were highly influential. I read where BB King said that on the plantation they always listened to the show during lunch break.
Thanks for this thorough look at an often-underappreciated guitar maestro. Before UA-cam I had only ever seen him playing that bronze Stratocaster in The Last Waltz so I always assumed that was what he was known for. For anyone interested, I'm reading a book called Small Town Talk by Barney Hoskyns which gives an in depth look at every aspect of that Woodstock / Big Pink chapter of music history. It's pretty interesting.
Cool!
Robbie had the guitar bronzed just for the Last Waltz. He said it was because this last concert was special, just
like it used to be to bronze baby's first shoes. He found the guitar was too heavy with the bronze, so he switched
half way through the concert to a regular guitar.
I bought Up on Cripple Creek in 1969 or 1970..... Fascinated by their sound and their look when I saw the second album cover..... Then I flipped the single over!!!! Life-changing moment! And to have THREE singers of such individuality in a band? Ridiculous!
That album cover photo was taken in the rain. Great cover...
I have a home in Dardanelle, AR, and it's famous in the area as a place where Elvis used to stop to gig back in the day, so I can imagine that Robbie and the Hawks passed by here as well. Can't even imagine how his exposure to the unpasteurized South might have warped his impressionable young mind back in the day; Roy Buchanan's birthplace (Ozark) is just down the road a bit...
Nice video Zac. I was talking with Joe Bonamassa after a show in Fresno and he told me he had just learned Levon Helms had passed earlier that day. He seemed sincerely saddened by the news.
I love Robbie’s playing, but it was the whole dynamics of “The Band”
that produced all that great music 🎼. It’s unfortunate that almost every successful band implodes over personal differences or squabbles over money.🙁
In my opinion a band should split the loot equally if they are founding members!!!
Dear Zac - this is phenomenal. Can you please help a brother out and tell me where that Robbie phrase you start playing at 0:14 prior to moving in to the Weight comes from? Such a cool little thing, and I know I've heard it somewhere during the Last Waltz or that phenomenal documentary "Once Were Brothers" - I've been scouring the Band's catalogue on Spotify in vain looking for the original source. Please, I'm begging you - put me out of my misery and tell me where it comes from. Thanks for the great content - please keep this awesome stuff coming, I've learned so much.
It’s the guitar lick intro from the Last Waltz performance of The Weight.
Gerry told you right
Thanks lads! Should really have been the first place I looked.
Robbie Robertson is my hands down favourite artist of all time. Thank you for this video.
Great stuff! Nice that you go into Robbie’s bio for a bit
Levon learned to play by hanging out at King Bisquit watching Peck Curtis backup all Levons' heros. That is THE BOOK to read. Great job Zak. I am going to keep bugging you about showing some Leon Rhodes. PLEASE. Thanks for all you do.
I will