The Last Waltz gathered an incredible list of music luminaries in 1976 to help send off The Band in their last live performance. Any one of them might have stepped up to steal the show on that magical evening.
If you were a betting person, you probably would have received spicy odds on Van Morrison being the one to deliver the night’s most unforgettable guest performance. But the Irish juggernaut did just that at a time when his star had fallen considerably from his finest years.
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The Band and Van
When The Band decided to give a farewell concert, they hit upon the idea of doing it with special guests performing with them. Many of the guests were folks who had some sort of connection to them, either having worked together or containing some sort of personal ties.
In the case of Van Morrison, he lived in Woodstock, New York, at around the same time as the members of The Band in the late 60s and early 70s, which meant they crossed paths often. In 1971, Morrison co-wrote the song “4% Pantomime” with Robbie Robertson and performed it as a memorable duet with Richard Manuel on The Band’s album Cahoots.
As such, he was a natural to get one of the invites to play with the group in the concert. His career at the time, however, was far from its apex. The pop-rock music scene seemed to have no place for Morrison’s soulful, ethereal style. And, to be fair, the quality of work had dropped off since the masterpieces Astral Weeks and Moondance.
A Hesitant Hero
When it came time for the big show at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on Thanksgiving Day in 1976, Van Morrison began having serious second thoughts. He briefly left the theater, and when he came back, he decided that he wasn’t going to go on after all. His manager practically shoved him onto the stage.
Perhaps that’s why The Band had to start his first scheduled song, the traditional “Tura Lura Lural (That’s An Irish Lullaby)”, without Morrison yet on stage. Richard Manuel stepped up and began singing the song before Morrison finally appeared behind a microphone.
Once there, however, he immediately locked into his performance. He and Manuel engaged in the same kind of vocal gymnastics that made “4% Pantomime” such a joy. As it turned out, however, Morrison was just warming up.
Leading the “Caravan”
Next up, The Band kicked into the soulful strains of Van Morrison’s brilliant 1970 song “Caravan”. With horns arranged by the great Allen Toussaint on the premises, everything was in place for a wonderfully jaunty rendition of the track. Morrison belted it out with brio.
To put a punctuation mark on his scintillating performance, Morrison turned into a one-man kick line every time the horns hit their crescendo. And then, with just the tiniest bow, he sauntered off the stage while The Band was still playing the outro.
Grinning from ear to ear, Robbie Robertson stepped to the mic to say, “Van the Man.” And what else could be said? Morrison was certainly the man that night, giving a performance that reminded everyone of just how special a talent he was.
(Photo by Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)