The Band

The Band (sometimes stylized as the Band or the band) were a Canadian-American rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario. It consisted of Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, drums, vocals), and Robbie Robertson (guitar, piano, percussion), all Canadian, and Levon Helm (drums, vocals, mandolin, guitar, bass), an American. The Band's music combined elements of Americana, folk, rock, R&B, jazz and country, which influenced artists including George Harrison, Elton John, the Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton and Wilco.

Between 1958 and 1963, the group were known as the Hawks and were the backing band for the rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins, based in Toronto, Ontario. In the mid-1960s, they gained recognition for backing Bob Dylan on his 1966 concert tour as Dylan's first electric band. After leaving Dylan and changing their name to "The Band", they released their 1968 debut album, Music from Big Pink, and its succeeding album, 1969's The Band, to critical acclaim and commercial success. Pink Floyd's Roger Waters deemed their debut the "second-most influential record in the history of rock and roll", and the music journalist Al Aronowitz called it "country soul ... a sound never heard before". The Band's most popular songs include "The Weight" (1968), "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (1969), and "Up on Cripple Creek" (1969). The Band later released Stage Fright (1970), Cahoots (1971), the live album Rock of Ages (1972), the covers album Moondog Matinee (1973), and Northern Lights – Southern Cross (1975).