"The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show" is a song written by Robbie Robertson that was first released on the Band's 1970 album ''

Stage Fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

''. It was also frequently performed in the group's live sets and appeared on several of their live albums. Based on Levon Helm's memories of

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer ...

and

medicine show Medicine shows were touring acts (traveling by truck, horse, or wagon teams) that peddled "miracle cure" patent medicines and other products between various entertainments. They developed from European mountebank shows and were common in the Unit ...

s in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, the song has been interpreted as an allegory on the music business.

Garth Hudson Eric "Garth" Hudson (born August 2, 1937) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for rock group the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was a ...

received particular praise for his tenor saxophone playing on the song.

Lyrics and music

The song is based on stories Band drummer Levon Helm told Robertson about

and

s he remembered from his youth in Arkansas. The song's title is based on the name of one such traveling show, F. S. Wolcott's Original Rabbit's Foot Minstrels. The song lyrics describe the colorful characters in the show. '' Rolling Stone'' critic John Burks particularly praises the line describing the show's proprietor W.S. Walcott "Y'know he always holds it in a tent/'N if you're lookin' for the real thing he can show you where it went." Burks also praises the line "I'd rather die happy than not die at all/For a man is a fool who will not heed the call." Music critic Barney Hoskyns criticized the lyrics for being "almost too contrived as tintype portraiture" and for asking the listener to be enchanted with the characters without the song creating a "compelling vignette from the material." Jason Schneider similarly describes the song as "overwrought." But other critics have found a deeper meaning to the lyrics. Allmusic critic William Ruhlmann states that the song comments "on the falseness of show business." ''The Band FAQ'' author Peter Aaron describes the song as "an allegory for the music business." Nick DeRiso sees the "escapades" and "ruses" described in the song as creating "an allegory on the dangers of the lifestyle that had rapidly ensnared the Band" during their meteoric rise to stardom with the two albums they released before ''Stage Fright''. To DeRiso, the "snake oil" of the medicine show represents the "late-night escapades and mid-day binges — the mysterious, soul-deadening, very real temptations of the rock-star lifestyle" DeRiso believes that the message was primarily directed at Band pianist

Richard Manuel Richard George Manuel (April 3, 1943 – March 4, 1986) was a Canadian singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter, best known as a pianist and one of three lead singers in The Band, for which he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and ...

, whose life was falling apart and who was also believed to be the intended recipient of the message of " The Shape I'm In," the song immediately preceding "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show" on the ''Stage Fright'' album. C. Michael Bailey had a different take on the song in the April 2012 issue of ''All about Jazz'', stating that the song represented the American archetype of "celebration and good times." Helm takes the lead vocal on "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show" with bassist

Rick Danko Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. During ...

singing some passages. Hoskyns finds the song to be "as tailor made for

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

as " The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," stating that this song comes closer than any on ''Stage Fright'' to the mood of the Band's previous album '' The Band''. DeRiso states that Helms' "age-old timbre" and Danko's "down-home charm" transport the listener back to the time of Helm's youth. Hudson plays both tenor saxophone and baritone saxophone, with a solo on tenor sax. Robertson plays electric guitar and producer John Simon plays trombone. Hoskyns praises Hudson's and Simon's horns as the "nicest touch" on the song. He particularly praises Hudson's tenor sax solo as being worthy of New Orleans' great Lee Allen. Burks finds the beginning of Hudson's solo to be mysterious and enigmatic, reminding him of

the Emotions ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, while he finds the ending grittier and showing old-fashioned roots, reminding him of

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

. Burks' only criticism of the song is that he feels they should have had Hudson playing much more tenor sax.

Reception

'' Q'' magazine critic John Bauldie called "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show "The Band's greatest Americana song." ''Musichound'' author Leland Rucker referred to "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show" as one of the Band's classics. David K. Blake described it as "a delightfully funky take on vaudeville." The song has been included on several of the Band's compilation albums, including '' To Kingdom Come: The Definitive Collection'' in 1989 and '' Across the Great Divide'' in 1994. A live version was included on '' A Musical History'' in 2005. The Hans Staymer Band covered the song in 1972. '' Billboard Magazine'' described their version as a "grabber."

Performers

* Levon Helm – 1st lead vocal, drums *

– 2nd lead vocal, bass guitar *

– piano * Robbie Robertson – electric guitar *

– tenor saxophone (including solo), baritone saxophone with: * John Simon – trombone

Live versions

The Band frequently played "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show" in their live sets. For their shows at the Academy of Music in New York City recorded for the live album '' Rock of Ages'' the group was augmented by a number of horn legends for this song, with Allen Toussaint charting the additional horn parts. Additional players included

Snooky Young Eugene Edward "Snooky" Young (February 3, 1919 – May 11, 2011) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known for his mastery of the plunger mute, with which he was able to create a wide range of sounds. Biography Young was lead trumpeter of t ...

on trumpet, Howard Johnson, Joe Farrell on tenor saxophone, Earl McIntyre on trombone and J.D. Parron on alto saxophone. Although some of these musicians had played with the likes of

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

Jimmie Lunceford James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era. Early life Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, Mi ...

, Ray Charles,

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...

and Charles Mingus, Hudson played his own solo. ''Rolling Stone'' critic Ralph J. Gleason called Hudson's solo on this performance "outstanding." According to Robertson, the other "horn players were cheering him on ... blowing with one fist in the air," which Gleason called a "deserved tribute." Aaron states that this live version does the song "full justice." Hoskyns said that it "swung like big-band

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

." Peter J. Barsocchini of the ''

San Mateo County Times The ''San Mateo County Times'' was a daily newspaper published by the Media News Group. The paper is distributed throughout San Mateo County, Monday through Saturday. Before being sold in 1996, it had been published for over 100 years as the ' ...

'' described it as a "stand out" of side 1 of the album. The Band performed the song at the

Summer Jam at Watkins Glen The Summer Jam at Watkins Glen was a July 1973 rock festival outside Watkins Glen, New York, that featured the Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead and the Band. The July 28, 1973 event long held the Guinness Book of World Records entry for "l ...

at Watkins Glen Grand Prix Raceway on July 28, 1973, although the performance was not included on the concert's "official" CD release. The song was part of their encore on September 18, 1976 for the opening of the newly renamed Palladium (formerly the Academy of Music) in New York City. The group was accompanied by additional horn players, including Johnson, and used Toussaint's horn arrangements. Paul Butterfield accompanied the group on harmonica for this performance. The song was also included in The Band's final concert at

Winterland Ballroom Winterland Ballroom (more commonly known as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland) was an ice skating rink and music venue in San Francisco, California. The arena was located at the corner of Post Street and Steiner Street. It was converted for ...

on November 25, 1976, the basis of the film ''

The Last Waltz ''The Last Waltz'' was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. ''The Last Waltz'' was advertised as The Band's "farewell concert a ...

''. Although the performance was omitted from the released film and from the original album released in 1978, it was included on 2002 album re-release.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:W.S. Walcott Medicine Show The Band songs 1970 songs Songs written by Robbie Robertson