The Band was an influential Canadian-American rock and roll group of the 19… Read Full Bio ↴The Band was an influential Canadian-American rock and roll group of the 1960s and '70s, formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Band included Robbie Robertson (1943 - 2023) (guitar, piano, drums, harmonica); Richard Manuel (1943-1986) (piano, harmonica, drums, saxophone, organ, slide guitar); Garth Hudson (organ, piano, clavinet, accordion, synthesizer, saxophone); Rick Danko (1943-1999) (bass guitar, violin, trombone, guitar), and Levon Helm (1940-2012) (drums, mandolin, guitar, bass guitar, harmonica).

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.

volcano
The Band Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Don't hold yourself like that
You'll hurt your knees
I kissed your mouth and back
But that's all I need
Don't build your world around volcanoes melt you down
What I am to you is not real
What I am to you you do not need
What I am to you is not what you mean to me

You give me miles and miles of mountains
And I'll ask for the sea
Don't throw yourself like that
In front of me
I kissed your mouth your back
Is that all you need?
Don't drag my love around volcanoes melt me down
What I am to you is not real
What I am to you you do not need
What I am to you is not what you mean to me
You give me miles and miles of mountains
And I'll ask for what I give to you
Is just what i'm going through
This is nothing new
No no just another phase of finding what I really need
Is what makes me bleed
And like a new disease she's still too young to treat
Volcanoes melt me down
She's still too young

I kissed your mouth
You do not need me

Overall Meaning

At first glance, The Band's song Volcano appears to be about a man pursuing a woman, but upon closer examination, the lyrics suggest a more complex narrative involving risk and the potential for disaster. The first stanza establishes the tone of the song, describing the man's desire for the woman and urging her to join him. The imagery of the "candle burning bright" suggests a sense of urgency, as though time is ticking away.

The second stanza is where the tone shifts, with the man pleading with the woman not to leave him in the dark like a "ghost rider." This imagery conveys a sense of danger and risk, hinting that their relationship could lead to hardship or failure. The line "carving names in bark along the boulevard" is reminiscent of teenage romance, but the fact that they are carving the names along a boulevard suggests that they are publicly marking their relationship, increasing the risk that it will be exposed or misunderstood.

The next stanza seems to be a plea for the woman to join the man on an adventure, possibly involving theft or some other kind of criminal activity. The line "when we cross that railroad track, there'll be no turning back" suggests that they are embarking on a journey that could have serious consequences. The final stanza emphasizes the potentially explosive nature of their relationship, with the repeated refrain of "volcano--I'm about to blow" suggesting that the man is nearing a breaking point. Overall, the lyrics of Volcano suggest a narrative of risk-taking, adventure, and the potential for disaster.

Line by Line Meaning

Got my motor runnin'
I am prepared and eager for what's to come

Little girl, are you comin'
Are you ready to join me?

Keep your candle burning bright
Keep your hope and passion alive

Soon as you are ready
We'll embark on this journey when you're ready

Hold that ladder steady
Support me while I climb towards my goals

Come tread softly through the night
Let's navigate this journey with care and caution

Don't leave me in the dark
Don't abandon me when I need you the most

Like a ghost rider in your yard
I'll keep haunting you until you accept me

Carving names in bark along the boulevard
I'll leave a permanent mark on our journey together

I'd be a bushwhacker
I'll go to extreme lengths for you

Even be your hijacker
I'll take control in order to make our journey successful