The Band was a rock group active from 1967 to 1976 and again from 1983 to 1999. The original group (1967-1976) consisted of four Canadians: Robbie Robertson; Richard Manuel; Garth Hudson; and Rick Danko, and one American, Levon Helm . The members of the Band first came together as they joined rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins' backing group, The Hawks, one by one between 1958 and 1963. Upon leaving Hawkins in 1964 they were known as The Levon Helm Sextet, then Levon and the Hawks . In 1965, they released a single on Ware Records under the name the Canadian Squires, but returned as Levon and the Hawks for a recording session for Atco later in 1965. At about the same time, Bob Dylan recruited Helm and Robertson for two concerts, then the entire group for his U.S. tour in 1965 and world tour in 1966. They also joined him on the informal recordings that later became The Basement Tapes. Dubbed "The Band" by their record company, the group left Saugerties, New York, to begin recording their own material. They recorded two of the most acclaimed albums of the late 1960s: their 1968 debut Music from Big Pink and 1969's The Band. They broke up in 1976, but reformed in 1983 without founding guitarist Robbie Robertson. Although the Band was always more popular with music journalists and fellow musicians than with the general public, they have remained an admired and influential group. The group was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them #50 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and in 2008, they received the Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Joan Chandos Baez (born January 9, 1941 in Staten Island, New York) is a folk singer and songwriter known for her highly individual vocal style. Many of her songs are topical and deal with social issues. She is perhaps best known for her hit "Diamonds & Rust" and her covers of Phil Ochs' "There But For Fortune" and The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", and to a lesser extent,"We Shall Overcome," "Love Is Just A Four-Letter Word" and "Farewell Angelina," "Sweet Sir Galahad" and "Joe Hill" . She remains known for her long relationship with Bob Dylan and her lifelong passion for activism, notably in the areas of nonviolence, civil, human rights and, more recently, the environment. Baez has performed publicly for over 50 years, released over 30 albums and recorded songs in at least eight languages. She is considered a folk singer although her music has strayed from folk considerably after the 1960s, encompassing everything from rock and pop to country and gospel. Although a songwriter herself, especially in the mid-1970s, Baez is most often regarded as an interpreter of other people's work, covering songs by Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Jackson Browne, Paul Simon, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder and myriad other artists. In more recent years, she has found success interpreting songs of diverse songwriters such as Steve Earle, Natalie Merchant and Ryan Adams. She has a three-octave vocal range and a distinctively rapid vibrato.

Traveling Wilburys were a late 1980s supergroup consisting of George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. The band recorded two albums during the two years they were together. "Wilburys" was a slang term coined by Harrison and Lynne during the recording of Cloud Nine as a pet name for various types of equipment in the recording studio; Harrison, referring to errors caused by malfunctioning equipment, jokingly remarked to Lynne: "We'll bury 'em in the mix". The term was used again when the entire group was together. Harrison suggested "The Trembling Wilburys" as the group's name; instead, Lynne suggested "Traveling", which was agreed on by the group.

'Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 - May 29, 1997), raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician. Buckley gained popularity in the early 1990s by playing cover songs at venues in Manhattan's East Village, such as Sin-é, and he gradually focused more on his own material. After much interest from record labels he signed with Columbia and, after recruiting a band, recorded what would be his only studio album, Grace. Over the following two years, the band toured widely to promote the album, including concerts in the U.S., Europe, Japan and Australia. In 1997, he stopped touring and moved to Memphis, Tennessee, to experiment with new material for a second album, recording many four-track demos and completing his third recording session for his new album with his band, with Tom Verlaine as producer. While awaiting the arrival of his band from New York, he drowned during an evening swim in the Wolf River. His body was found on June 4, 1997. Since his death, there have been many posthumous releases of his material, including a collection of four-track demos and studio recordings for his unfinished second album My Sweetheart the Drunk and expansions of debut album Grace and his Live at Sin-é EP. Chart success also came posthumously; with Leonard Cohen's song, "Hallelujah" he attained his first #1 on Billboards Hot Digital Songs in March 2008 and reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart at Christmas 2008. Buckley and his work continue to remain popular and regularly featured in 'greatest' lists in the music press.

