Backup band

{{Short description|Band that accompanies a leading artist}}

File:Bob Dylan and The Band - 1974.jpg and the Band performing in Chicago in 1974]]

A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer.{{cite web |last1=Balke |first1=Jeff |title=Support Staff: 10 Of Pop History's Greatest Backing Bands |url=https://www.houstonpress.com/music/support-staff-10-of-pop-historys-greatest-backing-bands-6497175 |website=houstonpress.com |publisher=Houston Press |access-date=March 14, 2021 |date=February 20, 2012}} The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such as "The Heartbreakers" (the band of Tom Petty), or "Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys" in the 1930s.{{cite book|author1=Michael Campbell|author2=James Brody|title=Rock and roll: an introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RK-JmVbv4OIC&pg=PA191|access-date=14 December 2010|year=2008|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-534-64295-2|pages=191}} Often, backup bands contain sidemen who are skilled but not known to the public; these musicians may be replaced or substituted at any time without noticeable impact on the performance.{{cite web|url=http://www.musicianwages.com/the-working-musician/a-guide-to-being-a-successful-sideman/|title=A Guide to Being a Successful Sideman|last=Melvin|first=Gary|publisher=Musician Wages.com |access-date=December 16, 2009|location=Los Angeles, California|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508011200/http://www.musicianwages.com/the-working-musician/a-guide-to-being-a-successful-sideman/|archive-date=May 8, 2012}}

A number of cohesive stand-alone groups of musicians have emerged from the shadow of the starring celebrity (whom they are backing) to achieve a stature of their own. An example is the Eagles in 1971, emerging from being the backing band for Linda Ronstadt.{{cite web |last1=Graff |first1=Gary |title=How Glenn Frey & Don Henley Became the Eagles, As Told by Linda Ronstadt |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6844113/linda-ronstadt-glenn-frey-don-henley-eagles/ |website=billboard.com |publisher=Billboard |access-date=March 14, 2021 |date=January 18, 2006}} Another example is The Band, a group who backed Bob Dylan on his world tour in 1966, his first tour with electric instruments.{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Troy L. |title=20 greatest backing bands of all time |url=https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2017/10/20_greatest_backing_bands_of_a.html |website=cleveland.com |publisher=Cleveland Plain Dealer |access-date=March 15, 2021 |date=October 2, 2017}}

A backing band may also be a cadre of elite studio musicians who serve as a house band for major studios. The same musicians may perform on records by a number of different artists. Examples are Stax Records' band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s; Detroit's The Funk Brothers; and Nashville's A-Team.