Every party must end and Richard Manuel met his at the age of 43 in a hotel room in Winter Park, Florida today in 1986. After a small but successful performance at the Cheek To Cheek Lounge in Orlando on March 3, the abridged version of The Band (no Robbie Robertson) retreated to the hotel for some drinks and laughs. Manuel polished off a bottle or two of Grand Marnier and went to bed. Sometime early on the morning of March 4 he woke up, removed the belt from his pants and hung himself in the bathroom.
Out of nine lives, I spent seven
Now, how in the world do you get to heaven?
Oh, you don't know the shape I'm in
Robertson wrote those words about Manuel in the song "The Shape I'm In", which appeared on The Band's 1970 third album, "Stage Fright". Manuel's substance abuse issues were evident long before, however. He was an alcoholic by the time he joined Ronnie Hawkins' band The Hawks in 1961. Hawkins' strict discipline for the band, including a steady touring and practice schedules, allowed little time for indulgences. Once The Hawks split from Hawkins in 1964, Manuel's demons were allowed to run their natural course.
If you're reading this on 11W in the off-season, you already know what became of The Hawks. After graduating with honors from the Bob Dylan Finishing School, The Band became huge before disagreements among members led to the departure of Robbie Robertson. By this point in the late 70s, The Band had left Woodstock for Los Angeles and after the break up everyone went their separate ways. The others stayed busy and Manuel stayed drunk and strung out. There were some rehab stints and a few songs but the heavenly voice and song writing brilliance were largely gone.
The reformation of The Band, sans Robertson, in 1983 led Manuel to relocate to Woodstock to join bandmates Garth Hudson, Levon Helms and Rick Danko. Again he tried cleaning up but ultimately failed, leading to his death a few years later.
While Richard Manuel's downfall is not unique in the pages of rock and roll history, his death was far from unnoticed. There is a reason Richard Manuel's voice is the first you hear on The Band's debut album "Music From Big Pink". A multi-instrumentalist like everyone in The Band, Manuel's voice rose above the rest. Eric Clapton said Manuel's falsetto made his hair stand on end, while others claimed his baritone voice was like a hug.
Future musicians who weren't even born when The Band formed would write their own songs about him. Manuel's life and work has been a cautionary tale to some, a milepost to others and a companion to millions.
