Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-60s soon developed ambitions to step out of his shadow, and entered the recording studio with their own songs. They were right to be ambitious as their songs were good enough to collate into at least two classic studio albums.
They started as a crack team of musicians hired to support popular rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins, but they soon outshone the egotistical frontman and left to pursue bigger ambitions. Known at the time as The Hawks, they were invited to support Bob Dylan on his 1965-66 tours, and some played with him on his acclaimed 1966 album Blonde on Blonde. The Hawks supported Dylan at the famous gig at Manchester Free Trade Hall in 1966 when a folk purist in the audience cried "Judas!" at Dylan for playing the electric guitar. This gig was bootlegged and has been recognised as being among the best live shows ever recorded.
Meanwhile, the Hawks were re-dubbed "The Band" by their record label for the release of debut LP Music From Big Pink (1968). The album, which featured contributions from Dylan on three tracks, was widely praised, while their follow-up, The Band (1969), was also acclaimed by journalists, and both these albums stand as among the best of their decade.
The Band continued to tour and record, and albums such as Stage Fright (1971) and Rock of Ages (1973) continued to receive good reviews. In 1976, tired of touring and with problems affecting the group, The Band held a goodbye extravaganza in San Francisco accompanied by guest stars including Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton. It was filmed by Martin Scorsese and released as a concert film and a triple LP called The Last Waltz. The Band split soon after.
