I know there was a thread on them as the last survivor passed, but I can't find it. On a cable channel is a movie called "The Last Waltz" runs 2 1/2 hours. 1976 farewell concert with a LOT of people.
Joni Mitchell, Dylan, Neil Young, Dr. John, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters .....
You can listen to the full concert on Spotify (and I'm sure other streaming platforms) as well, the deluxe version has number of other songs that they weren't able to film at the time. It's wasn't easy keeping large camera's like these running beyond there normal short takes that they were built for, they almost missed Muddy Waters performance as cameras were down and film being changed which is why a decent amount of his song is shot from one angle.
I got to see them probably in the late 80s or early 90s. Robbie Robertson had left but the rest of the core guys were all there.
Somehow one of my friends wandered backstage before the show and shared some smoke with Garth Hudson.
Levon Helm was amazing.
Great show.
Levon Helm used to hold weekly performances/jam sessions in his barn up in Woodstock. I only found about them a couple years before he died - it is an enduring regret that I never made it up there.
I saw The Last Waltz and was impressed by the way Robbie Robertson picked up Eric Clapton's guitar part when Clapton's strap broke.
This is a good read: https://www.labyrinthbooks.com/product/9780307889799
I've been meaning to watch this again. I'm pretty sure it's on prime video too, at least that's where it was the last time I watched it.
This would have been such a great concert to be at.
Isn't it amazing what Canadians and Americans can do when they work together!
A bit of an aside, but have you guys seen "Rumble"? Its a doc about native rock and rollers, Robbie Robertson being one of them. Very interesting show.
In reply to Streetwiseguy :
I haven't but I'll definitely watch it. Available on CBC Gem to stream.
Robbie Robertson is featured in the Norman's Rare Guitars documentary on Netflix, wherein he talks about the guitar he used on The Last Waltz. Apparently it was one he had used a lot, and he decided to have it bronzed for posterity, which did good things for the tone but made it very heavy, so he had to switch it out periodically during the concert because his shoulder couldn't take it.
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