The Band: A History

Latest Episodes:

Interview: The Manuel Archive Sep 10, 2021

Show notes

Originally released on The Band: A History's Patreon. We sit down and talk with Breanna McCann, the curator and archivist behind the new project The Manuel Archive.

We discuss her love of The Band, and how it started with their song "Acadian Driftwood", her passion for sixties and seventies culture, film and music and what her motivation was for starting The Manuel Archive. Breanna also talks about her interest in Richard Manuel as well as her opinion on his portrayal from writers, critics and his own bandmates.

It was a pleasure to talk about The Band and Richard with Breanna, anytime there is a new project that I come across that is related to The Band it gets me ecstatic. I encourage you all to follow The Manuel Archive on Twitter.

For those interested in the song playing in the intro and outro of the show that is a Richard penned, Band demo entitled "Words and Numbers". Written and demoed sometime in 1967. It was never released on an official Band studio album.

Part of Pantheon Podcasts

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Interview: Joe Forno Jr Aug 13, 2021

Show notes

This week we sit down and chat with Joe Forno. Forno was born in Woodstock, New York. His father an influential local and was friendly with The Band. Forno graduated Albany College of Pharmacy in 1973 and had a career as a pharmacist before assisting Richard Manuel and Levon Helm with their business dealings in 1983 that eventually lead to Forno managing The Band after Richard Manuel’s unfortunate death in 1986.

We talk to Joe about his career managing The Band, his personal relationships with Richard, Rick, Garth and Levon and some large revelations about the group in his new book, Levon’s Man: The Death of Richard Manuel, And My Decade Managing The Band.

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The Last Waltz - Part One Jul 21, 2021

Show notes

“None of us truly understood where we were headed, but we knew change was inevitable.”

The Band meant something, their music had spoken to many. Whether that meant flying from another continent, taking a train cross country, selling their worldly possessions or quitting a job, even the slightest hint that The Band could hang it up caused a reaction, a tidal wave.

And while uncertainty hung in the air for everyone involved and feelings were mixed. The Last Waltz as it was titled, was about to become a defining moment for a group of four Canadians and one American that had spent the better of sixteen years making music together.

Certainly, it was unfathomable to think November 25, 1976 was about to become one of the defining music moments of the decade, let alone popular music history. The alchemy The Band concocted that evening with seventeen of music's biggest stars will forever be etched into history.

Produced, hosted and edited by Tyrell William Lisson. Additional writing and research by Oscar Ashley.

The Band: A History is part of Pantheon Podcasts. Listen to The Band: A History and a variety of other great podcasts over on Pantheon.

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All Our Past Times May 05, 2021

Show notes

The release of Northern Lights - Southern Cross seemed like a new beginning or a re-conquering of rock music for The Band, but that was all critical appraisal. Northern Lights - Southern Cross publicly and privately held very different truths.

Deemed a comeback, and with that the expectation The Band resumed their mantle as kings of authentic rock music, The Band didn’t really see it that way on the inside. As critical praise mounted, starting with their massive tour with Dylan in 1974 through the release of a very solid album in Northern Lights - Southern Cross, the members of The Band were steadily declining.

Thus begins the story again, confused, frustrated and angry, The Band took their talents to the works of Neil Diamond and Eric Clapton. However, this time it was a breaking point. They didn’t know it, or maybe they did, but it was only a matter of time before the glass house shattered.

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Interview: Jonathan Taplin Apr 12, 2021

Show notes

Fans of The Band may know Jonathan Taplin from his time as a road manger for The Band, but Jon’s career spans several decades in multiple industries.

A Princeton grad who marched with Martin Luther King, he was drawn to folk music from people like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez and soon found himself working for Albert Grossman, Dylan’s manager.

Not long after he went on to work with The Band for several years during their seminal years making their second album, playing Woodstock, Isle of Wight and much more. He left The Band in 1971 to do a number of things from his time with the Rolling Stones, producing movies like Mean Streets with Martin Scorsese to coming back into the fold and producing The Last Waltz.

Jonathan is now an academic and author and his latest book "The Magic Years: Scenes From A Rock N Roll Life" is coming out May 14. You can learn more and pre-order the book here.

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Interview: Jan Høiberg Mar 15, 2021

Show notes

The Band: A History sits down with Jan Høiberg, the curator and owner of https://theband.hiof.no, the number one resource for all things Band related. Started in 1994, the website grew to become the official website of The Band. As years passed Jan became friendly with Band members Rick Danko, Levon Helm and Garth Hudson, travelling to Woodstock, New York on several occasions.

Høiberg has run the website from Norway for over twenty-seven years, and his obsession as an eighteen year old kid seeing The Last Waltz in 1980 has led to to creating one the finest resources on the web.

This show is a part of Pantheon Podcasts.

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Northern Lights - Southern Cross Feb 17, 2021

Show notes

“It took us coming in there to get them all in the studio with one another because there was a lot of bitching” Clapton reminisces about The Band’s state of mind in 1975.⁠

For all the success The Band had, The group was never truly able to become that cohesive group that they once were. Like timeless other examples in other bands, priorities were different, opinions were divided and drugs and alcohol blurred the lines even further.⁠

⁠Would the group be able to put aside their differences momentarily to go into their new studio and put together an album? ⁠

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Shangri-La Dec 24, 2020

Show notes

“Nobody’s done what Bob Dylan’s done for us over the years. He helped Rick and Richard write those songs and was part of our workshop. Bob Dylan knew that The Band was not in great shape, and he wanted to help us out of the sense of goodness he felt for us.”

Pressure was mounting on The Band who hadn't put out a critically acclaimed album in some years, nor were they getting on personally like the once had. With the group calling California home, and setting up in Malibu they established a new clubhouse, Shangri-La, hoping to recreate some of the magic they once had in upstate New York.

Tour problems were also mounting, the drugs and alcohol were becoming an issue again and The Band’s headlining gigs were not as successful as they had hoped. While The Band wasn’t having much personal success, on their own they were keeping busy. Rick and Levon worked with Neil Young on his album “On The Beach”, Robbie had a third child and Garth met his future wife.

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A Road Trip With The Band Nov 09, 2020

Show notes

The Band: A History is joined by The Hippie Historian to talk about The Band's steeped history in Southern Ontario. We take you to some of the historic venues they played, the towns and areas in which they lived and much, much more.

Find out more about the road trip and support The Hippie Historian here.

Summer Garden Farewell

The night is chill, the ballroom deserted The sound of dancing feet is gone The sound of music has faded away There is no sound of voices, they have disappeared There is no laughter Farewell, dear old lady Summer Garden. There are tears I cannot hide, so I smile and say as the flames die Smoke gets in my eyes… – Don Ivey, January 9, 1979

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Planet Waves Sep 28, 2020

Show notes

Even after a few years of meaningless wandering, riddled with substance problems, creative problems The Band, unbeknownst to them, were about to embark on a two year journey that would elevate their profile to the largest they’d ever have. A new album with Dylan, a massive stadium sold out tour and much more.

Was it something they expected, most certainly not, was it something they wanted, besides Robbie probably not, but it was a chance to play with their friend Bob Dylan again and catch some of that spark they once had.

As with the change in status, came with a change in geography, The Band so synonymous with upstate New York, uprooted their families and headed west for the sunny shores of Los Angeles, California.

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The Band: A History is part of Pantheon Podcasts. Listen to The Band: A History and a variety of other great podcasts over on Pantheon.

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