The members of The Band first worked together as The Hawks, the backing band of rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins from 1959 until 1963. Afterwards, Bob Dylan recruited the quintet for his history-making 1965/1966 world tour and they joined him on the informal recordings that became the acclaimed Basement Tapes.
Dubbed "The Band" by their peers, the group left the comfort of their communal home in Saugerties, NY to begin recording as a group unto themselves. The Band recorded two of the most important albums of the late 1960s: their 1968 debut Music from Big Pink (featuring the hit single "The Weight") and 1969's The Band. These critically praised albums helped conceive country rock as something more than a genre, but rather as a celebration of "Americana." As such, throughout their career they would repopularize traditional American musical forms during the psychedelic era. The Band dissolved in 1976; Martin Scorcese's landmark concert film "The Last Waltz" documented their final performance. They reformed in 1983 without founding guitarist and main songwriter Robbie Robertson.
Although always more popular with music journalists and fellow musicians than the general public, The Band has remained an admired and influential group. They have been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Their music fused many elements: primarily old country music and early rock and roll, though the rhythm section often had a bouncy, funky punch reminiscent of Stax or Motown, and Robertson cites Curtis Mayfield and the Staple Singers as major influences. At its best, however, The Band's music was an organic synthesis of many musical genres which became more than the sum of its parts. The group's songwriting was also remarkable as, unlike much earlier rock and roll, and following upon the example set previously by The Byrds, very few of their early compositions were based on conventional blues and doo-wop chord changes.
The Band comprised Robbie Robertson (guitar); Richard Manuel (piano, harmonica, drums, saxophone); Garth Hudson (organ, piano, clavinet, accordion, synthesizer, saxophone); Rick Danko (bass guitar, violin, trombone); and Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, bass guitar) Excepting Robertson, all were multi-instrumentalists; each person's primary instrument is listed first. There was little instrument-switching when they played live, but when recording, the musicians could offer all manner of subtle aural colors and textures to enhance songs. Hudson in particular was able to coax an impressive range of timbres from his Lowrey electronic organ; on the choruses of "Tears of Rage", for example, it sounds startlingly like a mellotron. Helm's drumming was rarely flashy, but he was often praised for his subtlety and funkiness. Critic Jon Carroll famously declared that Helm was "the only drummer who can make you cry," while prolific session drummer Jim Keltner admits to appropriating several of Helm's techniques.
Singers Manuel, Danko, and Helm each brought a distinctive voice to The Band: Helm's gritty, southern voice had more than a hint of country, Danko sang in a soaring, unfettered tenor, and Manuel alternated between fragile falsetto and a wounded baritone. The singers regularly blended in unorthodox, but uncommonly effective harmonies. Though the singing was more or less evenly shared between the three men, both Danko and Helm have stated that they saw Manuel as the Band's "lead" singer.
Robertson was the unit's chief songwriter (though he sang lead vocals on only three or four songs in The Band's career). This role, and Robertson's resulting claim to the copyright of most of the compositions, would become a point of much antipathy between the group's members, especially between Robertson and Helm.
Producer John Simon is cited as a "sixth member" of The Band for producing and playing on Music from Big Pink, co-producing and playing on The Band, and playing on other songs up through The Band's 1993 reunion album Jericho.
On 10 December 1999 is when Rick Danko died in his sleep at age 56. He had been a long-time drug user. In 1997 he had been found guilty of trying to smuggle heroin into Japan. He told the presiding judge that he had begun using the drug (together with prescription morphine) to fight life-long pain resulting from a 1968 auto accident. No drugs were found in his system at the time of his death. Following the death of Rick Danko, The Band broke up for good.
Levon Helm died on 19 April 2012 from complications of throat cancer.
