The Band - The Weight (live 1989)

For the induction of The Band into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson (backed by Blue Rodeo) perform "The Weight" at Canada's Juno Awards (March 12, 1989)
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[@JJStaleyMusic]

Whenever I hear Rick sing the words "Crazy Chester followed me and caught me in the fog" I can say this with all honesty after 36 years I still get goosebumps!! Wish I could have seen these guys live in the heyday. The greatest Band EVER!!

[@yvesbrisabois5972]

Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko et Garth Hudson trois musiciens exceptionnels.

[@trevmac8362]

Garth is amazing and man is Rick Danko the greatest of all time people..and damn i miss Levon and the great Richard manuel

[@flimmaytinstone8980]

brilliant lyrics. one of the best rock n roll songs ever written.

[@RaczarLopatic]

Without public opinions of our behaviors on or off stage, we would be what? Unknown. Each member of the Band will be remembered for their contributions to the greatest R&R band ever. No matter what their personal demons they wrote and played some of the most memorable and timeless music. I miss each and every one of you guys living or deceased. Thank you for letting me open for you back in the 90's In Harrisburg Pa. Your memories are eternal! Ra

[@nikkiforman1342]

What a treasure - thanks much. My heart for Rick Danko as well. Good thing music never dies, and theirs never will, I'm sure of that.

[@DonB.-Mulefivefive]

No one, any where, will ever, replace the original Band. Robbie, Levon, all of you, You're all so dearly deeply missed. So much love and deep, deep, respect.

[@Syl-Vee]

What a treasure this video is! Thanks and thanks most of all to Robbie. R.I.P

[@mungofinalfi4480]

I love Rick Danko's interaction with Robbie during 2:33 - 2:41! He looks like such a warmhearted guy.

[@frrimama]

Always liked to listen to the combination back beats that Rick and Levon used on so many cuts. Garth is from his own planet and played with passion and put together some of the greatest jam within a song that anyone could imagine ( different every time ). He would go from church organ music to a circus sound in a heartbeat and made it work. Together they formed a wonderful "BAND" PEACE

[@cheflynne1]

hats off Levon Helm thanks for your contributions to rock and history Rest in peace (Levon died of complications from cancer)

[@sleadie59]

Rick was the kind of man who could get along with anyone. This great character that was part of Rick's personality is very apparent here with quick glance connection that Rick has with robertson. From 4:46 to 4:54 you can see Rick treat robertson with friendship.

[@robertbruce6865]

@@foreverwild9298 Oh, bullshit. IF he did “shit” on the others, why did Garth and Rick perform with him here? That’s absolute nonsense. I know: you read Levon’s book, and you think that you have the full story. That’s intellectual laziness. I’ve read every scrap of info about this incredible group that I could get my hands on, and his claim of “stolen” credits is bullshit. Ronnie Hawkins pointed out that Robbie took care of business while the others didn’t. And John Simon pointed out that Robbie wrote the songs that Richard didn’t write...before Richard’s addictions got in the way. Johnathan Taplin concurs with John Simon. Research Can Be Your Friend.

[@workingmansblues]

Rick Danko had one the most moving voices I've ever heard.

[@robertbruce6865]

The best male harmony vocalist that I’ve ever heard.

[@michellebercier6815]

The man in my life (MIML) introduced me to The Band and I've been a huge fan every since.

[@CivilianDeathMachine]

a brilliant masterpiece from what is, truly, one of the finest albums of the late 60's. 42 years later, the album still sounds as vibrant and organic as ever! They were only together a short time... but they defined a sound that cannot ,simply, be stated as "generational"... that wouldn't do them enough Justice!

[@frrimama]

Enjoy the Holidays and listen to them for the rest of your life. The music is truly classic to me and I listen often. Great Memories surround me when I hear them play.I went to the memorial Service in The Woodstock Community Center when Rick died. He was one of my all time favorites especially when he sang "It Makes No Difference" and "Unfaithful Servant". Mark / NYC

[@iusedtano]

As the name more than indicates, The Band was a group of talented musicans. I have enjoyed their music since 1971. Thanks for posting

[@ericbrufatto5371]

People take sides without knowing what went on. You can`t really know what went on between two people if you weren`t there.. Danko said that he knew both sides, that both could be stubborn, and he `stayed friends` with both of them. It seems Rick Danko didn`t take sides either.

[@Tortov123]

I just wish Richard was there to play with them. When he's not there playing, you notice how significant he was. RIP.

