Danko was born on December 29, 1943 [2][3] in Blayney, Ontario, a farming community outside the town of Simcoe, the third of four sons in a musical family of Ukrainian descent.

[citation needed] He made his musical debut playing a four-string tenor banjo and guitar for his first-grade classmates,[5][6] and while various sources differ slightly, all suggest he was headed to a professional career early.

[8] It is also written that he started a band at that age with his eldest brother, Maurice Junior and a local high school teacher on drums.

[9][10] By age 17, already a five-year music veteran and having already left the Simcoe Composite School and working by day as a butcher, Danko booked his band The Starlights as the opening act for Ronnie Hawkins.

[citation needed] In 1961, Danko with drummer Levon Helm backed guitarist Lenny Breau on several tracks recorded at Hallmark Studios in Toronto.

"[citation needed] In August 1965, Mary Martin, an assistant to Bob Dylan's manager Albert Grossman, heard Levon and the Hawks perform.

[15] Helm was not happy to be backing a "strummer" but reluctantly agreed, and the band became Dylan's backup group for a tour beginning in September.

Through May 1966, Dylan and the remaining foursome (together with pick-up drummers, including the actor and musician Mickey Jones) traveled across the U.S., Australia, and Europe.

[18] On this album, Danko sang lead vocal on three songs: "Caledonia Mission", "Long Black Veil" and "This Wheel's on Fire."

Before the Band could promote the album by touring, Danko was severely injured in a car accident, breaking his neck and back in six places, which put him in traction for months.

On that record, sometimes known as the Brown Album, Danko sang what would become two of his signature songs—and two of the group's best-loved classics: "When You Awake" and "Unfaithful Servant."

[citation needed] Danko is featured in the documentary film Festival Express, about an all-star tour by train across Canada in 1970.

[21] In an interview published in Guitar Player, Danko cited bassists James Jamerson, Ron Carter, Edgar Willis, and Chuck Rainey as his musical influences.

Issued in 1977, his self-titled début featured each of his former bandmates in addition to Ronnie Wood, Eric Clapton, Doug Sahm, Blondie Chaplin, and Danko's brother, Terry.

Among the songs they covered was "Sail On, Sailor", originally recorded by the Beach Boys, with Blondie Chaplin, who toured with Danko/Butterfield, on guitar and vocals.

From 1983 to 1999, Danko alternated between a reformed version of the Band featuring Helm, Hudson, and guitarist Jim Weider (and, from 1983 to 1986, Manuel); a solo career; and collaborations including award-winning work with singer-songwriter Eric Andersen and Norway's Jonas Fjeld as Danko/Fjeld/Andersen.

[24] On December 10, 1999, days after the end of a brief tour of the Midwest that included two shows in the Chicago area and a final gig at the Ark in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Danko died of heart failure in his sleep at his home in Marbletown, New York.

[32] His son Eli, from Danko's first marriage, died in 1989, at age 18, from asphyxiation after heavy drinking while attending the State University of New York at Albany.

[37] A number of musical artists have cited Danko as an influence, including Elvis Costello,[38] John Doe,[39] Mumford & Sons,[40] Lucinda Williams,[41] Jay Farrar,[42] Neko Case,[43] Robbie Fulks,[44] Cindy Cashdollar,[45] Craig Finn of The Hold Steady,[46] Chris Tomson of Vampire Weekend,[47] Mike Watt,[48] and Eric Clapton who said "Rick's singing has had a tremendous influence on me ... you have to be a great musician before you can sing like that.

The fretless AMUB, modified with a Precision Bass pickup (see picture above, of Danko performing with the Band in Hamburg, 1971), was his bass of choice for the next years to come, and can be heard prominently on Stage Fright and Cahoots, and was used live, as can be seen in the film Festival Express also in video footage included in the Live at the Academy of Music 1971 release.