Back to the Band

Jaclyn Ambrose • February 13, 2016

The Band, a band that was formed in 1964, ended their career on Thanksgiving day of 1976. This year is the Band’s 45th anniversary of The Last Waltz, the Band’s last concert. Although the Band may not sound familiar to many people now, they have influenced many famous rock musicians, including members of the Beatles, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan.

The style of their music is a mix of classic canadian folk, American, folk, rock, and a bit of blues, which is the root of rock. The Band seemed to be based with the roots of classic rock that we all know and love today.

Bob Dylan is definitely one of the bigger names that is associated with the Band. Dylan toured with the Band for a number of years, and he actually gave them the name “the band” because that is what he always referred to them as. After touring with Dylan, the Band’s career took off.

Their first album, Music from Big Pink, with some songs co written by Dylan himself, was widely acclaimed in Rolling Stone and kicked off their career in rock n’ roll. The original members, Rick Danko (bass, vocals, double bass, fiddle, trombone), Levon Helm ( drums, vocals, mandolin, percussion), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, saxophone, accordion, pedalboard, woodwinds, brass), Richard Manuel (piano, organ, vocals, marimba, lap steel guitar, drums), and Robbie Robertson (guitars, vocals, percussion), truly make up a group filled with very talented members.

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The Last Waltz is the Band’s last concert, featuring all original members, and is directed by Martin Scorsese. Later released as a DVD box set with all the artist features in the show. Scorsese saw importance to document the last concert of the Band and it is considered one of the best rock documentaries of all time. The Last Waltz featured a lineup with some of the biggest music stars in the 70’s, such as Muddy Waters, Dr. John, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Ronnie Wood, Bobby Charles, Neil Diamond, and Paul Butterfield. All artists included had somehow been influenced by the band.

The stars also all came back in the end to perform what is probably their best known song “The Weight”. If it weren’t for Dylan’s discovery of the Band, and for them having The Last Waltz, many rock artists would not be the same. Within the past years other bands and artist have recreated The Last Waltz, such as Wilco, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the Shins, Dr Dog, Yellowbirds, Ween, Furthur, and others. “Our MO of what the model of a functioning group of musicians was; was very inspired by The Band,” said Sam Cohen of Yellowbirds.

Now arriving on the Band’s The Last Waltz 45th anniversary, there could be more to come out of rock music today, and more inspiration could be taken in for future artist to come. The Band is clearly one of the most influential rock groups that have brought us new sounds and ideas in rock and folk.

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About the Contributor

Jaclyn Ambrose, Marketing Manager

Jaclyn Ambrose is a senior in her third year of the Journalism program, and she’s also filling the new Marketing Director position this year. She writes mainly for the arts beat, attending most of the band and orchestra concerts, as well as providing plenty of music reviews for the paper. Ambrose fell in love with Journalism sophomore year, when she took it because she wanted more English credits. Just last year, she had the realization that she wanted to continue with the subject after high school. She loves it for the “freedom over what you want to write, and the classroom, and just getting to publish your work.”

Music has been a part of Jaclyn’s life forever, and she loves filling the paper with local bands and reviews of the concerts that Fossil’s own musicians put on. Her own favorite bands include Weezer and The Band, who were involved with Bob Dylan in the 1960s. She describes their style as, “country, folk, rock, everything.” In addition, Jaclyn is deeply involved with the band program at Fossil as a part of the color guard and the rifle line. Her family includes her mom and dad, a sister who has just returned to Colorado Mesa University, a cousin who lives with her, and her dog Niki. Niki is a Pomeranian/chihuahua/dachshund mix, and Jaclyn describes Niki as “a ray of sunshine.”

[caption id="attachment_18924" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Jaclyn poses with some of her favorite records. Photo Credit: Annie Polly[/caption]

After high school, Jaclyn expects to stay in Colorado for college. She is mostly considering UNC Greeley, Colorado Mesa, or CSU, all of which have business and Journalism programs. Business is partially “something to fall back on," but she loves working with other people and thinks that she could really enjoy a career in that field, at least at some point. If she had to describe her goals for the remainder of her senior year in three words, Jaclyn would pick “graduate, happiness, and fulfillment.”