The Weight
Encyclopedia
"The Weight" is a song written by Robbie Robertson
. It was released by The Band
as Capitol Records
single
2269 in 1968, and appeared one week later on the group's debut album Music from Big Pink
. The song is listed as #41 on Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
published in 2004, and Pitchfork Media
named it the thirteenth best song of the Sixties. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
named it one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
motif of a traveler, who in the first line arrives in Nazareth
in the Lehigh Valley
region of Pennsylvania
. (The band Nazareth
took its name from this line.) Once there, he encounters various residents of the town, the song being a story of these encounters. Nazareth is the hometown of the guitar manufacturer C. F. Martin & Company.
The residents include a man who cannot direct the traveler to any lodging, Carmen and the Devil
walking side by side, "Crazy Chester" offering to fix his car in exchange for the traveler taking his dog, and Luke "waiting on Judgment Day" while leaving his young bride behind and alone.
Musically, the song shows the blending of folk parlour song (harmonies) in the chorus, where the voices come in: "and, (and, and), you put the load right on me (you put the load right on me)".
In his autobiography This Wheel's on Fire, Levon Helm explains that the people mentioned in the song were based on real people The Band knew. The "Miss Anna Lee" mentioned in the lyric is Helm's longtime friend Anna Lee Amsden.
On August 17, 1969, The Band played "The Weight" as the 10th song in their set at Woodstock
.
, about which Robertson once said:
did so many films on the impossibility of sainthood. People trying to be good in Viridiana
and Nazarin
, people trying to do their thing. In ‘The Weight’ it’s the same thing. People like Buñuel would make films that had these religious connotations to them but it wasn’t necessarily a religious meaning. In Buñuel there were these people trying to be good and it’s impossible to be good. In "The Weight" it was this very simple thing. Someone says, "Listen, would you do me this favour? When you get there will you say 'hello' to somebody or will you give somebody this or will you pick up one of these for me? Oh? You’re going to Nazareth, that’s where the Martin guitar factory is. Do me a favour when you’re there." This is what it’s all about. So the guy goes and one thing leads to another and it’s like "Holy shit, what’s this turned into? I’ve only come here to say 'hello' for somebody and I’ve got myself in this incredible predicament." It was very Buñuelish to me at the time.
. However, the song was not a significant mainstream hit for The Band in the U.S., peaking at only #63, though it fared better on some radio stations (e.g., #3 on KHJ). The Band's record fared much better in Canada
and the UK
– in those countries, the single was a top 40 hit, peaking at #35 in Canada and #21 in the UK in 1968. Three cover versions of "The Weight" charted higher on the US pop charts in 1968/69 than The Band's original recording:
None of these cover versions charted in the UK, where The Band's version remains the only version to chart. The label credit on The Band's version mentions the names of the band's five members but not The Band per se. The lyrics on The Band's and DeShannon's versions never mention the title.
, and hence has been covered
in concert by many other acts, most prominently Little Feat
, Stoney LaRue
, Aaron Pritchett
, The Staple Singers
, Waylon Jennings
, Joe Cocker
, Travis
, Grateful Dead
, The New Riders of the Purple Sage, O.A.R.
, Edwin McCain
, The Black Crowes
, Spooky Tooth
, Hanson
, Old Crow Medicine Show
, Shannon Curfman
, Panic! at the Disco
, Aretha Franklin
, Joan Osborne
, John Denver
, Cassandra Wilson
, Miranda Lambert
, Al Kooper
and Mike Bloomfield
, Deana Carter
, New Madrid, and Dionne Warwick
. Ratdog
and Bob Weir
are also known to cover this song from time to time. Additional notable versions are by Lee Ann Womack
, the band Smith
, Weezer
, The Allman Brothers Band
, The Marshall Tucker Band
, Jimmy Barnes
with The Badloves
, and Aaron Pritchett
. At the end of the documentary It Might Get Loud
Jack White
, Jimmy Page
and The Edge
play The Weight acoustically while The Edge and White swap vocals.
