Rick Danko

Richard Clare "Rick" Danko (December 29, 1942 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician and singer, probably best known as a member of The Band.

Danko was born at the tai

Richard Clare "Rick" Danko (December 29, 1942 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician and singer, probably best known as a member of The Band.

Danko was born at the tail end of 1942 in Green's Corner, Ontario, a farming community outside of the small town of Simcoe, to a musical family of Ukrainian-Canadians. Growing up, as his future bandmates' also did, in front of the family radio, he was exposed to country and R&B music at an early age. At the age of fifteen, he dropped out of school and found a job as an apprentice butcher. At the age of seventeen, already a five-year veteran of playing music, he booked himself to be an opening act for Ronnie Hawkins, an American rockabilly singer whose group, The Hawks were considered to be one of the best in Canada. Among those already in the group were drummer Levon Helm, who had joined Hawkins in 1957 (before Hawkins ventured north) and lead guitarist Robbie Robertson, who had joined in 1960.