The Weight provided the feel of a faster tempo though the actual tempo was the same as the studio performance. Manuel's Lowrey organ, which was mixed out of the studio recording, was prominent; and Robertson participated vocally in the choruses. In the 1970s, "The Weight" appeared on three live albums by The Band, "Rock of Ages", "Before the Flood", and "The Last Waltz". Just after their November 25, 1976, "farewell concert," The Band performed a gospel arrangement of "The Weight" with The Staple Singers that was filmed for "The Last Waltz". Mavis and Pops Staples sang second and third verse lead vocals,
The Band The Band The Band was a Canadian-American roots rock group including Rick Danko (bass guitar, vocals), Garth Hudson (keyboards, saxophone), Richard Manuel (keyboards, vocals), Robbie Robertson (guitar, vocals), and Levon Helm (drums, vocals). The members of the Band first came together as rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins's Toronto, Ontario-based backing group, the Hawks, which they joined one by one between 1958 and 1963. In 1964, they separated from Hawkins, after which they toured and released a few singles as Levon and the Hawks and the Canadian Squires. The next year, Bob Dylan hired them for his U.S. tour in 1965 and