Rick Danko was a Canadian musician, mainly known for his work as a member of the Canadian-American rock group The Band. Born December 29 1943, Danko played in a number of musical bands as a teenager before being invited by Ronnie Hawkins to join his backing group, the Hawks.

An altercation between Danko and Hawkins led the Hawks to separate from their frontman. Later, the group were introduced to Bob Dylan, who tapped them to be his backing band on his first electric tour. Although Levon Helm, their drummer, departed from the tour early on, the rest of the Hawks persevered until Dylan injured himself in a motorcycle accident in 1966. Danko and the rest of the Hawks were kept on a retainer, and the group relocated to Woodstock to be with Dylan.

In Woodstock, Danko found the house known as “Big Pink”, which he would rent along with Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson. Through the summer of 1967, the group recorded with Dylan in a makeshift studio in Big Pink’s basement; these recordings formed the basis of The Basement Tapes (1975). In October, Danko and the group, with Helm back in the line-up, began recording demos for their own album. Changing their name to The Band, the album, Music From Big Pink, was released in 1968. Danko continued to record and perform with The Band until Thanksgiving Day 1976, the date of what was supposed to be their farewell concert (The Last Waltz).

Danko was the first member of the Band to release a solo album, and the encore of his concert at the Roxy in Los Angeles marked the last time the original line-up of the Band performed together. Danko reunited with The Band, sans guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson, in 1983 for a series of concerts. Aside from the Band, Danko also performed with bandmates Helm and Manuel in more intimate concerts.

In 1989, Danko formed Danko/Fjeld/Andersen with Jonas Fjeld and Eric Andersen, with whom he would record two albums. Between 1993 and 1998, Danko recorded three new studio albums with the Band. After a brief solo tour in 1999, Danko died of heart failure in his sleep.