Revol With A Cause: Richard Manuel & The Revols
Piece from Breanna McCann, curator of The Richard Manuel Archive
“But when the Revols came on, Richard sang Ray Charles’s ‘Georgia On My Mind’ and brought down the house. That did it, as far as the Hawk was concerned. Rather than compete with the Revols, he hired ‘em,” Levon Helm recounted in This Wheel’s On Fire. Before Richard Manuel was a Hawk, he was a Revol. The Rockin’ Revols changed their name from The Rebels after learning Duane Eddy’s backing band already had the name, adopting the similar-sounding backward spelling of “lover.” The Revols were a popular band in Stratford in the late 50s and early 60s and served as an essential and musically formative experience for Richard Manuel, as well as his ticket into The Hawks, and eventually, into The Band.
The Revols, fourteen and fifteen at the time of their formation, included Doug Rhodes on vocals, Jim Winkler on drums, John Till (later of Janis Joplin’s backing band, and who would later be replaced in The Revols by Garth Picot) on guitar, Ken Kalmusky on bass, and Richard Manuel on piano and vocals. They formed in Kalmusky’s basement in 1957 and became one of the most popular bands in the area, bringing them to the attention of Ronnie Hawkins in 1961.
The Revols years were golden for Richard as he sharpened his piano skills and began to astound with an already robust voice far beyond his years. These were also the years where he was christened ‘Beak’ in reference to his sharp nose, a nickname that would stick for the rest of his life. Richard’s brother Don later remembered that “Richard would have the guys over in the living room making lots of noise. But our parents were very tolerant, my mother especially. I think she figured it was a phase Richard would grow through, but he just kept getting deeper and deeper into it.” Just from listening to the surviving Revols demo, this is no surprise.
In 1957, The Revols recorded a demo in CKSL Radio Studios in London, Ontario. It is an incredible capsule of Richard Manuel’s already impressive musical aptitude as a young teen. The first song on the demo, a version of Franz Liszt’s “Liebestraum,” is perhaps one of the best piano performances of Richard’s life. He turns the classical composition into a rollicking rockabilly piece worthy of his soon-to-be bandleader Ronnie Hawkins. Richard remains an incredibly underrated pianist, but this demo could convince even the most hardened skeptic of his prodigious talent on the keys.
Richard Manuel wrote the second song on the demo, “Promise Yourself,” another number perfectly suited for the rockabilly sensibilities of the late 50s, with great drumming from Jim Winkler and the added fun of hearing some of Richard’s earliest songwriting. The final track on the demo, “Eternal Love,” was written by Richard and John Till in the Manuel family living room in 1957. It trades some of the rockabilly elements for more of a teen idol sound, and it is equally delightful, carried by Richard with another driving turn on piano.
The first time the Hawks and Revols crossed paths was in Port Dover. As Levon Helm tells it, “‘See that kid playing piano?’ Hawk said. ‘He’s got more talent than Van Cliburn.’ After their show, Ronnie told the Revols they were so good they were making us nervous. Richard blushed. ‘Thanks, but you don’t have to worry. You guys are the kings,’ he told us in reply.”
In early summer 1961, after a few years of rising in the ranks of the local music scene, The Revols played the Stratford Coliseum. They headlined, and also on the bill were Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks. Now 17 years old, Richard opened the set with “Georgia On My Mind.” Even at 17, he could stop hearts with the song, and it would be one of his signature numbers for the rest of his life. By all accounts, he was in peak form that day. Garth Picot, who at this point had replaced John Till on guitar, recalled that “[w]e were very nervous, but later we learned that they were a little nervous because of Richard.” This was the final straw for Hawkins- he immediately hired The Revols and booked them into other stops on their southern circuit, both from a place of altruism to help a talented young group and so that they would pose no external competition.
As The Revols continued to play shows under the patronage of Hawkins, he continually tried to poach Richard for The Hawks. Garth Picot explained that “Beak got the call…but he had a pact with his best buddy Jimmy Winkler that he wouldn’t leave the band without him. They were gonna do it together or not at all. So Richard refused Hawkins a number of times. In the end, he and Jimmy talked it out and Jimmy said, ‘This is your chance, and you better take it. So he went, but he still felt badly about it.’”
It was a magical night when The Revols reunited a little over twenty years later. In early November 1984, Richard joined with Ken Kalmusky, Doug Rhodes, Garth Picot, and John Till at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival Theatre opening for The Band in two sell-out performances marketed as “The Band/Revols Reunion Shows” in an incredibly poignant full-circle moment for Richard. “It’s a return to my roots,” Richard explained, “and I’m bringing my partners of twenty-five years with me.” The first half of the show was a Revols set, while The Band took over in the second half. As Barney Hoskyns writes in Across The Great Divide, Richard’s “spirits [were] temporarily lifted by the experience of the homecoming,” leading him to play a few solo shows at The Getaway in the following months, something he had never done before. By all accounts, that night was pure magic and very well may have been the performance of Richard’s life. As Don Manuel remembers, “[c]oming home after all those years was really exciting for him, I’ve never seen him so excited and nervous. So many people had come back to Stratford to see the show, people I hadn’t seen for twenty years.”
Through his years with The Hawks and even The Band, The Revols remained integral to Richard and his musical identity. It was where he cut his teeth in the music world. The Revols were his stepping stone to The Hawks, leading him to The Band and his destiny. The Revols were there from the beginning, and they were with Richard at the last. Less than a year and a half after their glorious reunion show, Doug Rhodes, John Till, and Ken Kalmsuky appeared alongside Levon Helm and Don Manuel, carrying Richard’s casket out of the funeral service following his death on March 4, 1986.
While Band fans often think of The Hawks as the beginning, Richard’s story started with The Revols. He maintained that connection throughout his life, with The Revols always being a part of him and allowing him two nights in 1984 where he seems to have finally felt the love and admiration so many held for him. Listening to the exuberance of Richard on those keys in that Revols demo, hearing some of the first words he ever wrote for music, is an extraordinary glimpse of a genius with it all before him. In that moment, he is still a kid, and while there are struggles to come, there are also so many incredible heights before him. It makes the surviving Revols content all the more poignant.
Sources
This Wheel’s On Fire, Levon Helm with Stephen Davis
Across the Great Divide, Barney Hoskyns
