The Weight

The Weight was released in 1968 by The Band. The writing credit was given to Robbie Robertson; although, Levon Helm once disputed that, saying that each of the members contributed to the song in one way or another. It appears on The Band's debut album Music from Big Pink, and was also released as a single. It's probably one of The Band's best known songs. Yet, despite being arguably one of the most recognizable songs of all time, it was not a significant main stream hit when it was first released. It peaked at number 63 on the US charts, number 35 Canada, and number 21 in the UK. Even though the Weight wasn't able to break into the top twenty in all three of those markets it has received a great deal of accolades. It is ranked number 41 on Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of all Time. I'm pretty sure that's the highest out of any of the songs I've featured so far. Pitchfork Media named it the 13^th best song of the 60s, and it was named one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll, by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And Personally I think that it's pretty swell, and if you've been reading along with the blog so far, you know I hold my opinion in pretty high regard.

This song has been covered like a billion times. Maybe even more than any of the other songs I've featured. But, there can only be one. And I'm choosing Aretha Franklin's cover. I think it's probably the most well known version other than the original.

Aretha released her cover in 1969 on her album This Girl's in Love with You. The album peaked at number 19 on the US pop chart, number 3 on the R&B chart, and number 12 in Canada.

The Band:

Aretha Franklin:

Okay, so this one is way harder than I thought. I was pretty sure I was going to be like, Aretha's version is really good, but The Band just did it so right she can’t over take them. But she really grooved it up. I don't even know you guys. I was going to be like, "don't worry. Aretha will get hers." And now I'm just like, "Damn. I don't know. She sings really good [Word is trying to tell me to use well here, and though I do know that is correct, I enjoy writing in a colloquial voice, and I feel that using good incorrectly in this sentence helps accentuate that voice. I also really like doing asides, as you probably can tell if you've been reading for a while, it's like I'm the Kool-Aid Man, and the you guys need me to break down the fourth wall to quench your thirst. Is the fourth wall even a thing in a blog post?] you guys, but I really like The Band's version." The harmonies are really good, and it's a bit slower, so like it had a different mood. But the backing vocals on Aretha's version are super tight too. And that groovy guitar, which I'm pretty sure, is being played by Duane Allman, and I know you guys remembered what happened when he played guitar on Hey Joe, is insane. I can’t do it you guys. I don't know which to pick. I'm making it a tie again (when I started this I didn't think any would end in ties). Which is better? I don't know. No matter which I try to pick I feel wrong. Even the tie feels wrong. Should Aretha have won, or should it be the Band. Somebody leave a comment and tell me what you think. Okay, I know you guys won't do that. Nobody ever comments. (I hope one of you guys is really stubborn and is like, “you think I won't comment eh, well I'll show you,” and leaves a comment just to spite me, even if it is just to tell me off for being a crappy writer and not proof reading well enough. But seriously though, both those versions are really good right? Also, I'm totally buying that Aretha album, I already have Big Pink, so I don't need that one, but This Girl's in Love with You has a seriously sick track list.