Specifically, I was looking for someone who could cover mandolin, guitar, and some banjo parts. Since it was a small pit, I knew I would need versatile players. Needless to say, I didn't have high hopes for a Fantasticks-like run of success.īut the good news was, they let me do the orchestrations and hire the band. The big production number was a countrified ditty called Smellamagoody Perfume. The show was structured in the manner of a country revival tent, with a central storyline revolving around a jailbreak, the theft of some oats, and a Texas marriage. In November of 2001, I was working on an off-Broadway show in New York called Roadside, written by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, the same songwriting team that gave us The Fantasticks. And I promise, this story will become relevant in just a minute. That name seems to have worked just fine.

Finally, Robbie Robertson noted that Dylan always had just referred to them as, 'the band.' Since their lineup was the same, minus one Robert Zimmerman, why not just go by that? For a while they were The Honkies, and then The Crackers - thankfully, neither of those made the cut either.

Then, once they branched out on their own, they found themselves without a name. When Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, and Robbie Robertson first started playing together, they weren't playing in a band of their own, but rather, as sidemen for various artists, including Ronnie Hawkins, Cathy Smith, Sonny Boy Williamson, and most notably Bob Dylan. Barry Mitterhoff - currently a member of Hot Tuna

Bob or robert applebaum mandolin