The Band- I Shall Be Released

Richard Manuel 1943-1986
Richard Manuel may have been the most soulful singer in all of rock and roll. He's one of my favorite vocalists and knowing how tragic his life was only lends to the sadness of this tune.

It Makes No Difference by the Band

I can get COLD CHILLS listening to this one!

Who Was It?

Who was the guy playing the Martin guitar?

It was Van Morrison. He is a legendary Grammy Award-winning Irish singer, songwriter, author, poet and multi-instrumentalist, who has been a professional musician for more than four decades. He plays a variety of instruments, including the guitar, harmonica, keyboards, drums, and saxophone. Featuring his characteristic growl — a unique mix of throaty folk, blues, Irish, scat, and Celtic influences — Morrison is widely considered one of the most unusual and influential vocalists in the history of rock and roll. Critic Greil Marcus has gone so far as to say that "no white man sings like Van Morrison." (from Wikipedia)

Over the years, Van "the Man" has been INCREDIBLY influencial on modern music. Here he is performing with Robbie Robertson and the Band on their classic concert film The Last Waltz. If you watch it, make sure you turn your volume up a little louder and watch it all the way to the end. He does not really get into the song until about half way through!