[@baronepam]

Time flies whether you're having fun or not, these guys were a part of some genuine rock n roll magic from Ronnie Hawks to Big Pink to today when I listen to an old vinyl, or a cassette or even a CD its beyond beautiful. R.I.P. all the fellas, rivers flow with tears and old friends know all is forgiven with every breath.

[@maynardmoleman]

I really miss Rick alot...had the great pleasure to hang out with him on several occasions......I was at the very next show after Richard died in Florida,Al Jardine of the Beach Boys filled in,I was Front row...they played I shall be Released that nite and there was not a dry eye in the house.....

[@bengreens]

RIP Levon, no one ever played drums and sang as sweet as you

[@pollardsells]

Robbie Robertson was one of the greatest song writers ever, you can hear the influence Dylan had on him.

[@greglarry11]

Rick Danko .. one of my favorite all-time singers and people.

[@thatssomething1]

There's no more weight when you fly to heaven R.I.P. Robbie

[@victoriaoffutt788]

😢 ❤

[@Hannah55Banana]

The Band makes me proud to be Canadian :)

[@08shortstop]

I LOVE THIS ONE ... A chance to hear Robbie sing one he wrote ... who cares about his voice? .... this video, to me, is special.

[@SandSpock33]

great rare piece of tape!! GARTH/RICK DANKO/ROBBIE. Won't see the likes of that again. Thank Danko and Garth for doing it.

[@Hirkinen]

I saw this by a coincident. It's a fantastic song. I just love it. Thanks.

[@neonstratusguy]

Nice to see 3 of the 4 that were still alive at the time playing live!

[@timothyhillis7417]

was at a meeting,needed help... ask this gentleman across the room.. it was Mr Robertson's son...that was 2006, i have a great life today... thank you

[@MK-md3jb]

Cool Robbie, one of my fav guitarist

[@frrimama]

I have listened to them for over 45 years going back to the Hawk and Dylan days . They ill always be my favorite. I saw Levon last Year ( 2007 ) in Brewster NY after his surgery. He looked quite Frail until they turned the microphone on. He is a good guy that will sit down and shoot the shit with you like you were a lifetime friend.

[@douglayton5199]

Saw The Band in Philly at Fairmount Park on Earth Day in the 80's. It was like a dream come true.

[@barrynydam6489]

It's a good thing rick danko was helping out here.

[@melissakaegi1512]

Rest in paradise Levon!!...love you

[@Rufinoman]

How could you possibly unlike this? If such a word ever existed.

[@cindylouwhos]

rick was so gentle and sweet. and his voice was just beautiful. i miss him.

[@4468977521003VId30s]

"The Weight" is one of my Dads favorite songs. Think I'll learn the drums for him!

[@joninwakey]

We sure miss Levon. He may not have been a great songwriter but he sure was a damn good lead singer.

[@marylopinto8983]

Never tire of these guys!

[@JackSmith-JackTheWhiskyGuy]

Rick Danko was THE best. Great singer, voice and bassist. I miss you, Rick. The Band was better than any of their genre... right there with the Beatles as performers. Shalom, Rick and Richie.

[@albertinerehoune1908]

The greatest song I have ever heard RIP Robbie Robertson sing with the Angels in Heaven.

[@Roccox5]

This song will never loose it´s power.

[@BOBDYLAN0199]

You are so right Brother. Rick Levon and Richard are sorely missed.

[@darrenwbrown]

Just relax and listen to the song. It will add ten years to your life

[@skellybhoy]

First time I've seen this video and I have a tear in my eye. It's both sad and uplifting at the same time.

[@johntracy2861]

Wow, awesome performance from 19 years ago! For all the keyboard warriors bashing the vocals and riffs, piss off! These guys played their guts out at a great ceremony after losing their best friend. Rock On to the BAND!

[@mojobone1444]

um, more like 29 years ago man...

[@murfxyz]

i think everyone would agree that collectively they created The Weight - one the the best songs of the last 50 years

[@bradbrizzletheman]

great song that will never be dated.....

[@Buelligan88]

Holy crap... never heard or seen this before! Love The Band.

[@frannyfleming4297]

Sad their no longer with us😪😪😪😪😪

[@PaulCocuzza]

Another timeless classic!

[@marvinhancock6433]

Love Robbie s singing Rick is great and ol Garth still holding holding it all together but no levon sad sad

[@tspnyc]

Festival Express is GREAT and the scene with a tripping Rick Danko leading Janus, Weir and Garcia and others in a sing a long on the train is priceless. As are the actual concert performances.

[@305bigdad]

I'm a big fan of The Band and stumbled onto this while watching a Marshall Tucker video. This is great, thanks for sharing.

[@danno698299]

I've never seen this...Robbie should have just let Rick sing the whole thing.

