After touring with as Bob Dylan’s band in 1966….and because they were always “the band” to various front men and the locals in Woodstock….member Levon Helm said the name “the Band” worked well when the group came into its own. The group began performing as the Band in 1968….and went on to release ten studio albums….as Dylan continued to collaborate with the Band over the course of their career, including a joint 1974 tour.
The original configuration of The Band ended its touring career in 1976 with an elaborate performance at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, California that featured numerous musical celebrities of the era. This performance was filmed for Martin Scorsese’s 1978 documentary The Last Waltz. Although the members of the group intended to continue working on studio projects, they drifted apart after the release of their Islands album in March 1977.
In this video herewith, The Band performs Ophelia, Where Have You Gone at The Last Waltz concert….which was truthfully the end of an era for the legendary group.
