ROCK 'N' Roll has lost one of its great innovators with the death last week, aged 56, of Rick Danko.
His passing will be keenly felt by Irish fans who, in recent years, had the opportunity to see him playing solo at Whelan's, and in the Olympia with The Band.
A native of Simcoe, Ontario, Danko landed his first paying gig in 1961 when he joined Ronnie Hawkins' group, The Hawks.
The combo - whose ranks also included Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel - broke away from Hawkins in '63 and were promptly spotted in New York by Bob Dylan.
Although Helm was left at home following a row, the remaining Hawks, plus new recruit Robbie Robertson, were at Dylan's side as he embarked on his controversial "electric" tour.
"They didn't throw anything at us, which was nice," Danko said last year of the infamous 1966 trek. "Bob certainly has a way of making people react, one way or another."
When Dylan decided to take a time-out, The Hawks followed him to his Woodstock retreat where, along with the back-in-favour Helm, they assembled the legendary Basement Tapes.
The newly rechristened Band then went on to record 1968's Music From Big Pink, an album which spawned their signature tune, 'The Weight'. It was followed by what became known as 'the brown album', the eponymous The Band - one of the greatest records in the history of rock 'n' roll it was chock full of epic songs of extraordinary power and beauty, with Robbie Robertson's monumental story-songs being given added resonance by the extraordinary vocals of Danko, Helm and Manuel.
The Mk. 1 version of The Band eventually bowed out in 1978 when, accompanied by the likes of Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton and Van Morrison, they performed the Last Waltz in San Francisco.
Danko's solo career was at best fitful, with a serious heroin problem limiting him to just the one eponymous album, although he did form a successful touring and recording trio with Eric Anderson and the Norwegian superstar Jonas Fjeld.
He was also the driving force behind The Band getting back together in 1991, following which they released two impressive albums, Jericho and High On The Hog. He also involved himself in such extracurricular activities as working with Irish hopefuls Four Men ... A Dog.
Although a post mortem has yet to be carried out, it's understood that Danko died in his sleep of natural causes.
* Chris Donovan