The Band: A History

Pantheon Media

4.4 (33)
MUSIC HISTORY
UPDATED MONTHLY

Exploring the history of Canadian-American roots rock group, The Band.

MAR 8

Jericho

Jericho was the first Band studio album in sixteen years, and by the time it arrived a lot had changed. Richard Manuel was gone. Robbie Robertson was gone. What remained were Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Garth Hudson, joined by Jim Weider, Randy Ciarlante, and Richard Bell, trying to figure out what The Band could still sound like in the 1990s. In this episode, I take a look at how Jericho finally came together after years of touring, a failed attempt at a record, and more than a little loss along the way. We talk through the songs, the players who helped make the album, and what was happening around the band when they stepped back into the studio. It’s not a return to the past. It’s a later chapter. A record made by musicians who had already lived through the legend and were still trying to keep the music going. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

57 min
FEB 22

The Lost Album

Before Jericho, there was Tombstone. In this episode, we examine the Band’s abandoned 1990 Sony sessions, recorded with Jules Shear and ultimately rejected by the label. Through the music and the context, we piece together what this project was meant to be and what it tells us about the Band’s struggle to redefine themselves in the early 1990s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

46 min
JAN 3

Richard Manuel’s Final Chapter

This episode traces the final years of Richard Manuel, from The Band’s relentless touring in 1984–86 to his last night in Winter Park, Florida. We follow the grind of the road, the pressures that built around him, and the moments of beauty still present in his late performances. This is the story of a brilliant singer living through the hardest years of his life, the night everything changed, and the music and tributes he left behind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

38 min
2025-12-15

Jim Weider

This episode follows guitarist Jim Weider, from growing up in Woodstock to finding his way onto the road with Levon, Rick, Richard, and Garth. We trace how he joined The Band in the mid-’80s, held things together through years of hard touring, helped shape their final studio records in the ’90s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 min
2025-10-27 · BONUS

Review: Robbie Robertson's Insomnia

In this mini episode, we dive into Robbie Robertson’s Insomnia — a vivid, late-life reflection from one of rock’s most self-mythologizing figures. Less a memoir and more a cinematic vignette, Insomnia captures the years between 1976 and 1980, when Robertson drifted through post-Band life alongside artists, filmmakers, and excess. The song played during the episode is entitled "At Last" from Scorsese's Raging Bull, produced by Robertson and performed with his former bandmates Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11 min
2025-09-22

The Band is Back!

In this episode, we revisit The Band’s unexpected 1983 reunion six years after The Last Waltz. With Robbie Robertson absent, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson came together once again, proving their music still carried power and soul. We trace their individual journeys in the late ’70s and early ’80s, the spark that brought them back, and the raw energy of their “The Band Is Back” tour. From theatre gigs and surprise Bob Dylan appearances to sold-out shows across Canada, Japan, and the U.S., this was more than a comeback, it was a second life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

28 min
2025-09-15

Cahoots Revisited

On the 54th anniversary of Cahoots, we hear The Band’s most grown-up record. Less legend, more real life. We stay with six songs, “Life Is a Carnival,” “When I Paint My Masterpiece,” “Last of the Blacksmiths,” “Where Do We Go from Here?,” “The Moon Struck One,” and “The River Hymn.” Work, doubt, change, and faith said plainly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13 min
2025-07-16 · BONUS

Odds & Ends: Get Up Jake

In our series Odds & Ends we dig into Band deep-cut, “Get Up Jake”. You’ll hear how a scrappy LA studio outtake grew into a live showstopper on Rock of Ages, and even survives as a raw hotel-room demo. We’ll break down its driving groove, Helm’s backbeat, Danko’s bouncing bass and that shout-along chorus and compare the lean, two-minute studio take to the full-throttle live version and the stripped-down Calgary jam. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 min

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4.4

out of 5

33 Ratings

Deep tracks

2021-10-21

thegun79

One of my favourite band songs was Ferdinand the Imposter a bonus on the 2000 reissue of Big Pink. I’d love to see an episode or two, if it doesn’t already exist, on some real deep tracks. Robbie was such a prolific writer and many didn’t make it in the records, and I’m sure some of the other guys have some gems out there as well.
Essential Listening

Jan 4

Tukautik

Thanks for this show. The Richard Manuel episode is essential listening. A very beautiful and touching story. Thanks for your sensitive treatment of Richard’s story.
Very informative but irritating

2020-06-07

DPM2112

Great podcast and very insightful and entertaining but for God’s sake why did you keep that irritating background guitar and organ music throughout the podcast? Would have rated it higher without it
Awesome listen

2021-03-03

Jhoghhhhh

Great job with this man, very well produced and I learned so much I never knew. Good tunes and research. Cheers