The Weight, in 1968, was The Band’s first single release. It was followed in 1969 with Up on Cripple Creek. Both were Top 100 hits in the US but The Band didn’t chart in Australia until 1970 with Rag Mama Rag, which was their biggest hit (#27) in this country*.
The B-side of Up on Cripple Creek was The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, which was successfully covered by Joan Baez.
Albums:
Up on Cripple Creek, Rag Mama Rag and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down are on The Band which entered the Australian albums chart* on 2 March 1970 and peaked at #6.
The Weight was originally released on Music from Big Pink which didn’t chart in Australia.
Songwriter – all songs on this page:
Robbie Robertson
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
THE WEIGHT
THE WEIGHT – from the movie The Last Waltz, with The Staple Singers
UP ON CRIPPLE CREEK
THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN
RAG MAMA RAG
From Wikipedia:
The Band was a Canadian-American rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1967. It consisted of four Canadians and one American: Rick Danko (bass guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (keyboards, drums, lap steel guitar, vocals), Robbie Robertson (guitar, vocals), and Levon Helm (drums, vocals, mandolin, guitar). The Band combined elements of Americana, folk, rock, jazz, country, and R&B, influencing subsequent musicians such as the Eagles, Elton John, the Grateful Dead and Eric Clapton.
Between 1958 and 1963, the group was known as the Hawks, a backing band for rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins. In the mid-1960s, they gained recognition for backing Bob Dylan, and the 1966 concert tour was notable as Dylan’s first with an electric band. After leaving Dylan and changing their name to The Band, they released several records to critical and popular acclaim, including their debut album Music from Big Pink, in 1968.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Band
The Weight is also on our Spotify playlist Bang a Gong – the 60s
Also on Bang a Gong: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by Joan Baez
Find more songs to enjoy: Bang a Gong song finder
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