On This Day, April 26, 1978 …
The concert documentary The Last Waltz, about The Band’s farewell concert, opened in theaters.
The movie, directed by Martin Scorsese, focused on The Band’s Thanksgiving Day show on November 25, 1976, at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco; it was billed as their “farewell concert appearance.”
The show featured guest appearances by a whole host of musicians, including Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Ronnie Wood, Muddy Waters, Neil Diamond, Van Morrison and Neil Young.
Considered one of the greatest concert documentaries of all time, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2019.
The 45th anniversary of the movie was celebrated in 2023 with the release of a three-LP audiophile pressing of the soundtrack and a one-night screening of the film in movie theaters.
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