Levon Helm sang lead vocals and played drums on this iconic song recorded for 1969’s eponymous second album from The Band. A live performance of “Up on Cripple Creek” also appears in The Band’s live concert film The Last Waltz and it’s accompanying soundtrack. In addition, a live version of the song appears on Before the Flood.
“Up on Cripple Creek” is notable as it is one of the first accounts of a Hohner Clavinet being played with a wah-wah pedal. The riff can be heard after the chorus of the song. The Clavinet, especially in tandem with a wah pedal was a sound that became famous in the early to mid ’70s especially in funk music, and continues to be popular to this day.