[@Kowasi]

Danny B I dunno, I can take Robbie's singing, but maybe it would have been cool to get the Staple Singers in to handle two of the verses.… or, of course, all the original Band members, but by 1989 that was sadly impossible. I would have liked to see the Staples singing together with Robbie and Rick on that stage though… they were all still alive at that time, so it could have happened. The Weight needs three or four voices to sing it properly really, just Danko alone wouldn't have been enough.

[@robbinbazinet4804]

Kowasi Levon made this song famous along with Ricks crazy chester verse RR kept his voice out as he should have and with CATE twins tele....now thats a great version!

[@Triggerzombie677]

@@foreverwild9298 No he didn't. He wrote the song why shouldn't he sing it.

[@robertbruce6865]

@@foreverwild9298 That’s not accurate. Band insiders like Ronnie Hawkins, John Simon, and Jonathan Taplin have all said that Robbie got the songwriting credits that he deserved. He was taking care of business while the others weren’t. I love all the guys, but spreading songwriting credits around would have been wrong to Robbie. The others got arranger and performance royalties. I will not argue that Robbie’s voice wasn’t good.

[@robertbruce6865]

@@foreverwild9298 Says the facts. Look, I love Levon, too. But even people close to him, like Larry Campbell and Ronnie Hawkins, said that he could be very irrational at times. Even Sandra Tooze’s biography indicates that he was irrationally angry at Robbie. But...again...Levon was the first to leave the group when things got rough. If Levon hated Robbie so much over The Last Waltz, as he claimed in his book, then why did he invite Robbie to his home for the release party of the RCO AllStars record? There’s a great pic of Levon, Robbie, and JD riding around Levon’s property in a Jeep together. (If you’re a true Band fan, you know who I mean by “JD”). Also, why then did Levon consent to playing with Robbie at a Rick Danko solo show almost 2 years AFTER The Last Waltz? Plus, there were some highly dubious statements in the autobiography that just don’t pass the smell test. His “outrage” about songwriting credits is ridiculous. IF Robbie was “stealing” credits, then you’d think that the last 3 Band albums...without Robbie...would have more than their fair share of Levon-authored songs. Newsflash: they don’t. Matter of fact, Larry Campbell himself pointed out how difficult it was trying to get Levon to write songs with him during their lengthy collaboration and friendship. There’s a scene in “I’m Not In It For My Health” that actually shows an example of this. He attributes the quality of Band albums going down after The Brown Album to the credit issue. Interestingly enough, it was about that time that Levon, Rick, and Richard were getting deeper into Heroin. Levon barely touched on his own heroin issue in his book...his prerogative...but Sandra Tooze’s biography points out that it was much more than a brief dabbling. Ronnie Hawkins, who knew Levon from 15 years old on, said that he saw a huge change in his personality after the heroin took hold; he had been a back-slapping jokester, always looking for a good time and a good laugh. Hawkins claimed that the heroin turned him into a moody, deeply suspicious man who got pissed off easily. Look, as I’ve said, I love the guy...though I admit that I think that his claim that the songwriting credit issue killed Danko was the lowest blow in an autobiography full of low blows. There’s zero basis to support it, and I think that it was likely an attempt to expand his own paranoid anger to include Rick Danko. According to Tooze’s book, he was largely pissed off at Danko for the last couple of years of Rick’s life over Danko’s heroin bust in Japan, where Levon lives touring; the bust made it virtually certain that The Band wouldn’t be able to get Visa’s to visit.

[@BarbButler]

Thanks so much for all the great info. As I've said before...I always loved The Band...& always will. I appreciate you setting the record straight...so to speak...for me. Amazing that they had to go so far...as to turn his mike off!!

[@R-D-bj6ot]

Look at all those Robbie Robertson haters crying in the comments section.

[@TheJman2600]

I'm a fan. He's a fantastic songwriter and fine guitarist. Doesn't change the fact he can't sing a lick.

[@RockinAllDay]

​​@@TheJman2600No offense, but have you listened to "Out of the Blue"? Robbie sings BEAUTIFULLY on that one.

[@Th-tg4zm]

Robbie’s voice is perfectly fine… not winning any awards though. And of course Rick kills it

[@hannejeppesen1809]

Rick always killed it, at least until the end of his life. You are right Robbie's voice was fine, but not in the same league as Richard, Levon and RIck, and Robbie would be the first to admit that.

[@jpaleblue]

Rest In Peace Robbie Robertson.

[@grimman55]

Thank you for this!

[@jacobfreeman7263]

RIP Levon you will always have a place in my heart.

[@We_are_the_light]

Breaks my heart to a million pieces what became of this band.. its a fucking sharkesperian tragedy.

[@sheeshalready]

Wow...that vid was just frickin awesome. I hadn't seen it before and what a treat. It was like being amongst royalty...such a classic. I saw The Last Waltz forever ago...this vid brought back some good memories. To the poster...thanks!

[@johndempsey251]

the band still rules

[@Autistic_Pelican_Fucker420]

Rick looks cute in a suit.🖤😍

[@sarahaldridge2332]

great job guys, as always

[@sawmillslim]

Levon wrote a book in the nineties, called, "This Wheel's On Fire"......it disclosed the discord that he felt for Robbie....Levon seemed very bitter then. The bitterness continued through Rick Danko's death in 1999. I never heard Robbie's side to the story. I hope that, eventually, Levon came to peace with Robertson. Garth Hudson, Richard Manual, Rick Danko, Robbie Robertson , Canadians and Levon Helm, the lone American, created some great music together. RIP..Levon, Rick, Richard

[@MazDelaCerna]

I loved this!

[@Robobi007]

Their first two albums still inspire me.

[@jlbsr1959]

My all=time favorite group....period!

[@bigseer]

Blue Rodeo was backing Robbie and Rick, and Rick never sounded better. This performance should be remembered for how great Rick Danko was as a Vocalist and a Bass Player and a great Canadian he was. For those Americans, please remember this was a Canadian Award Show. Robbie Robertson writes the songs. Big Seer

[@fossaalta]

spettacolare : una storia in 3 accordi.. i meraviglosi anni 60 le origini di tutto

[@jazman378]

Thanks BetaClassics this is the one I've been looking for...love it...

[@lewiscranston881]

Rick Danko saves this.

[@mariegerette]

Sweet... still ~ sad to loose any of these guys !!!

[@jlbsr1959]

they are my all time favs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@kendallminor1741]

such a GREAT SONG

[@stephenmiller2337]

For those of you who don't know, this was at the Juno Awards in 1989 and Blue Rodeo was the backing band. Jim Cuddy had to show Robbie Robertson how to play the song again because Robertson hadn't played it in 13 years.

[@davidotis5598]

Frigging awesome

[@cjc66]

I love this group.

[@TakeItEasyC6]

Good choice putting Rick in for more than just his usual one verse. He really saved the performance.

[@ezekieloak]

She gave me love, love, love, love, crazy love...

[@mothulicka]

Robbie is the friggin man! rock is his name

[@IrishDaddi]

R.I.P. Levon & Rick......everyone put all opinions and egos aside, because in the end we all die.....

[@jozsefkacsa]

Awsome video thanx 4 the upload

[@ColdCanuck23]

I remember seeing this on TV. Levon gaves his thanks and apologized that he couldn't be there in person.

[@jim78us1]

My girlfriend had exactly the same observation when we recently watched Last Waltz together. I was always hating Robbie, but she pointed out that he's the sober one trying to hold it together to get through the show, while the others just want to get high and coast on their awesome talent and their friends. Rick's clearly the leader, and it's painful to watch him descend and the others try to ignore Robbie, even on stage, while Rick tries so hard not to offend Robbie. A lot of truth there.

[@sam8793d]

i enjoy this performance thoroughly

[@TheNYgolfer]

The Band - The Weight best version ever

[@DrewMyTubeMacDonald]

"Acclaimed guitarist and singer-songwriter Robbie Robertson, best known for his work in the legendary rock group the Band, will become an Officer of the Order of Canada this Friday, May 27, at a special ceremony in Canada's capital city at Rideau Hall." ~ From the Spinner Canada (25 April 2011) Michael J. Fox was also inducted on the same day.

[@standenton5269]

Best song ever written in that time and that place

[@geoffreyharold]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBBIE!

[@wallersmooth]

Lots of talk about Levon here. He wasn't here for the performance but he did record a video intro for the performance.

[@howlinjay1]

Conheci "A Banda" em 1969 depois de assistir ao filme Easy Rider onde toca o mega sucesso The Weight. Depois disso nunca mais deixei de ouvir os caras, mesmo após a morte de Richard Manuel e Rick Danko. Pra mim, musicas como Up on Cripple Creek, Dont do IT, Shape I'm In, Jemima Surrender e Strawberry Wine estarão sempre vivas.

[@davidgerlach4305]

he took the load off

[@vefisher]

RIP Robbie😢

[@Kitrickshort]

I liked seeing Robbie with Rick and Garth just wish they all could have been there. Kitrick Short

[@mcknightdoesitright]

such an awesome song.

[@johnscialfa7391]

great version