40th Anniversary of The Last Waltz

Posted November 21, 2016

This Thursday - in addition to being Thanksgiving day in the USA - marks the 40th anniversary of The Band's Last Waltz, the legendary concert event held in San Francisco. "The one I remember most was Joni Mitchell," says John Simon, musical director of the event. "The chords she played on the guitar were not standard. The guys would look at her left hand and go, 'What? I remember this one quote from her: I said ‘What’s that chord?’ And she said, ‘I don’t know the name of it. I tune my guitar this way, to make myself stupid’ – in other words, to not fall into pre-determined patterns, patterns she was used to." Rhino has released a 40th Anniversary 5-disc set to commemorate the event. (Photo of Joni and Robbie Robertson © Steve Gladstone)