Rick Danko: "A Call For Bread" Press Release

Rick Danko

This site is all about Rick Danko, the charismatic bass and acoustic guitar player and one of the three lead singers for the legendary rock group, The Band. Rick's iconic plaintive tenor, his ethereal, one-of-a-kind harmonies and his loping, melodic, percussive bass playing were a large part of The Band's signature sound. Equally integral to The Band's mystique--and to their secure and enviable perch high atop the upper crust of rock and roll--was Rick's magnetic, larger-than-life persona--part innocent country boy, part wandering troubadour, part reluctant rock star.

Rick Danko was about music. He was about melody. He was about harmony. He was about authenticity. He was about vulnerability. Rick was--and always will be--the epitome of unadorned, unaffected, unparalleled cool.

I worked with Rick for many years. He was a dear friend and a major influence who "taught me how to seek the path." This site is part of a promise I made to him a long time ago. I hope you enjoy it.

Please note that all content on this site is copyright-protected. All articles, essays, and other written materials (c) Carol Caffin, unless otherwise noted. Do Not Reproduce.

Rick supported a number of causes and headlined and performed in many, many benefits throughout his career--from the SNACK concert in the mid-70s with Bob Dylan and Neil Young, to benefits for numerous charities, organizations, and causes, large and small, from Family of Woodstock to the Autism Society of America to Greenpeace.

In 1989 or 90, Rick met a very interesting, talented, and rather enigmatic fellow named Nenad Bach, when Nenad, a native of Croatia, came to Woodstock to record "Can We Go Higher?" a plea to stop the war in Croatia, at Bearsville Studios, which sponsored the recording. Nenad was mesmerized, not just by Rick's voice, but by his magnetism and "his childlike innocence," and Rick, always open to new experiences and to working on new projects with talented people, took an instant liking to Nenad. I remember Rick being impressed with Nenad's passion and genuine goodness.

Nenad Bach and Rick Danko at Bearsville Studios, circa 1990

Rick and Nenad remained friends and Rick invited Nenad to perform with him a few times at various venues, including The Wetlands in New York City, where they performed "Can We Go Higher?"

In 1992, Rick was invited by the educational organization Truth About Croatia to perform at a benefit called "A Call For Bread" on December 12 at MSG's Parmount Theater in New York. The lineup was, bluntly, surreal, with Rick Danko's name listed among such disparate entertainment-industry notables as Tommy Tune and Ellen Burstyn. As Robbie Robertson famously said in The Last Waltz, the music took The Band to "some strange places."

I don't remember much about this benefit or about the publicity for it. But I do have a faxed draft of the press release written by the Croation Information Center. The press release itself is...pretty surreal. I doubt you'll find a copy of this anywhere: