In the spring of 1967, the band that had been calling themselves The Hawks had just arrived back from a world tour backing Bob Dylan. They moved into the Big Pink house (named after the color of the siding) and set up shop in the basement, creating a makeshift recording studio and rehearsal space.
The band grew beards, wore hats, and started calling themselves The Band. Dylan, who was recovering from a motorcycle accident and lived a couple of miles away, spent nearly every evening at Big Pink.
In 1968, The Band put out the album Music from Big Pink which contained their biggest hit, "The Weight." Dylan did the artwork for the album and co-wrote a couple songs.
The bootleg recordings from Big Pink with Dylan and The Band began to circulate, and were eventually as The Basement Tapes.
