2023-08-10 12:02:43
Robbie Robertson, legendary guitarist, songwriter and singer for The Band, died at the age of 80 on Wednesday in Los Angeles, after a long unspecified illness and “surrounded by his family,” according to his agent Jared Levine. Robertson reached the pinnacle of American rock in the 1970s with The Band, the group that opened for and accompanied Bob Dylan on his tours in the mid-1960s, with whom they would collaborate throughout his career. Martin Scorsese established Robertson in 1976 with his documentary ‘The Last Waltz’ and Rolling Stone magazine placed him at number 59 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists in 2015.
Born on July 5, 1943, in Toronto, Robertson’s love affair with the guitar was early. He joined the band of Ronnie Hawkins, a rockabilly star, when he was 16 years old. He later founded The Hawks, the name of the group with which they became known as Dylan’s opening act on his Going Electric tours. He had in his ranks other Canadians such as Rick Danko, Garth Hudson and Richad Manuel, as well as the American Levon Helm, future members of The Band.
In 1968 they signed with the Capital Records label and settled in New York to record their first two albums, ‘Music From Big Pink’ and ‘The Band’, two albums that captivated the industry, left their influence on figures such as Eric Clapton and they took the group to the Woodstock festival. As the group’s leader, Robertson wrote their most iconic songs including ‘The Weight,’ ‘The Night They Drove Ol’ Dixie Down,’ and ‘Up On Cripple Creek.’
The drug problems of various members and the disagreements within the formation caused Robertson himself to dissolve the group in the mid-70s. The band reappeared in 1983 without Robertson and released three albums, ‘Jericho’, ‘High on the Hog’ and ‘Jubilation’, with versions by other artists and of little critical and commercial relevance.
Robbie Robertson at the 2019 presentation of a documentary about The Band, a legendary rock band he co-founded. M. Anzuoni / Reuters
Robertson focused on his facet as a composer from 1980 and forged a close relationship with Martin Scorsese, filmmaker who directed the documentary ‘The Last Waltz’ (The Last Waltz) about the massive concert that The Band offered on Thanksgiving Day. in 1976 in San Francisco shortly before separating. Released in theaters in 1978, it is still today a pioneering and acclaimed documentary of the rock universe.
Robertson later supervised the soundtracks of Scorsese’s films such as ‘Raging Bull’, ‘Gangs of New York’, ‘Shutter Island’, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ or ‘The Irishman’. Also from ‘The Assassins of the Moon’, the new Scorsese film that opens on October 20 with Leonardo DiCaprio leading the cast.
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