On record, folk singer Michelle Shocked
covers the song as part of her 2007 gospel album ToHeavenURide
. Charly Garcia
covered the song in Spanish under the title "El Peso," and Czech singer Marie Rottrová covered the song with the band Flamingo in 1970. Jeff Healey
covered it on his album Mess of Blues in 2008.
; Hope Floats
; Igby Goes Down
(a cover version
by Travis
); The Big Chill
; Girl, Interrupted
; Patch Adams
; 1408
; and Starsky & Hutch
(as a parody of the scene in Easy Rider). Television shows which have featured "The Weight" include Californication
, My Name Is Earl
, Sports Night
, Cold Case, and Saturday Night Live
. The song has also been used in commercials for Diet Coke
and Cingular/AT&T Wireless
. "The Weight" was also covered by Sherie Rene Scott
in the Broadway musical Everyday Rapture
.
Due to contractual problems, The Band's version could not be used in Easy Rider
- included instead on the film's soundtrack was a cover (very closely resembling The Band's original) by Smith
. In The Band's concert film, The Last Waltz
, The Band perform the song with the The Staple Singers
. The song is also featured in two other of The Band's concert videos: The Band Is Back (1984) and The Band Live At The New Orleans Jazz Festival (1998). "The Weight" was one of three songs The Band's 1990s lineup performed for Let It Rock!
, a birthday concert/tribute for Ronnie Hawkins
. "The Weight" is one of three songs performed by The Band featured in the 2003 documentary film, Festival Express
.
An acoustic rendition of the song appears in the 2009 documentary It Might Get Loud
, performed by guitarists Jimmy Page
, The Edge
and Jack White
.
Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson, OC; is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
. It was released by The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
as Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
2269 in 1968, and appeared one week later on the group's debut album Music from Big Pink
Music from Big Pink
Music from Big Pink is the 1968 debut album by rock band The Band. It features the well-known song, "The Weight". The music was composed partly in 'Big Pink', a house shared by Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson in West Saugerties, in upstate New York...
. The song is listed as #41 on Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone, issue number 963, published December 9, 2004, a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"....
published in 2004, and Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
named it the thirteenth best song of the Sixties. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
named it one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
Composition
"The Weight" takes the folk musicFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
motif of a traveler, who in the first line arrives in Nazareth
Nazareth, Pennsylvania
Nazareth is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The population was 6,023 at the 2000 census.Nazareth is located seven miles northwest of Easton, four miles north of Bethlehem and twelve miles northeast of Allentown...
in the Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...
region of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. (The band Nazareth
Nazareth (band)
Nazareth is a Scottish hard rock band, founded in 1968, that had several hits in the UK in the early 1970s, and established an international audience with their 1975 album Hair of the Dog. Perhaps their best-known hit single was a cover of the ballad "Love Hurts", in 1975...
took its name from this line.) Once there, he encounters various residents of the town, the song being a story of these encounters. Nazareth is the hometown of the guitar manufacturer C. F. Martin & Company.
The residents include a man who cannot direct the traveler to any lodging, Carmen and the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
walking side by side, "Crazy Chester" offering to fix his car in exchange for the traveler taking his dog, and Luke "waiting on Judgment Day" while leaving his young bride behind and alone.
Musically, the song shows the blending of folk parlour song (harmonies) in the chorus, where the voices come in: "and, (and, and), you put the load right on me (you put the load right on me)".
In his autobiography This Wheel's on Fire, Levon Helm explains that the people mentioned in the song were based on real people The Band knew. The "Miss Anna Lee" mentioned in the lyric is Helm's longtime friend Anna Lee Amsden.
On August 17, 1969, The Band played "The Weight" as the 10th song in their set at Woodstock
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
.
Robertson on "The Weight"
According to songwriter Robertson, "The Weight" was inspired by the films of Luis BuñuelLuis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish-born filmmaker — later a naturalized citizen of Mexico — who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and the US..-Early years:...
