Classic Albums-Music From the Big Pink The Band

For this week's classic album segment let's have an look at the 1968 debut album by legendary rock group the Band called Music From the Big Pink. The Band who had began as the Hawks having backed up singer Ronnie Hawkins as well as Bob Dylan when he went electric and did the world tour of 1965-66 including Australia which he got booed and also relocated to west Saugerties an town in New York where they did woodshedding, recording and writing songs with Dylan which became known as the Basement Tapes in an house called Big Pink which had been rented by Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Rick Danko. The recording of the album known as Music From the Big Pink began in January 1968 in new York and Los Angeles at both A & R Studios and Capitol Studios with John Simon as producer who had worked with the Cyrkle(Red Rubber Ball) and janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company album "Cheap Thrills". the album was released on July 1st 1968 which went to no 30 in the USA which went gold and it recieved an lot of great reviews as well as influencing people like Eric Clapton and George Harrison and also from this album had the classic single The Weight which went to no 63 in the USA and no 21 in the UK which it has been covered by acts like the Supremes, the Temptations, Jimmy barnes with the Badloves, Aretha Franklin, Jackie De shannon and many others. It's an BRILLIANT and an EXCELLENT album with still sounds great today as well as the songs on it are still great after 45 years and besides from the Weight it has 3 more Robbie Robertson songs, an Richard Manuel song, 3 Bob Dylan songs including Tears Of Rage co written with Richard Manuel and This Wheel's On Fire co written with Rick Danko etc as well as an great sound with great playing by Robbie,Rick,Richard,Garth and Levon which it's folk ,rock n roll,R&B country,soul and classical all blended into one. It's has been an year on Friday since the sad passing of drummer and singer LevonHelm from cancer but his work lives on in these songs and and the stuff the Band did afterwards which I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate this to his memory.

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