During the late '60s, The Band were arguably one of the most influential groups to come out of North America. Adored by musicians and music fans alike, messrs Robertson, Danko, Helm, Hudson and Manuel gained notoriety as The Hawks, Ronnie Hawkins’ backing band, and were hired for Bob Dylan’s infamous ‘electric’ world tour of 1965 and 1966. The next year,
The Hawks became The Band and, before long, were digging their creative fingers into two side-by-side recording projects. The first was an ongoing series of informal sessions with Bob Dylan (who was recuperating from a motorcycle accident at the time) in the basement of The Band’s ‘Big Pink’ house in the hamlet of West Saugerties, New York.
