BAND BOOKS: DIFFERENT STORIES

BAND BOOKS: DIFFERENT STORIES

found by Joseph Aloysius

Having noticed how often my grand-daughter´s husband, down there where all his sidetracks and detours readers live has referenced Canadian musicians in the last few days I decided to check out some titles on that subject for his exponentially bigger bookshelf. Of course, up here our library stocks every word ever written in any language by an writer alive or…well, living up here.

I have selected two books, each written or co-written by two members of The Band, Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson respectively.

You might think they would be telling more or less the same story, but there are, instead, conflicting views of behavioural flaws, financial control and individual responsabilities.

So, you´re gonna need a book shelf.

The Band, who backed Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965 and then turned out a half-dozen albums of beautifully crafted, image-rich songs, is now regarded as one of the most influential rock groups of the ’60s. But while their music evoked a Southern mythology, only their Arkansawyer drummer, Levon Helm, was the genuine article. From the cotton fields to Woodstock, from seeing Sonny Boy Williamson and Elvis Presley to playing for President Clinton, This Wheel’s on Fire replays the tumultuous history of our times in Levon’s own unforgettable folksy drawl. This edition is expanded with a new afterword by the authors.

“A must-read for anyone interested in Rock and Roll’s golden age.”

Williamsport Sun-Gazette

“This Wheel’s On Fire delivers Levon Helm unfiltered, at once feisty and welcoming to anyone who comes across his story … It’s one hell of a story.” 

PasteMagazine.com 

On the fortieth anniversary of The Band’s legendary The Last Waltz concert, Robbie Robertson finally told his own spellbinding story of the band that changed music history, his extraordinary personal journey, and his creative friendships with some of the greatest artists of the last half-century.

Robbie Robertson’s singular contributions to popular music have made him one of the most beloved songwriters and guitarists of his time. With songs like “The Weight,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” and “Up on Cripple Creek,” he and his partners in The Band fashioned music that has endured for decades, influencing countless musicians.
    

In this captivating memoir, written over five years of reflection, Robbie Robertson employs his unique storyteller’s voice to weave together the journey that led him to some of the most pivotal events in music history. He recounts the adventures of his half-Jewish, half-Mohawk upbringing on the Six Nations Indian Reserve and on the gritty streets of Toronto; his odyssey at sixteen to the Mississippi Delta, the fountainhead of American music; the wild, early years on the road with rockabilly legend Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks; his unexpected ties to the Cosa Nostra underworld; the gripping trial-by-fire “going electric” with Bob Dylan on his 1966 world tour, and their ensuing celebrated collaborations; the formation of The Band and the forging of their unique sound,  culminating with history’s most famous farewell concert, brought to life for all time in Martin Scorsese’s great movie The Last Waltz. 
    

This is the story of a time and place—the moment when rock ʼnʼ roll became life, when legends like Buddy Holly and Bo Diddley crisscrossed the circuit of clubs and roadhouses from Texas to Toronto, when The Beatles, Hendrix, The Stones, and Warhol moved through the same streets and hotel rooms. It’s the story of exciting change as the world tumbled through the ʼ60s and early ʼ70s, and a generation came of age, built on music, love, and freedom. Above all, it’s the moving story of the profound friendship among five young men who together created a new kind of popular music.  

Testimony is Robbie Robertson’s story, lyrical and true, as only he could tell it.

“Robbie Robertson’s Testimony is a book of memories and wonders, a personal testament of a magical time in American music from someone who was there, at the center of it all, playing and casting spells and writing songs that helped define those great lost years. There’s history here, and anecdote, regret and reminiscence, a long fond look back at the trials and triumphs of finding your voice then holding your ground. The tone is easy, conversational, like reminiscing with a friend about things you never realized you were part of too. Robbie brings you along with him, keeps you right by his side first to last, just the way his songs do, drawing you close, spellbound by his easy sorcery. You can feel the music in every word.”

Martin Scorsese
 
“Well, once I started, I couldn’t put it down. It is such a well-paced, well-structured narrative. Robertson’s voice is powerful and strong. He has harnessed vivid language to a clean, elegant, writing style, and the sense of honesty, openness, and completeness makes it so very compelling. The personal and the historic that he bears witness to is, of course, extraordinarily special. One of the best documents of our times. And one of the best books on rock and roll ever written.”

Jann Wenner

I can’t think of a memoir that is more compelling, fascinating, or rich in history. A “Nobody tells a story like Robbie Robertson´.  Across every page you can feel his love, passion, and musical genius.”

David Geffen

“A masterly storyteller, Robertson easily draws readers into tales of his youth and of his days with Bob Dylan. Throughout, Robertson provides an intimate look at the making of The Band’s farewell concert at Winterland—the Last Waltz—and describes the exhilaration, relief, and sadness of the night and the following days. [T]his long-awaited and colourfully told memoir paints a masterpiece of a life in rock and roll.”

Publishers Weekly (starred review)