On March 3, 1986, The Band played a concert at the Cheek to Cheek Lounge outside Orlando, in Winter Park, Florida. The next day, Richard Manuel was found dead in his room at the Quality Inn & Suites Winter Park Village Area.
According to the autopsy report, sometime between 2:30 and 3:30 a.m. Richard slipped the end of a belt through the buckle and around his neck. He looped the other end of the belt twice around the shower curtain rod. Then, police say, he simply sat down hard.
A blood toxicology report indicated that Manuel was drunk and had ingested cocaine the day he died.
Studio Albums By The Band:
Music from Big Pink – Released: July 1, 1968
The Band – Released: September 22, 1969
Stage Fright – Released: August 17, 1970
Cahoots – Released: September 15, 1971
Moondog Matinee – Released: October 15, 1973
Northern Lights – Southern Cross – Released: November 1, 1975
Islands – Released: March 15, 1977
Jericho – Released: November 2, 1993
High on the Hog – Released: February 27, 1996
Jubilation – Released: September 15, 1998
Quality Inn & Suites
626 Lee Rd.
Orlando FL 32810
Manuel died at the Langford Resort Hotel on what is now N. Orlando Ave in Winter Park, according to local accounts. The hotel closed and was demolished in the early 2000’s but had housed guests such as Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, and the Reagan’s for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. While the physical address of the Quality Inn listed is correct, it is not where Manuel took his life. Also, this particular Quality Inn has not been part of the hotel chain until recently. The Cheek to Cheek lounge (now a CVS) was a very short walk from the Langford.
I think it is aweful to tear down a place with so much of our early music history God bless you Richard!
I’m trying to figure out the name and location of a club where I went dancing in the early 80s. I thought the name was Barnabys, or something close to that. It was in an urban area in San Francisco, had multiple floors, and a balcony from which you could gaze at other buildings. Does anyone have an idea what/where this might have been?