Trivia & Extras / Nicknames & Glossary

Nicknames & Glossary

A quick reference for names and terms that come up across this site.

Big Pink. The pink-sided house at 56 Parnassus Lane in West Saugerties, New York, where Bob Dylan and the group recorded the Basement Tapes in 1967 and wrote much of Music from Big Pink. Full story on its own page.

The Hawks. The group's name from 1958 to 1964, while backing Ronnie Hawkins.

The Crackers / The Honkies. Joke names the group considered before settling on the Band, self-mocking references to their own Southern-inflected sound. They actually signed an early contract as the Crackers and performed under that name at a Woody Guthrie tribute concert at Carnegie Hall in January 1968. Capitol Records wouldn't release an album under either name.

Levon. Levon Helm was born Mark Lavon Helm. His bandmates in the Hawks kept mispronouncing "Lavon," and the mispronunciation became his name for the rest of his life.

Honey Boy / H.B. Garth Hudson's nickname, given by Levon Helm, for his habit of staying behind after sessions to keep refining and "sweetening" the group's recordings.

The Hawk / Rompin' Ronnie. Ronnie Hawkins's own nickname, predating his time with any future member of the Band.

The Sixth Member. The nickname critics and the band itself gave producer John Simon, who produced Music from Big Pink and The Band and kept contributing to the group's records for decades.

The Genetic Method. Garth Hudson's extended, improvised solo organ introduction to "Chest Fever," different every time he played it live, eventually treated as its own separate piece of music credited to him alone.

Shangri-La. The group's own recording studio in Malibu, California, a converted former bordello, built with proceeds from the 1974 Dylan reunion tour. Northern Lights–Southern Cross was recorded there.

Midnight Ramble. The recurring concert series Levon Helm hosted in the barn and studio behind his Woodstock home starting in 2004, which helped fund his medical bills during throat cancer treatment and grew into a genuine draw for major musicians.

Cabbagetown Café. A fictional venue depicted on the cover art of Moondog Matinee, named for a real, historically working-class neighborhood in Toronto.