December 29: The late great Rick Danko was born in 1942

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):

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):

From the liner notes, Rock of Ages:
“Rick showed something during this period that I still don’t understand. While singing like a bird, he played a fretless bass… in an unorthodox style that worked against reason and normality.”
– Robbie Robertson

“Rick Danko – his approach, there’s nothing like it. Some people, you can tell what school of thought they come from on the bass… I don’t know where Rick Danko comes from. I don’t know his source of reference… it was just his very own thing and I think it was perfect”.
– Allen Toussaint

 

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

Album of the Day:

The Band – Live at the Academy of Music 1971

Other December 29:

• “Sweet Little Sixteen” is a rock and roll song written and originally performed by Chuck Berry, who released it as a single in January 1958. It reached number two on the American charts, Berry’s second-highest position ever on that chart (surpassed only by his suggestive hit “My Ding-A-Ling”, which reached number one in 1972). “Sweet Little Sixteen” also reached number one on the R&B Best Sellers chart. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song #272 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.

 

• Marianne Evelyn Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades.Her early work in pop and rock music in the 1960s was overshadowed by her struggle with drug abuse in the 1970s. During the first two-thirds of that decade, she produced only two little-noticed studio albums. After a long commercial absence, she returned late in 1979 with the highly acclaimed album, Broken English. Faithfull’s subsequent solo work, often critically acclaimed, has at times been overshadowed by her personal history.From 1966 to 1970, she had a highly publicised romantic relationship with Rolling Stones’ lead singer, Mick Jagger. She co-wrote “Sister Morphine”, which is featured on the Stones’ Sticky Fingers album.

-Egil & Hallgeir