George Harrison MBE (25 February 1943 - 29 November 2001) was an English rock guitarist, singer-songwriter and film producer. He achieved international fame as lead guitarist in The Beatles, and is listed number 21 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 100 Best Guitarists of All Time". Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian mysticism, and helped broaden the horizons of the other Beatles as well as their Western audience. Following the band's breakup, he had a successful career as a solo artist and later as part of the Traveling Wilburys, and also as a film and record producer. Although the majority of The Beatles' songs were written by Lennon and McCartney, Harrison generally wrote one song per side from the Help! album onwards. His later compositions with The Beatles include "Here Comes the Sun", "Something", "I Me Mine" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". After the band's breakup, Harrison continued writing, releasing the acclaimed and successful triple album, All Things Must Pass, in 1970, from which came two singles and a double A-side single: "My Sweet Lord" backed with Isn't It a Pity". In addition to his solo work, Harrison co-wrote two hits for Ringo Starr, another ex-Beatle, as well as songs for the Traveling Wilburys - the supergroup he formed in 1988 with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison. Harrison embraced Indian culture and Hinduism in the 1960s, and helped expand Western awareness of sitar music and of the Hare Krishna movement. With Ravi Shankar he organised a major charity concert with the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh, and is the only Beatle to have published an autobiography, with I Me Mine in 1980. Besides being a musician, he was also a record producer and co-founder of the production company Handmade Films. In his work as a film producer, he collaborated with people as diverse as Madonna and the members of Monty Python. He was married twice, to the model Pattie Boyd in 1966, and to the record company secretary Olivia Trinidad Arias in 1978, with whom he had one son, Dhani Harrison. He was a close friend of Eric Clapton. Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001.

Johnny Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 - September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Primarily a country music artist, his songs and sound spanned many other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll, as well as blues, folk and gospel. Cash was known for his deep, distinctive bass-baritone voice, the "chicka-boom" freight train sound of his Tennessee Three backing band, his demeanor, and his dark clothing, which earned him the nickname "The Man in Black". He traditionally started his concerts with the introduction "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash". Much of Cash's music, especially that of his later career, echoed themes of sorrow, moral tribulation and redemption. His signature songs include "I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", "Get Rhythm" and "Man in Black". He also recorded humorous songs, such as "One Piece at a Time" and "A Boy Named Sue", a duet with June Carter called "Jackson", as well as railroad songs such as "Hey Porter" and "Rock Island Line."

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed "The Boss", is an American songwriter, singer and musician. He records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock infused with pop hooks, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey. Springsteen's recordings have tended to alternate between commercially accessible rock albums and somber folk-oriented works. Much of his status stems from the concerts and marathon shows in which he and the E Street Band perform intense ballads, rousing anthems, and party rock and roll songs, amongst which he intersperses whimsical or deeply emotional stories. His most famous albums, Born to Run and Born in the U.S.A., epitomize his penchant for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily life in America. He has gradually become identified with progressive politics. He is also noted for his support of various relief and rebuilding efforts in New Jersey and elsewhere, and for his response to the September 11th attacks, on which his album The Rising reflects. He has earned numerous awards for his work, including nineteen Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award, and continues to have a strong global fan base. He has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and 120 million worldwide.

Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed (born March 2, 1942) is an American rock musician best known as the guitarist, vocalist and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground as well as a successful solo artist whose career has spanned several decades. The band gained little mainstream attention during their career, but became one of the most influential of their era. As the Velvet Underground's main songwriter, Reed analyzed subjects of personal experience that rarely had been examined so openly in rock and roll, including a variety of sexual topics and drug culture and use. As a guitarist, he was a pioneer of many guitar effects including distortion, high volume feedback, and nonstandard tunings. Reed began a long and eclectic solo career in 1971. He had a hit the following year with "Walk on the Wild Side", though for more than a decade he seemed to wilfully evade the mainstream commercial success its chart status offered him. One of rock's most volatile personalities, Reed's work as a solo artist has frustrated critics wishing for a return of The Velvet Underground. The most notable example is 1975's infamous double LP of recorded feedback loops, Metal Machine Music, upon which Reed later commented: "No one is supposed to be able to do a thing like that and survive." By the late 1980s, however, he had garnered recognition as an elder statesman of rock.

Mark Lavon Helm (born May 26, 1940), better known as Levon Helm, is an American rock musician and actor most famous as the drummer (and often vocalist) for the rock group The Band. Helm is known for his deeply soulful, country-style voice, and powerful drumming style highlighted on many of the The Band's recordings, such as "The Weight", "Up on Cripple Creek", "Ophelia" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". His 2007 comeback album Dirt Farmer earned the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album in February 2008, and in November of that year, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #91 in the list of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Thomas Earl Petty (born October 20, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and voice actor. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and a member of Mudcrutch. He was also a member of the supergroup the Traveling Wilburys under the pseudonyms of Charlie T. Wilbury, Jr. and Muddy Wilbury, and currently has a recurring role on the Fox comedy series King of the Hill.He has recorded a number of hit singles with The Heartbreakers and as a solo artist, many of which remain heavily played on adult contemporary and classic rock radio. Likewise, his music, most notably his hits, have become increasingly popular among younger generations as he continues to host sold out shows in his recent tour dates. Petty and his band The Heartbreakers have been together since 1976 and celebrated their thirtieth anniversary with a tour in 2006, although Tom has occasionally released solo work, as is the case with 2006's Highway Companion, on which he performed most of the backing instrumentation himself. However, members of The Heartbreakers have played on each of his solo albums and the band has always backed him when touring in support of those albums. He has also toured with Mudcrutch in order to promote their debut album. Petty has been managed by Tony Dimitriades since 1976. On February 3, 2008, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed at the Super Bowl XLII Halftime show.

Barefoot Jerry was a Nashville-based Southern rock and progressive Country band active from 1971-1977. It was composed of area studio musicians under the tutelage of Wayne Moss, lead guitarist of Area Code 615, and other 615 alumni. Moss had previously played in many sessions, including Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde and plays the iconic guitar riff on Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman. In addition to Moss, band members included: Terry Dearmore, Kenny Buttrey, Jim Colvard, Dave Doran, Si Edwards, Mac Gayden, John Harris, Warren Hartman, Russ Hicks, Kenny Malone, Charlie McCoy, and Fred Newell. Barefoot Jerry's first line up consisted of: Wayne Moss guitar/keyboards/vocals, Mac Gayden - guitar/keyboards/vocals, Kenneth A. Buttrey - drums, and John Harris - keyboards. Moss, Buttrey and Gayden had all been in the Grammy award winning Nashville supergroup Area Code 615. They originally played together on many of Monkee Mike Nesmith's Nashville sessions. They enjoyed the experience so decided to form Area Code 615. This line up of Barefoot Jerry recorded the superb Southern Delight before Gayden left in 1972 to form his own band - Skyboat; Buttrey joined Neil Young's band. Wayne Moss and John Harris were soon joined by Russ Hicks - guitar/steel guitar/horn/vocals and Kenny Malone - drums for the equally breathtaking "Barefoot Jerry" released on Warner Brothers in 1972. This line up later expanded to include: Buddy Skipper-keyboards, Fred Newell - banjo/harmonica/vocals,Dave Doran - guitar/bass/vocals, Si Edwards - percussion, and Bobby Thompson - bass/guitar/vocals for the last of their "classic albums" and their first for Monument "Watchin' TV" in 1974. The line up of Moss, Hicks, Doran, Edwards, Skipper and Newell from this period are captured live on the recently released "Barefoot Jerry Live" CD. Wayne Moss became the last original member of the band. Retaining Russ Hicks and Si Edwards, they added Terry Dearmore - vocals, guitar/bass, Jim Colvard - guitar/bass and Warren Hartman - keyboards. In 1975 they recorded "You Can't Get Off With Your Shoes On". Colvard took his own life in 1976. With the departure of Warren Hartman, guitarist Barry Chance and Steve Davis -keyboards/guitar/vocals,joined the band for what is considered their weakest album "Keys to the Country" in 1976. Davis and Dearmore departed and longtime barefoot alumni and Area Code 615 legend Charlie McCoy - keyboards/harmonica/flutes/jew's harp and Mike McBride - bass/guitar/percussion/mandolin, joined for a return to form, "Barefootin'" in 1977. In 1977 the band finally ceased recording under that name, leaving behind a legendary Country Rock body of music. Wayne Moss appears as "Barefoot Jerry" along with Charlie Daniels, Guy Clark and David Allen Coe in the 1981 music documentary "Heartworn Highway." (see IMDb}Barefoot Jerry was influential in Southern and Country rock. They are mentioned in Charlie Daniel's (CDB) tune "The South is Gonna Do It Again." As "all the good people in Tennessee are diggin' Barefoot Jerry and CDB". This band has backed up CDB, Bob Dylan, and The Band as well as many other acts.

Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an influential Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, guitarist and a pioneer of rock and roll whose recording career spanned more than four decades. Orbison is best known for the songs, "Only the Lonely," "In Dreams," "Oh, Pretty Woman," "Crying," "Running Scared," and "You Got It". He was known for his smooth high baritone voice, with a range of at least two and a half octaves. He was rarely seen on stage without his trademark tinted prescription glasses. In 1987, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 1989, he was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie (July 14, 1912 - October 3, 1967) is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan "This Machine Kills Fascists" displayed on his guitar. His best known song is probably "This Land Is Your Land", which is regularly sung in American schools. Many of his recorded songs are archived in the Library of Congress. Guthrie traveled with migrant workers from Oklahoma to California and learned traditional folk and blues songs. Many of his songs are about his experiences in the Dust Bowl era during the Great Depression, earning him the nickname the "Dust Bowl Troubadour". Throughout his life Guthrie was associated with United States Communist groups, though he was never an actual member of any. Guthrie was married three times and fathered eight children, including American folk musician Arlo Guthrie. He is the grandfather of musician Sarah Lee Guthrie. Guthrie died from complications of Huntington's disease, a progressive genetic neurological disorder. During his later years, in spite of his illness, Guthrie served as a figurehead in the folk movement, providing inspiration to a generation of new folk musicians, including mentor relationships with Ramblin' Jack Elliott and, less directly, Bob Dylan.In 1997, Woody Guthrie was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.

Odetta Holmes, (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, songwriter, and a human rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals. An important figure in the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, she was influential musically and ideologically to many of the key figures of the folk-revival of that time, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Mavis Staples, and Janis Joplin.

Area Code 615 was the name of a Nashville country rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, taking their name from the telephone area code, which at the time covered all of Central and Eastern Tennessee. The band was made up of session musicians, recording only two albums before resuming normal session work. Several of the members were backing musicians for Bob Dylan (Nashville Skyline) and Billy Swan. Their best known work was "Stone Fox Chase", which was used as the theme to the British Broadcasting Corporation's music programme The Old Grey Whistle Test. Moss, Gayden, and Buttrey went on to play with Nashville-based Barefoot Jerry, which continues to perform occasionally today. David Briggs later worked with Elvis Presley and Joan Baez. 615 frequently backed Johnny Cash and appeared on his ABC show or 1969-1971.