, about which Robertson once said:
did so many films on the impossibility of sainthood. People trying to be good in Viridiana
Viridiana
Viridiana is a 1961 Spanish-Mexican motion picture, directed by Luis Buñuel and produced by Mexican Gustavo Alatriste. It is loosely based on Halma, a novel by Benito Pérez Galdós....
and Nazarin
Nazarín
Nazarín is a 1959 Mexican film directed by Luis Buñuel and co-written between Buñuel and Julio Alejandro, adapted from the eponymous novel of Benito Pérez Galdós...
, people trying to do their thing. In ‘The Weight’ it’s the same thing. People like Buñuel would make films that had these religious connotations to them but it wasn’t necessarily a religious meaning. In Buñuel there were these people trying to be good and it’s impossible to be good. In "The Weight" it was this very simple thing. Someone says, "Listen, would you do me this favour? When you get there will you say 'hello' to somebody or will you give somebody this or will you pick up one of these for me? Oh? You’re going to Nazareth, that’s where the Martin guitar factory is. Do me a favour when you’re there." This is what it’s all about. So the guy goes and one thing leads to another and it’s like "Holy shit, what’s this turned into? I’ve only come here to say 'hello' for somebody and I’ve got myself in this incredible predicament." It was very Buñuelish to me at the time.
Reception
"The Weight" is one of the group's best known songs and among the most popular songs of the late 1960s countercultureCounterculture of the 1960s
The counterculture of the 1960s refers to a cultural movement that mainly developed in the United States and spread throughout much of the western world between 1960 and 1973. The movement gained momentum during the U.S. government's extensive military intervention in Vietnam...
. However, the song was not a significant mainstream hit for The Band in the U.S., peaking at only #63, though it fared better on some radio stations (e.g., #3 on KHJ). The Band's record fared much better in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
– in those countries, the single was a top 40 hit, peaking at #35 in Canada and #21 in the UK in 1968. Three cover versions of "The Weight" charted higher on the US pop charts in 1968/69 than The Band's original recording:
- 1968: Jackie DeShannonJackie DeShannonJackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock 'n' roll period.- Life and early career :...
, whose version debuted on the Hot 100 one week before The Band's, took the song to #55 US, #35 Canada. - 1969: Aretha FranklinAretha FranklinAretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
's version (from This Girl's in Love with YouThis Girl's in Love with YouThis Girl's In Love With You is a 1970 album by Aretha Franklin. It reached Billboards Top 20 and was reissued on compact disc through Rhino Records in the 1990s....
) was the highest charting recording in both the U.S. and Canada, peaking at #19 US, #12 Canada. - 1969: The final joint single in North America released by Diana Ross & the SupremesThe SupremesThe Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
and The TemptationsThe TemptationsThe Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
, hit #46 US, #36 Canada.
None of these cover versions charted in the UK, where The Band's version remains the only version to chart. The label credit on The Band's version mentions the names of the band's five members but not The Band per se. The lyrics on The Band's and DeShannon's versions never mention the title.
Other cover versions
"The Weight" has become a modern standardTraditional pop music
Traditional pop or classic pop or standards music denotes, in general, Western popular music that either wholly predates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, or to any popular music which exists concurrently to rock and roll but originated in a time before the appearance of rock and roll,...
, and hence has been covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
in concert by many other acts, most prominently Little Feat
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
, Stoney LaRue
Stoney Larue
Stoney LaRue is a Texas Country/Red Dirt artist. Born in Taft, Texas, LaRue was raised in Southeastern Oklahoma and began playing country music at a young age....
, Aaron Pritchett
Aaron Pritchett
Aaron Pritchett is a Canadian country music singer. He was born in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.-Biography:...
, The Staple Singers
The Staple Singers
The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples , the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha , Pervis , Yvonne , and Mavis...
, Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
, Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, Travis
Travis (band)
Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...
, Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
, The New Riders of the Purple Sage, O.A.R.
O.A.R.
O.A.R. is an American rock band composed of Marc Roberge , Chris Culos , Richard On , Benj Gershman , and Jerry DePizzo...
