Died On This Date (March 4, 1986) Richard Manuel / The Band

Richard Manuel
April 3, 1943 – March 4, 1986

With Bob Dylan
With Bob Dylan

Richard Manuel was a Canadian multi-instrumentalist and singer who is best remembered as a long-time member of perhaps the greatest “back up” band in history, the Band.  Manuel first started working with his former Band mates when, at just 17, he joined rockabilly great, Ronnie Hawkins’ backing band, the Hawks.  About two years later, that unit morphed into the Band, which would count Manuel, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Robbie Robertson and Garth Hudson as its most celebrated members.  Manual mostly played piano in the group.  When Bob Dylan decided to go electric during the mid ’60s, it was the Band he called to serve as his backing band.  And when he went on hiatus after being injured in a motorcycle accident in 1967, the Band holed up in a big pink house in Woodstock, New York to record what would become their acclaimed debut album, Music From Big Pink.  Manuel wrote its “Tears of Rage” (with Dylan), “In A Station,” “We Can Talk,” and “Lonesome Suzy.”  The band continued to release respected albums and collaborate with other performers, all culminating in a remarkable “farewell concert” on Thanksgiving Day, 1976.  In front of an unsuspecting audience, the Band gave the show like no other, sharing the stage with such invited guests and admirers as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Neil Diamond, Dylan, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison and more.  Each artists’ performance was arguably the single greatest of their careers.  The evening was captured on film by Martin Scorsese and released as The Last Waltz, considered one of rock music’s greatest concert films.  Sadly however, Manual was a chronic substance abuser along the way.  His inner demons finally got the best of him when, on March 4, 1986, he hung himself in his hotel room after a show.  Richard Manual was 42 when he died.

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The Last Waltz - The Band

Died On This Date (December 10, 1999) Rick Danko / The Band

Rick Danko
December 29, 1942 – December 10, 1999

rick-danko

Rick Danko was a rock musician, singer and songwriter best known for his time spent in The Band, arguably Canada’s most celebrated band.   Around 1960, Danko found himself opening a show for Ronnie Hawkins, whose back up band, the Hawks included Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm.  Hawkins was impressed enough after hearing Danko to invite him to join his band on rhythm guitar, later switching to bass.  The Hawks eventually added Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson and split from Hawkins in 1963.  They continued on touring throughout Canada and the northern U.S. until they got a call from Bob Dylan asking them to support him on the road.   Going simply as the Band by the late ’60s, they secured a deal with Capitol Records and delivered their debut, Music From Big Pink, one of rock music’s true masterpieces.  That was followed by albums like The Band, Stage Fright, and Cahoots which only added more songs to one of rock’s finest catalogs.  Danko sang lead on many of the groups best songs.  On Thanksgiving night of 1976, the Band performed what would be their final show as that unit at San Francisco’s Winterland.  To the surprise of the audience, the Band proved to be the greatest backing band of all times as a cavalcade of the era’s most respected performers showed their own respect by joining them on stage throughout the evening.  That list included Neil Young, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, and Dylan, each arguably giving the single greatest live performance of their careers.  Fortunately, the evening was captured on film by Martin Scorsese, who released it theatrically as The Last Waltz, often noted as one of popular music’s greatest concert films.  Following the break up of the Band, Danko recorded a handful of albums that sold moderately at best.  In later years he participated in re-formed, but not complete, versions of the Band.  By the late ’90s, he was suffering from drug and alcohol addictions possibly attributed to injuries sustained in a car accident, as well as weight issues that put him in the obese range.  On December 10, 1999, Rick Danko, age 56, died in his sleep.

What You Should Own

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The Last Waltz - The Band