How a fan of the Band’s Richard Manuel became his biographer

How a fan of the Band’s Richard Manuel became his biographer

As a passionate fan of the Band, Stephen T. Lewis had watched the concert film “The Last Waltz” numerous times and devoured autobiographies on Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson, the Band’s best-known members. Despite those acclaimed accounts of the influential group’s story – the early days as the Hawks backing Ronnie Hawkins, their role as Bob Dylan’s band and their own roots-rock albums that inspired scores of bands ever after – something was mi…