, Edwin McCain
Edwin McCain
Edwin McCain is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Career:While his albums are released under his name, he does have a permanent band, referred to as the Edwin McCain Band...
, The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the...
, Spooky Tooth
Spooky Tooth
Spooky Tooth are an English rock band principally active, with intermittent breakups, between 1967 to 1974. In recent years, the band has been reconstituted at various points, and continues to perform occasionally.-Career:...
, Hanson
Hanson (band)
Hanson are an American pop rock band formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by brothers Isaac , Taylor , and Zac Hanson . They are best known for the 1997 hit song "MMMBop" from their major label debut album Middle of Nowhere, which earned three Grammy nominations...
, Old Crow Medicine Show
Old Crow Medicine Show
Old Crow Medicine Show is an old-time string band based in Nashville, Tennessee. Their music has been called bluegrass, Americana, and alt-country, in addition to old-time. Along with original songs, the band performs many pre-World War II blues and folk songs...
, Shannon Curfman
Shannon Curfman
Shannon Marie Curfman is an American blues-rock guitarist and singer. She came to prominence in 1999, at the age of 14, with the release of her first album, Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions, which she recorded a year earlier.Curfman has toured with John Mellencamp, Buddy Guy, George Thorogood and The...
, Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco is an American alternative rock duo, formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2005. Since its split, the band's line-up includes Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith . Former members Ryan Ross and Jon Walker left the group in 2009...
, Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, Joan Osborne
Joan Osborne
Joan Elizabeth Osborne is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her song "One of Us". She has toured with Motown sidemen the Funk Brothers and was featured in the documentary film about them, Standing in the Shadows of Motown.-Biography:Originally from Anchorage, Kentucky, a suburb...
, John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
, Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...
, Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert is an American country music artist who gained fame as a finalist on the 2003 season of Nashville Star, where she finished in third place and later signed to Epic Records. Lambert made her debut with the release of "Me and Charlie Talking", the first single from her 2005 debut...
, Al Kooper
Al Kooper
Al Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...
and Mike Bloomfield
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...
, Deana Carter
Deana Carter
Deana Carter is a country music artist who broke through in 1996 with the release of debut album Did I Shave My Legs for This?, which was certified 5× Multi-Platinum in the United States for sales of over five million...
, New Madrid, and Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
. Ratdog
Ratdog
RatDog , is an American rock band. The group began as a side project for Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist Bob Weir and bassist Rob Wasserman. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in December 1995, following the death of Jerry Garcia on August 9, 1995, RatDog became Bob Weir's primary band...
and Bob Weir
Bob Weir
Bob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
are also known to cover this song from time to time. Additional notable versions are by Lee Ann Womack
Lee Ann Womack
Lee Ann Womack is an American country music singer and songwriter, who is best known for her old fashioned-styled country music songs that often discuss subjects such as cheating and lost love....
, the band Smith
Smith (band)
Smith were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1969. They had a blues based sound and had a Top 5 hit in 1969 with a cover of the song "Baby It's You", with the lead vocals sung by Gayle McCormick...
, Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
, The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
, The Marshall Tucker Band
The Marshall Tucker Band
The Marshall Tucker Band is an American Southern rock band originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina. The band's blend of rock, rhythm and blues, jazz, country, and gospel helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s...
, Jimmy Barnes
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon Swan , better known as Jimmy Barnes, is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer-songwriter. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. It was actually John who had encouraged and taught Jim how to sing as he wasn't really interested at...
with The Badloves
The Badloves
The Badloves is an Australian band that formed in 1990, dissolved in 1997 and reformed in 2008.-1990:The Badloves were formed by frontman Michael Spiby in Melbourne during January 1990 under the name DC3. The band consisted of Spiby , his brother John Spiby , John Housden , Stephen O'Prey and...
, and Aaron Pritchett
Aaron Pritchett
Aaron Pritchett is a Canadian country music singer. He was born in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.-Biography:...
