Who appeared on The Band’s ‘The Last Waltz’?
As one of the most beloved acts of the 1960s and ‘70s, the end of The Band was a big deal. The group that had toured the world both as themselves and as part of Bob Dylan’s troupe were tired. The time had come to call it quits, but not without one final farewell in the form of The Last Waltz, which shaped up to be one of rock and roll’s most starstudded events.
Maybe even more so than being loved by music fans, The Band were deeply respected and admired by their peers. In the folk rock scene of the time, members of the groups were considered to be the creme de la creme of their craft. It says a lot that when Bob Dylan needed musicians to help build out his sound following his Electric Dylan scandal, he called upon Robbie Robertson and his troupe to help, clearly seeing them as the best round.
But beyond their work for other artists, their own output proved deeply influential. George Harrison was amongst their fans, taking inspiration from them for All Things Must Pass and inviting them to play with him during his 1971 Concert for Bangladesh. They had other supporters in the form of Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton and many more, placing them among the stars as one of the most important acts of the era.
However, as Harrison so aptly sang about in ‘All Things Must Pass’, a good thing must eventually come to an end. By the end of the 1970s, The Band were exhausted. Robbie Robertson was tired of all the travelling. Their last tour hadn’t done as well as they’d hoped it would, so then, when Richard Manuel suffered a neck injury, they took it as a sign to stop, as if the universe was telling them that now was the time to call it quits and walk away while their legacy was unaffected.
They went out with a bang, though, as they organised one of the most famous farewell shows in music history, billed as The Last Waltz. Held at San Francisco’s iconic Winterland Ballroom, the show was held on Thanksgiving day and even began with a turkey dinner served to 5,000 people. They had an orchestra and a lineup of poets, including Beat legend Lawrence Ferlinghetti, there to warm the crowd up, giving the night a truly grand energy as the group deserved. Then, when The Band finally took to the stage at 9pm, their set list saw them bring out an all-star cast of peers, friends and past collaborators. As captured by a young Martin Scorsese, the concert was immortalised on film as one of music’s biggest nights.
So, who played at The Band’s Last Waltz?
For their final ever show, The Band honoured the musicians who had not only supported their career but who had inspired them too, as a cast of the era’s finest musicians made an appearance. During a mammoth 42-song setlist, The Band started out solo before slowly inviting people up to join them.
First up, Ronnie Hawkins joined them for a cover of Bo Diddley’s ‘Who Do You Love?’. Immediately after, Dr John and Bobby Charles came out, followed by Paul Butterfield and blues legend Muddy Waters.
Then the crowd was treated to two Eric Clapton songs played by the man himself before the stage was opened to Neil Young. Continuing on the golden run of stars, Joni Mitchell sang an incredible live version of ‘Coyote’ with The Band playing behind her, as well as two other songs.
Perhaps the oddest addition to the lineup was Neil Diamond, who sang ‘Dry Your Eyes’ at Robbie Robertson’s request despite the rest of the group putting up a fight against his appearance. But after that odd intermission, it was back to a golden run with Van Morrison taking the mic.
However, the show’s final special guest had the crowd the most excited, as Bob Dylan, The Band’s former boss, made an appearance. They played six songs together as a final moment to honour the important collaborations between the acts.
But among those performances, there were countless other famous faces making appearances. The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood joined in for a few songs, as did Ringo Starr. Stephen Stills joined in for a jam as well as The Staple Singers and Emmylou Harris coming along for a sing-song.
All in all, it was one hell of a lineup to say goodbye to one hell of a band.
The musicians that appeared at The Last Waltz:
- The Band
- Ronnie Hawkins
- Dr John
- Bobby Charles
- Paul Butterfield
- Muddy Waters
- Eric Clapton
- Neil Young
- Joni Mitchell
- Neil Diamond
- Van Morrison
- Bob Dylan
- Ronnie Wood
- Ringo Starr
- Stephen Stills
- The Staple Singers
- Emmylou Harris
