Bob Dylan's 1974 comeback tour--backed up by The Band, kicked off in Chicago

The legendary Robbie Robertson, lead guitarist and principal songwriter for The Band, died today at 80.

Originally a backup band for an Arkansas rockabilly artist, Ronnie Hawkins--he had taken his act to Canada in the late 1950s--The Band, split from Hawkins in 1964. They eventually became the stage band for Bob Dylan.

After a motorcycle accident in 1966, Dylan stopped touring and The Band began writing and performing their own material. First with Music from Big Pink in 1968 and then their self-titled follow-up in 1969, The Band recorded two of rock's greatest albums. Among the memorable songs from those collections are the Robertson-penned "The Weight," "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Up on Cripple Creek." Arguably, the Americana genre of music was created by Robertson and The Band.

Flash forward to 1974: Dylan, with the Band backing him up, released a studio album, Planet Waves, which is best known for the song "Forever Young." To promote the collection, Dylan, with The Band in tow, hit the road--Dylan's first since 1966. But not only was that tour a comeback for Dylan, it was, in spirit, a comeback for The Band too. After those epic first two albums, the next LP effort for them was the uneven Stage Fright in 1970, followed by the abysmal Cahoots the next year. The Band wouldn't release another studio album of original material until 1975--the brilliant Northern Lights-Southern Cross.

The first gig of the Dylan/Band tour was on January 3, 1974--at Chicago Stadium. The Band performed some of their songs from their catalog that night and on the other stops on that tour.

According to Bob Dylan.com, the title track from Stage Fright was one of The Band songs played that evening. What you see below is not from the Chicago concert, but from Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz, the best rock movie concert movie ever made.

But for you purists, here's a very rough video of that same song from the Chicago gig. What you'll see there, like most cinematic efforts, isn't up to Scorsese's standard.

 

The Dylan/Band tour was documented in a first-rate live album, Before the Flood.

Rest in peace, Robbie.