. At the end of the documentary It Might Get Loud
It Might Get Loud
It Might Get Loud is a documentary by filmmaker Davis Guggenheim. It explores the history of the electric guitar, focusing on the careers and styles of Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White. The film received a wide release on August 14, 2009 in the U.S...
Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
, Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
and The Edge
The Edge
David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
play The Weight acoustically while The Edge and White swap vocals.
On record, folk singer Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked is the stage name of Michelle Karen Johnston, an American singer-songwriter.-History:Shocked received her first international exposure in Europe, particularly Britain, with her debut album The Texas Campfire Tapes .Her first U.S...
covers the song as part of her 2007 gospel album ToHeavenURide
ToHeavenURide
ToHeavenURide is an album by Michelle Shocked. This album was recorded live at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and features original songs and a selection of covers. It was released in 2007 by Shocked's own label, Mighty Sound. The title is a take on "To Hell You Ride" the nickname for the...
. Charly Garcia
Charly García
Charly García is a singer-songwriter, pianist and keyboardist from Argentina with a long career in rock music, forming successful groups such as Sui Generis and Serú Girán, cult status groups like La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros, and as a solo musician.-Early years:Charly García was the eldest son in...
covered the song in Spanish under the title "El Peso," and Czech singer Marie Rottrová covered the song with the band Flamingo in 1970. Jeff Healey
Jeff Healey
Norman Jeffrey "Jeff" Healey was a blind Canadian jazz and blues-rock vocalist and guitarist who attained musical and personal popularity, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
covered it on his album Mess of Blues in 2008.
Film and commercial play
"The Weight" has been featured in a number of films and television shows - films featuring the song include Easy RiderEasy Rider
Easy Rider is a 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South with the aim of achieving freedom...
; Hope Floats
Hope Floats
Hope Floats is a 1998 American romantic drama film directed by Forest Whitaker, and starring Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick, Jr. and Gena Rowlands....
; Igby Goes Down
Igby Goes Down
Igby Goes Down is a 2002 comedy-drama film that follows the life of Igby Slocumb, a rebellious and sardonic New York City teenager who attempts to break free of his familial ties and wealthy, overbearing mother...
(a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Travis
Travis (band)
Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...
); The Big Chill
The Big Chill (film)
The Big Chill is a 1983 American comedy-drama film directed by Lawrence Kasdan, starring Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, and JoBeth Williams. It is about a group of baby boomer college friends who reunite briefly after 15 years due to...
; Girl, Interrupted
Girl, Interrupted (film)
Girl, Interrupted is a 1999 drama film about a teenager's 18-month stay at a mental institution, starring Winona Ryder, Brittany Murphy, Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg and Vanessa Redgrave, with Jolie winning an Academy Award for her performance....
; Patch Adams
Patch Adams (film)
Patch Adams is a 1998 comedy-drama film starring Robin Williams. Directed by Tom Shadyac, it is based on the life story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams and the book Gesundheit: Good Health is a Laughing Matter by Adams and Maureen Mylander. The film is generally considered a box-office success,...
; 1408
1408 (film)
1408 is a 2007 American psychological horror film based on the Stephen King short story of the same name directed by Swedish director Mikael Håfström, who earlier had directed the horror film Drowning Ghost. The cast includes John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mary McCormack. The film was released...
; and Starsky & Hutch
Starsky & Hutch (film)
Starsky & Hutch is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips. The film stars Ben Stiller as David Starsky and Owen Wilson as Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson and is a film adaptation of the original television series of the same name from the 1970s....
(as a parody of the scene in Easy Rider). Television shows which have featured "The Weight" include Californication
Californication (TV series)
Californication is an American comedy-drama that premiered on Showtime on August 13, 2007. The show was created by Tom Kapinos. The protagonist, Hank Moody , is a troubled novelist whose move to California, coupled with his writer's block, complicates his relationships with his longtime girlfriend...
, My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl is an American television comedy series created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States...
