MovieChat Forums > The Last Waltz (1978) Discussion > Why did the Band break up?

Why did the Band break up?

posted 15 years ago by A_Fistful_of_Pennies
11 replies | jump to latest

I'm not hugely knowledgeable on The Band, I have a lot of their music and loved their collaboration with Dylan, but I don't know much about the members or the history of The Band.

Why did such a tremendous band break up? It seems like they still had great chemistry going on when making this movie. Did they just become tired of touring like Robbie says in the movie, or were their other factors going on? I have heard people mention that Robbie and Levon may have had a strained relationship. Why was this?

[–] RagtimeWilly 15 years ago

A lot of it was the road aspect that Robbie talks about in the movie, but by the time of The Last Waltz they hadn't been touring very extensively at all for like three years. Robbie and Levon's relationship was probably a little sour at that point, but certainly not a major cause of the breakup- I would say Levon started most of his feuding after the breakup, because of the breakup. By most accounts Robbie was the only one who wanted to end it. He just wanted to do other stuff, understandably. The other members, and Robbie, had had their drug problems for a long time and The Band probably could've kept on going, but I think Robbie was right in not letting The Band lumber on just for the sake of being The Band. So instead he threw a big party and mythologized the whole last 16 years so they could put it behind them. The thought of The Band still being alive and active (you know, for real, instead of the bar band version that Levon kept on with) in the 80's is pretty scarry to me-- all those horribly dated production techniques they would've tried, eek. Whatever, that didn't happen, they all made pretty good solo stuff during the 80's.

[–] lubin-freddy 15 years ago

They talk about it during the between-songs scenes in the film. They'd been together for 14 years, much of it on the road, and you can imagine the stress and effects.

But still, one of the greatest bands of that, or any period.

"Sometimes you have to take the bull by the tail, and face the truth" - G. Marx

[–] alicecbr 14 years ago

Where is Robertson today? Still working with Scorcese? with Dylan? with Clapton? Sure didn't show much love to Garth and Danko at the 1994 Rock n Rall entry to the Hall of Fame.
He practically snubbed them, even though they were both on stage and playing at the time.
"He who swaps his liberty for the promise of 'security' deserves neither." Ben Franklin

[–] Loomis_Orange 14 years ago

Alice - You have a lot of things bass-akwards. Robbie did not snub them! The end of 1994 (only a few months before the Hall of Fame deal) Levon Helm released a biography entitled "This Wheel's On Fire" basically blaming every problem The Band ever encountered on Robbie. Accusing Robbie of being the basic cause of Richard's suicide.

I, of course, don't know the truth for myself, but I am sure it wasn't ALL Robbie's fault.
Levon Helm was very angry and Levon snubbed the Hall. He's the one who refused to show up.

A few years later, after Rick had died, "This Wheel's On Fire" was revised and released anew. This edition blamed Rick's death on Robbie. Levon said that Rick had died on account of Robbie basically stealing food and housing money out of Rick's pocket, making it necessary for Rick to work even tho he was sick just to keep his taxes paid and food upon his family's table.

Make your own mind up.

But in my way of viewing it, It was completely UNFAIR to Mr. Robertson to have the entire demise of The Band laid directly at his feet. The classic rock press had a field day and The Band made hay while the sun shone. "Jericho", The Band's first album since the 1978's "Last Waltz Sountrack" album was released hand in hand with Levon Helm's Biography of The Band "This Wheel's On Fire". In my opinion (and everybody has one) Levon knew EXACTLY what he was doing! "Jericho" would have come out with minimal fanfare if it had not had a big rock "hate-light" shone on it by one of those juicy and deliciously bloody "Rock Acrimony" stories to accompany it. You know what happens when the press gets a whiff of blood. Helm spent years and years dragging it out and beating that dead horse during every interview he was ever a part of. Robbie Robertson's daughter, Delphine went as far as to write a letter to the LA Times asking people to ignore Levon's latest rant against her father. This happened a couple years ago. I forget why the Band was in the news..

YEAH, BUT THEY BREAK WHEN YA FALL ON'EM

[–] bradford-1 14 years ago

Rock groups seemed to have an inordinate amount of problems staying together and learning how to deal with one another (one can consider the Grateful Dead and Stones as exceptions). The Modern Jazz Quartet and the Guarniei String Quartet managed to hang together for decades by following a basic rule: never socialize!
Keep your families and friends away from the people you work with and don't hang out with your bandmates unless you are rehearsing, recording or doing concerts.

[–] Loomis_Orange 14 years ago

If that had been the case with The Band then the whole premise of the Band of Brothers would have been absent making The Band nothing more than five extremely talented musicians who happened up on meeting each other. Most of the charm of The Band was the fact that they basically grew into manhood together.. they went through 8 years of starvation and chasin women, fights in parking lots and alleys, growing closer and closer with each passing day. They drove in a car from gig to gig.. into making money hand over fist. Sometimes success is NOT the best thing for a beautiful thing as fragile as the boys

Hey Ya'll, Mama's Fryin' Taters!

[–] bradford-1 13 years ago

It's one thing to party with, travel with, rehearse with, play music with and chase women with the same set of guys when you're 23 or 24. Eight or nine years later, someone has matured beyond the others and needs other outlets and other people to interact with.

"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."

[–] nelliewilson 12 years ago

Levon does not blame anyone for Richards suicide in "This Wheels on Fire". In fact, he says and believes that Richard Manual's suicide was an accident. Of course there was much bad blood between Robbie and Levon but that seems to be because Robbie's ego outgrew The Band.

[–] Bree_33 13 years ago

The Band began to break up due to the stresses of sixteen years of touring. ...

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[–] jefgg 8 years ago

Levon Helm, in his 1993 autobiography "This Wheel's on Fire", expresses serious reservations about director Martin Scorsese's handling of "The last Waltz", claiming that Scorsese and Robbie Robertson conspired to make the Band look like Robbie Robertson's sidemen. He states that Robertson, who is depicted singing powerful backing vocals, was actually singing into a microphone that was turned off throughout most of the concert.

Helm also discusses Richard Manuel's and Garth Hudson's minimal screen time, such as when Manuel sings during the closing number "I Shall Be Released", but Manuel is hidden behind the phalanx of guest performers. There are several shots catching Ronnie Hawkins looking around but not singing, yet Manuel remains invisible. However, during the same segment, in the background, it appears that a cameraman is attempting to get a shot of Manuel at the piano but gives up due to technical problems or the impossibility of the shot.

Helm went so far as to say that Last Waltz was "the biggest *beep* ripoff that ever happened to the Band", citing that he, Manuel, Danko and Hudson never received any money for the various home videos, DVDs and soundtracks released by Warner Bros. after the project.

[–] thbryn 7 years ago

never received any money for the various

You make $$$ in the music with publishing rights. Ringo is the least wealthy member of the Beatles because he didn't write any songs. RR was extremely generous --he wrote the songs!-- to the band when he didn't have to be. If they feel short-changed ---not surprising-- on various monies they should have looked into things more effectively it's not like all musicians don't eventually have the same complaints.

The short answer to the question is Robertson didn't think the band would last much longer if the personal habits didn't change. He didn't want them to --literally-- start dying off. As it was , they lasted longer than many thought.

Kisskiss, Bangbang