It Makes No Difference
The Band Lyrics
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I can't get over you and the flame still burns
It makes no difference, night or day
The shadow never seems to fade away
And the sun don't shine anymore
And the rains fall down on my door
As true as the love
That dies untold
But the clouds never hung so low before
It makes no difference how far I go
Like a scar the hurt will always show
It makes no difference who I meet
They're just a face in the crowd
On a dead-end street
And the sun don't shine anymore
And the rains fall down on my door
These old love letters
Well, I just can't keep
Cause like the gambler says
Read 'em and weep
And the dawn don't rescue me no more
Without your love I'm nothing at all
Like an empty hall it's a lonely fall
Since you've gone it's a losing battle
Stampeding cattle
They rattle the walls
And the sun don't shine anymore
And the rains fall down on my door
Well, I love you so much
It's all I can do
Just to keep myself from telling you
That I never felt so alone before
The Band's song It Makes No Difference is a mournful blues song about the pain of a lost love that cannot be overcome. The lyrics depict the desperation and despair the singer feels in trying to move on from a past love. The opening verse sets the tone for the song by stating that no matter where the singer turns, they cannot get over their lost love and the flame still burns. Night and day offer no respite, as the shadow of the past love is always present and never seems to fade away.
The second verse references the weather and how it reflects the singer's emotional state - the sun no longer shines and the rains fall down on the singer's door. The lyrics then move on to discuss the idea that the love that dies untold is the truest love of all. The chorus repeats, underscoring the singer's heartbreak and the impossibility of overcoming it.
The third verse uses the metaphor of old love letters that the singer cannot keep because they are filled with painful memories. The singer compares themselves to a gambler who reads the letters and feels the pain of loss. The final verse returns to the idea of the singer's loneliness without their lost love, comparing themselves to an empty hall and the stampeding cattle that rattle the walls.
Overall, It Makes No Difference is a poignant and melancholy song that captures the pain of lost love and the difficulty of moving on. The repeated choruses and metaphors create a sense of hopelessness and despair.
Line by Line Meaning
It makes no difference where I turn
No matter what I do or where I go, my feelings for you remain unchanged.
I can't get over you and the flame still burns
Despite my efforts to move on, my love for you still exists and is as strong as ever.
It makes no difference, night or day
My thoughts of you are constant and unceasing, regardless of time of day or night.
The shadow never seems to fade away
The pain and sorrow of losing you is always present and never seems to lessen.
And the sun don't shine anymore
My life is now bleak and meaningless without you.
And the rains fall down on my door
The tears and sadness that consume me are evident to all.
Now there's no love
The love that once existed between us has vanished.
As true as the love
There is no love more real and genuine than the one that remains unspoken between us.
That dies untold
Our love was never fully expressed or realized before it died.
But the clouds never hung so low before
The weight of my grief and heartache is overwhelming and heavier than ever before.
It makes no difference how far I go
No distance or time can erase the love I have for you.
Like a scar the hurt will always show
The wounds of losing you are permanent, and the pain will always be with me.
It makes no difference who I meet
No one else can take the place that you hold in my heart.
They're just a face in the crowd
Everyone else pales in comparison to you, and they all seem the same to me.
On a dead-end street
My life without you has no direction or purpose.
These old love letters
The memories of our love are now cherished possessions, but also painful reminders of what we had and lost.
Well, I just can't keep
As much as I try to hold on to the past, I must eventually let go and move on.
Cause like the gambler says
Holding on to these memories only brings me more pain, like a losing bet that I can't win.
Read 'em and weep
Reliving our love story through these letters only brings me more tears and sorrow.
And the dawn don't rescue me no more
Even the hope of a new day brings no solace, as my heartache has consumed me completely.
Without your love I'm nothing at all
You were my everything, and without you my life is empty and meaningless.
Like an empty hall it's a lonely fall
My life without you is a cavernous emptiness that is achingly lonely.
Since you've gone it's a losing battle
Living without you is a constant struggle that I can't seem to win.
Stampeding cattle
My thoughts and emotions are chaotic and overwhelming, like a herd of rampaging animals.
They rattle the walls
The intensity of my feelings for you is so overpowering it feels like it might break me.
Well, I love you so much
My feelings for you are still as strong and intense as they ever were.
It's all I can do
It's all I can do to keep from confessing my love for you once again.
Just to keep myself from telling you
I know deep down that there is no hope for a reconciliation, and I must keep my feelings to myself.
That I never felt so alone before
The loneliness I feel without you is all-consuming and overwhelming.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ROBBIE ROBERTSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind