December 10: The great Rick Danko passed away in 1999

I saw Ronnie Hawkins play near my hometown, Port Dover, Ontario, and I saw him play there on New Year’s Eve and the following spring I booked myself to be his opening act on maybe five shows, and he hired me after the first night.
-RickDanko

You put a song on the record or on tape and you stop singing it. You just don’t sit around and sing it anymore unless you’re performing. That’s kind of sad.
-Rick Danko

I started working with Bob in 1965. We did go through a lot of changes from 65 to 74, a lot of changes. By 1974, everything had straightened itself out.
~Rick Danko

Stage Fright (from the Last Waltz):

Eric Clapton Inducts The Band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994:

From Wikipedia:

Birth name	Richard Clare Danko
Born	December 29, 1942 Green’s Corners, Ontario,Canada
Died	December 10, 1999 (aged 56) Marbletown, New York, United States
Genres	Rock, blues, country rock, folk rock, folk
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Vocals, bass, double bass, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, accordion, trombone, piano, banjo, cello
Years active	1956–1999
Labels	Capitol, Arista, Rykodisc, Woodstock, Breeze Hill
Associated acts	The Band, Ronnie Hawkins, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, Danko/Fjeld/Andersen

Richard Clare “Rick” Danko (December 29, 1942 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician and singer, best known as a member of The Band.

It Makes No Difference – Tribute To Jerry Garcia Dead (1997):

Rick Danko died in his sleep at his home in Woodstock on December 10, 1999. Steve Forbert wrote a tribute song for him, ‘Wild as the Wind’, which means well and doesn’t avoid acknowledging the role cocaine played in his life and demise. But Danko’s own posthumous album Times Like These is a more substantial tribute to his considerable talents. Everyone who knew him misses the sweet,  good-humoured person that it’s agreed he was. Everyone who knew the music of The Band misses his artistry.
~Michael Gray (The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia)

This Wheel’s On Fire (1970 November, Pittsburgh USA):

Album of the Day:

Rick Danko – Live Anthology

-Egil & Hallgeir