, Sports Night
Sports Night
Sports Night is an American television series about a fictional sports news show also called Sports Night. It focuses on the friendships, pitfalls, and ethical issues the creative talent of the program face while trying to produce a good show under constant network pressure...
, Cold Case, and Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. The song has also been used in commercials for Diet Coke
Diet Coke
Diet Coke is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. It was first introduced in the United States on August 9, 1982, as the first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark...
and Cingular/AT&T Wireless
AT&T Wireless
AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., founded in 1987 as McCaw Cellular Communications, Inc., and now legally known as New Cingular Wireless Services, Inc., formerly part of AT&T Corp., is a wireless telephone carrier in the United States, based in Redmond, Washington, and later traded on the New York...
. "The Weight" was also covered by Sherie Rene Scott
Sherie Rene Scott
Sherie Rene Scott is an American actress, singer and writer. She is a co-founder of Grammy winning Sh-K-Boom Records and Ghostlight Records and has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway musicals and plays appears on numerous solo and original cast recordings.-Life and career:Scott was...
in the Broadway musical Everyday Rapture
Everyday Rapture
Everyday Rapture is a musical with a book written by Sherie Rene Scott and Dick Scanlan and music by various composers. It ran Off-Broadway in 2009 and opened on Broadway in 2010...
.
Due to contractual problems, The Band's version could not be used in Easy Rider
Easy Rider
Easy Rider is a 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South with the aim of achieving freedom...
- included instead on the film's soundtrack was a cover (very closely resembling The Band's original) by Smith
Smith (band)
Smith were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1969. They had a blues based sound and had a Top 5 hit in 1969 with a cover of the song "Baby It's You", with the lead vocals sung by Gayle McCormick...
. In The Band's concert film, The Last Waltz
The Last Waltz
The Last Waltz was a concert by the rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco...
, The Band perform the song with the The Staple Singers
The Staple Singers
The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples , the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha , Pervis , Yvonne , and Mavis...
. The song is also featured in two other of The Band's concert videos: The Band Is Back (1984) and The Band Live At The New Orleans Jazz Festival (1998). "The Weight" was one of three songs The Band's 1990s lineup performed for Let It Rock!
Let It Rock (Ronnie Hawkins album)
Let It Rock is a Juno Award-nominated album that documents American-Canadian singer Ronnie Hawkins' 60th birthday celebration and concert at Massey Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The concert took place on January 8, 1995 and featured performances by Hawkins, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, The...
, a birthday concert/tribute for Ronnie Hawkins
Ronnie Hawkins
Ronald "Ronnie" Hawkins is a Juno Award-winning rockabilly musician whose career has spanned more than half a century. Though his career began in Arkansas, USA, where he'd been born and raised, it was in Ontario, Canada where he found success and settled for most of his life...
. "The Weight" is one of three songs performed by The Band featured in the 2003 documentary film, Festival Express
Festival Express
Festival Express is a 2003 documentary film about the eponymous 1970 train tour across Canada taken by some of North America's most popular rock bands, including The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band and Delaney & Bonnie & Friends...
.
An acoustic rendition of the song appears in the 2009 documentary It Might Get Loud
It Might Get Loud
It Might Get Loud is a documentary by filmmaker Davis Guggenheim. It explores the history of the electric guitar, focusing on the careers and styles of Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White. The film received a wide release on August 14, 2009 in the U.S...
, performed by guitarists Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
, The Edge
The Edge
David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
and Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
.
Personnel
- Levon HelmLevon HelmMark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....
— vocals, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Rick DankoRick DankoRichard Clare "Rick" Danko was a Canadian musician and singer, best known as a member of The Band.-Early years :...
— vocals, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Garth HudsonGarth HudsonEric Garth Hudson is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist. As the organist, keyboardist and saxophonist for Canadian-American rock group The Band, he was a principal architect of the group's unique sound...
— pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Richard ManuelRichard ManuelRichard George Manuel was a Canadian composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his contributions to and membership in The Band....
— Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, backing vocal - Robbie RobertsonRobbie RobertsonRobbie Robertson, OC; is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
— guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...