When Robbie Robertson saved Eric Clapton during ‘The Last Waltz’
Most bands don’t get the chance to take their final bows on their own terms. Usually, groups flounder for years, trying to reach their past glory, spending their autumn years growing lethargic as they attempt to deliver the hits to the best of their ability. Long before acts started to go out on endless reunion tours, Robbie Robertson steered The Band out the right way with The Last Waltz.
Filmed on Thanksgiving 1976, The Band closed their career with one final hoorah with film legend Martin Scorsese overseeing the production. Outside of delivering hits like ‘The Weight’ and ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’, the band also included a star-studded guest list, from Dr John to Neil Young, coming up onstage to play some tunes.
Of all the rock legends coming onstage that night, one of the best to play with them was Eric Clapton. ‘Slowhand’ had been an avid fan of the group and showed up to play a handful of tunes with his trademark ‘Brownie’ Stratocaster guitar as they tore into their first tunes together, though, Clapton encountered a problem every guitarist has had at least once.
After a long day on stage, Clapton had walked on without realising that his guitar strap was wrapped the wrong way around, causing it to choke the guitar and become loose during the song. While fans were delighted to hear the slow blues they’d expect from a player of Clapton’s calibre, everything stops when his guitar strap falls, leading to him cutting out for a few bars.
Then again, this isn’t an abnormal situation for The Band. Throughout their time touring as Bob Dylan’s backing group, Robertson had gotten used to playing songs on the fly, recalling to Rolling Stone, “When we’d play the song with him, it would be ‘How do we end it?’ And he’d say, ‘When it’s over, it’s over. We’ll just stop”. We got so we were ready for anything – and that was a good feeling. We’d think, ‘OK, this can take a left turn at any minute – and I’m ready”.
No sooner does Clapton’s guitar come undone that Robertson picks up for him, launching into a solo as the rest of the group improvises underneath him. For all of the face-melting solos that Clapton had been known for throughout his career, Robertson manages to keep up with the guitar icon’s playing, going into a bluesy mode before transitioning back into rhythm guitar mode once Clapton has his bearings about him.
While there was a bit of lighthearted fun at the moment, it was still a bittersweet affair for The Band. Considering their years of hard work to become one of the biggest bands in the world, they realised that they had nothing more to say outside of this final gig, with Robertson moving on to a solo career shortly afterwards.
Regardless of them hanging up their musical partnership, the members’ telepathy on that stage can be chalked up to years of experience as a refined unit. For all of the embarrassment that may come from a technical foul-up like this, Robertson covering for Clapton is the definition of professionalism.
