Day 5 - 182 -- Pizza, Fireworks and Music

Happy Canada Day!  There was sun and heat in the afternoon, and the evening was cooler and bearable. We went to friends for the annual 'make your own pizza' evening complete with fireworks. Both parts were spectacular. I made a Greek style pizza, another one had shrimp & avocado, and the third had black olives, artichoke hearts, and mushrooms. Very yummy. Crowd favourites for the fireworks included 'shotgun wedding', 'big bubba' and 'wild thing'. <smile> It was a relaxing way to end the day with colleagues and friends.

Fifty years ago today, The Band released their first album -- Music from Big Pink. While an odd title for the album, it comes from the colour of the house where much music was pulled together for this group debut. The group formed  in Toronto with Canadian and American members. I've thought of it as a major Canadian contribution to the rock-country-folk sound of the late '60s -- the country-rock and roots-rock genres. For that reason, I'm sharing a single from this first album. Writing credit was assigned to Robbie Robertson, though it may have been a group effort of all members of The Band. The lead singer for most of the song is Levon Helm with Rick Danko singing lead on the fourth verse. The Band performed this song as part of their set at Woodstock. The video is from a 1978 documentary, The Last Waltz. Enjoy!

The Weight -- The Band