When people talk about The Last Waltz, they usually talk in superlatives. Martin Scorsese’s cameras. The Band’s graceful farewell. Bob Dylan’s mystique. Eric Clapton’s fire. For many fans, it stands as one of the most mythologized nights in rock history. But for Bob Margolin, the veteran blues guitarist best known for his years with Muddy Waters, the truth of that era, and that night, was far more human, messy, and revealing.
Looking back, Margolin doesn’t romanticize the moment just because of the names involved.
“Bob Dylan had me, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Ronnie Wood, Levon Helm and Paul Butterfield,” Margolin once said. “It wasn’t the greatest music I ever played.”
Coming from a musician who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with legends, the comment isn’t false modesty, it’s honesty. And it cuts to the heart of what The Last Waltz really was, especially for the blues players orbiting rock’s brightest stars.
Inside The Last Waltz: Great Names, Human Results
Margolin wasn’t a household name like Clapton or Dylan, but in blues circles, his résumé spoke volumes. By the time The Last Waltz rolled around in 1976, he had already logged years as Muddy Waters’ guitarist, absorbing Chicago blues at its source. That grounding shaped how he viewed the spectacle.
While audiences saw a once-in-a-lifetime convergence of icons, Margolin saw a loose, improvised gathering—musicians thrown together, often with little rehearsal, running on adrenaline, goodwill, and sheer momentum.
Yes, the lineup was astonishing. Dylan, Clapton, Dr. John, Ronnie Wood, Levon Helm, Paul Butterfield. But Margolin’s point was simple: legendary names don’t automatically guarantee legendary music.
“There was a lot going on,” he later reflected. “Some of it worked beautifully. Some of it didn’t.”
That perspective stands in stark contrast to the near-mythical status the concert enjoys today. But it also makes it more real, and more interesting.
The Jam Party After The Cameras Stopped
If The Last Waltz itself was a polished farewell, the jam party afterward was something else entirely.
Once the formal concert ended and Scorsese’s main cameras stopped rolling, musicians spilled into a freer, less structured environment. Songs stretched. Tempos wobbled. Players jumped in and out. It was less about performance and more about release.
For Margolin, this was where the truth of the night lived, not in perfection, but in participation.
These weren’t stars trying to outshine each other. They were tired musicians, buzzing from the night, chasing feel rather than finesse. Sometimes that produced magic. Other times, it produced chaos. And Margolin was comfortable admitting that not every note landed.
In many ways, those late-night jams mirrored the blues tradition itself: informal, unpolished, and rooted in feeling rather than spectacle.
Life Lessons From Muddy Waters
Margolin’s clear-eyed view of The Last Waltz can’t be separated from his years with Muddy Waters. Playing alongside one of the architects of modern blues taught him discipline, humility, and perspective.
With Muddy, there was no room for hype. You either played the part right, or you didn’t play it at all. That background made Margolin immune to star worship, even when he was surrounded by rock royalty.
“Muddy taught me how to listen,” Margolin has often said. “And how to serve the song.”
That lesson stayed with him during The Last Waltz. While others may have been swept up by the moment’s grandeur, Margolin measured the night by a simpler standard: how well the music actually worked.
Legacy Beyond The Myth
Today, The Last Waltz remains a cornerstone of rock history, endlessly dissected and celebrated. But Bob Margolin’s reflections offer a necessary counterbalance to the legend.
His takeaway isn’t cynical, it’s grounded.
The night mattered. The people mattered. But greatness isn’t guaranteed by names alone, and history often smooths over the rough edges that musicians remember all too clearly.
In the end, Margolin’s honesty may be the most blues-authentic thing about The Last Waltz. Because the blues, like the truth, doesn’t pretend every night is perfect, it just tells you how it really felt.
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