Their careers intertwined time and again over a momentous decade or so. Whenever that happened, impactful, incredible music ensued. We’re talking about the artistic collaborations between Bob Dylan and The Band.
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It only made sense then that Dylan should be there to close out an era for The Band. Without his performance to turn out the lights, The Last Waltz just wouldn’t have been the same.
Colossal Collaborations
Bob Dylan first enlisted the members of The Band before they even took on that mythical name. They were still The Hawks when they joined Dylan to tour the world in the mid-60s. On that jaunt, they played electric music that energized many and aggravated more than a few.
Dylan would join up with The Band again in 1967 to create a series of publishing demos. Gathering in Woodstock, New York, the men created music during this time, both magical and mysterious. Bootlegs of the recordings swept through the rock community, while artists of all stripes recorded cover versions. (The Basement Tapes would eventually get an official release in 1975.)
In 1973, Planet Waves, an album written by Dylan and performed by him and The Band, arrived. A year later, the musicians went on “Tour ‘74”, a joint affair that helped usher in the era of the rock mega-tour. Two years later, Dylan would join The Band again for a last hurrah during one of the most famous concerts in history.
Dylan’s Demands
Robbie Robertson, wary of the personal struggles of the other group members and wanting to get off the touring merry-go-round, largely spearheaded the decision to end The Band. He also decided to go out with a bang, staging a massive concert on Thanksgiving Day 1976 in San Francisco that would be filled with rock luminaries.
Had he not been able to secure the participation of Dylan, however, the festivities might have rung a little hollow. Not only was he irrevocably linked to The Band, but Dylan was also in the midst of one of the finest runs in his career at the time, thanks to the masterpiece 1975 album Blood On The Tracks and its hit follow-up Desire.
Dylan did indeed agree to perform. He even donated large amounts of salmon for the dinner to please the vegetarians in the audience. But he also made demands about how and when he could be filmed during the show for the documentary Martin Scorsese. He also rehearsed in a private location, which meant his appearance had an air of mystery to it.
A Thrilling Finale
The performances in The Last Waltz were brilliant all around, with artists like Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, and Eric Clapton delivering knockout efforts. But there was no doubt that everyone was waiting excitedly for Dylan, who came out as the final act of the evening.
Dylan was on top of his game for a five-song set, with highlights including old favorites from those incendiary early tours like “Baby, Let Me Follow You Down” and “I Don’t Believe You”. He closed the concert out with “I Shall Be Released”, the legendary Basement Tapes track on which he was joined by all the stars who had performed earlier in the night.
Bob Dylan’s performance served as the perfect exclamation point to The Last Waltz. He was there at the start for The Band. And he helped them finish it in exhilarating fashion.
Photo by Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty Images
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