Rick Danko, bassist and singer for acclaimed rock act the Band, died this morning at his home in Woodstock, N.Y. The Ontario-born musician celebrated his 56th birthday yesterday.
No immediate cause of death has been announced. Danko publicist Carol Caffin told Billboard Online that the artist had just returned home from a short tour in support of the album "Live From Breeze Hill," released exclusively over the Internet in September on Woodstock Records. He last performed at The Ark in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Tuesday.
Danko and his colleagues in the Band -- Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Robbie Robertson and the late Richard Manuel -- rose to fame in the '60s as the backing group for rockabilly artist Ronnie Hawkins. Later, the group backed up Bob Dylan after Dylan moved into electrified folk/rock in 1965.
The Band emerged as a seminal act in its own right with its 1968 debut album for Capitol, "Music From Big Pink," named for Danko's rented house in the Woodstock area. The group went on to record acclaimed albums throughout the '70s, including the 1974 No. 1 hit "Planet Waves" with Dylan, before splitting up at a high-profile final concert in San Francisco on Thanksgiving 1976. Dubbed "The Last Waltz," the event was later released as a film by director Martin Scorsese.
In 1983, the Band reformed minus Robertson, and has since released several albums, including the 1998 River North release "Jubilation." Danko also worked with veteran folk act Eric Andersen and Norwegian musician Jonas Fjeld for a pair of albums earlier this decade.
Danko apparently was not showing any signs of slowing down musically. His booking agent, Bruce Houghton, told Bulletin, "Rick had been in the studio a lot in the last two months working on a new solo record."
Danko has endured some health problems in the past, and reportedly had gained a lot of weight; he suffered chronic neck and back pain after a 1968 motorcycle accident. In 1997, he was convicted of smuggling heroin into Japan, but was given a suspended sentence and released.
Danko is survived by his wife and two adult children. Funeral arrangements have not yet been confirmed.
No immediate cause of death has been announced. Danko publicist Carol Caffin told Billboard Online that the artist had just returned home from a short tour in support of the album "Live From Breeze Hill," released exclusively over the Internet in September on Woodstock Records. He last performed at The Ark in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Tuesday.
Danko and his colleagues in the Band -- Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Robbie Robertson and the late Richard Manuel -- rose to fame in the '60s as the backing group for rockabilly artist Ronnie Hawkins. Later, the group backed up Bob Dylan after Dylan moved into electrified folk/rock in 1965.
The Band emerged as a seminal act in its own right with its 1968 debut album for Capitol, "Music From Big Pink," named for Danko's rented house in the Woodstock area. The group went on to record acclaimed albums throughout the '70s, including the 1974 No. 1 hit "Planet Waves" with Dylan, before splitting up at a high-profile final concert in San Francisco on Thanksgiving 1976. Dubbed "The Last Waltz," the event was later released as a film by director Martin Scorsese.
In 1983, the Band reformed minus Robertson, and has since released several albums, including the 1998 River North release "Jubilation." Danko also worked with veteran folk act Eric Andersen and Norwegian musician Jonas Fjeld for a pair of albums earlier this decade.
Danko apparently was not showing any signs of slowing down musically. His booking agent, Bruce Houghton, told Bulletin, "Rick had been in the studio a lot in the last two months working on a new solo record."
Danko has endured some health problems in the past, and reportedly had gained a lot of weight; he suffered chronic neck and back pain after a 1968 motorcycle accident. In 1997, he was convicted of smuggling heroin into Japan, but was given a suspended sentence and released.
Danko is survived by his wife and two adult children. Funeral arrangements have not yet been confirmed.
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