The Band91裸聊视频檚 lead guitarist and songwriter who in such classics as 91裸聊视频淭he Weight,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淯p on Cripple Creek91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淭he Night They Drove Old Dixie Down91裸聊视频� mined and helped reshape American music, has died at 80.
Robertson died surrounded by family, a statement from his manager said.
From their years as masterful backing group to their own stardom as embodiments of old-fashioned community and virtuosity, The Band profoundly influenced popular music in the 1960s and 91裸聊视频�70s, first by literally amplifying Dylan91裸聊视频檚 polarizing transition from folk artist to rock star and then by absorbing the works of Dylan and Dylan91裸聊视频檚 influences as they fashioned a new sound immersed in the American past.
The Canadian-born Robertson was a high school dropout and one-man melting pot 91裸聊视频� part-Jewish, part-Mohawk and Cayuga 91裸聊视频� who fell in love with the seemingly limitless sounds and byways of his adopted country and wrote out of a sense of amazement and discovery at a time when the Vietnam War had alienated millions of young Americans.
His life had a 91裸聊视频淐andide91裸聊视频�-like quality as he found himself among many of the giants of the rock era 91裸聊视频� getting guitar tips from Buddy Holly, taking in early performances by Aretha Franklin and by the Velvet Underground, smoking pot with the Beatles, watching the songwriting team of Leiber and Stoller develop material, chatting with Jimi Hendrix when he was a struggling musician calling himself Jimmy James.
The Band began as supporting players for in the early 1960s and through their years together in bars and juke joints forged a depth and versatility that opened them to virtually any kind of music in any kind of setting.
Besides Robertson, the group featured Arkansan drummer-singer and three other Canadians: bassist-singer-songwriter Rick Danko, keyboardist singer-songwriter Richard Manuel and all-around musical wizard Garth Hudson. They were originally called the Hawks, but ended up as The Band 91裸聊视频� a conceit their fans would say they earned 91裸聊视频� because people would point to them when they were with Dylan and refer to them as 91裸聊视频渢he band.91裸聊视频�
They remain defined by their first two albums, 91裸聊视频淢usic from Big Pink91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淭he Band,91裸聊视频� both released in the late 1960s. The rock scene was turning away from the psychedelic extravagances of the Beatles91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淪gt Pepper91裸聊视频檚 Lonely Hearts Club Band91裸聊视频� and a wave of sound effects, long jams and lysergic lyrics.
91裸聊视频淢usic from Big Pink,91裸聊视频� named for the old house near Woodstock, New York, where Band members lived and gathered, was for many the sound of coming home. The mood was intimate, the lyrics alternately playful, cryptic and yearning, drawn from blues, gospel, folk and country music.
The Band itself seemed to stand for selflessness and a shared and vital history, with all five members making distinctive contributions and appearing in publicity photos in plain, dark clothes.
Through the 91裸聊视频淏asement Tapes91裸聊视频� they had made with Dylan in 1967 and through their own albums, The Band has been widely credited as a founding source for Americana or roots music. Fans and peers would speak of their lives being changed.
Eric Clapton broke up with his British supergroup Cream and journeyed to Woodstock in hopes he could join The Band, which influenced albums ranging from The Grateful Dead91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淲orkingman91裸聊视频檚 Dead91裸聊视频� to Elton John91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淭umbleweed Connection.91裸聊视频�
The Band91裸聊视频檚 songs were covered by Franklin, Joan Baez, the Staple Singers and many others. During a television performance by the Beatles of 91裸聊视频淗ey Jude,91裸聊视频� Paul McCartney shouted out lyrics from 91裸聊视频淭he Weight.91裸聊视频�
Like Dylan, Robertson was a self-taught musicologist and storyteller who absorbed everything American from the novels of William Faulkner to the scorching blues of Howlin91裸聊视频� Wolf to the gospel harmonies of the Swan Silvertones. At times his songs sounded not just created, but unearthed.
In 91裸聊视频淭he Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,91裸聊视频� he imagined the Civil War through the eyes of a defeated Confederate. with its lead vocals passed around among group members like a communal wine glass, he evoked a pilgrim91裸聊视频檚 arrival to a town where nothing seems impossible:
91裸聊视频淚 pulled into Nazareth, was feelin91裸聊视频� about half past dead / I just need some place where I can lay my head / Hey, mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed? / He just grinned and shook my hand, 91裸聊视频楴o,91裸聊视频� was all he said.91裸聊视频�
The Band played at the 1969 Woodstock festival, not far from where they lived, and became newsworthy enough to appear on the cover of Time magazine. But the spirit behind their best work was already dissolving.
Albums such as 91裸聊视频淪tage Fright91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淐ahoots91裸聊视频� were disappointing even for Robertson, who would acknowledge that he was struggling to find fresh ideas. While Manuel and Danko were both frequent contributors to songs during their 91裸聊视频淏asement Tapes91裸聊视频� days, by the time 91裸聊视频淐ahoots91裸聊视频� was released in 1971, Robertson was the dominant writer.
They toured frequently, recording the acclaimed live album 91裸聊视频淩ock of Ages91裸聊视频� at Madison Square Garden and joining Dylan for 1974 shows that led to another highly praised concert release, 91裸聊视频淏efore the Flood.91裸聊视频� But in 1976, after Manuel broke his neck in a boating accident, Robertson decided he needed a break from the road and organized rock91裸聊视频檚 ultimate sendoff, an all-star gathering at San Francisco91裸聊视频檚 Winterland Ballroom that included Dylan, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Muddy Waters and many others.
The concert was and the basis for his celebrated documentary 91裸聊视频淭he Last Waltz,91裸聊视频� released in 1978.
Robertson had intended The Band to continue recording together but 91裸聊视频淭he Last Waltz91裸聊视频� helped permanently sever his friendship with Helm, whom he had once looked to as an older brother. In interviews and in his 1993 memoir 91裸聊视频淲heel on Fire,91裸聊视频� Helm accused of Robertson of greed and outsized ego, noting that Robertson had ended up owning their musical catalog and calling 91裸聊视频淭he Last Waltz91裸聊视频� a vanity project designed to glorify Robertson.
In response, Robertson contended that he had taken control of the group because the others 91裸聊视频� excepting Hudson 91裸聊视频� were too burdened by drug and alcohol problems to make decisions on their own.
91裸聊视频淚t hit me hard that in a band like ours, if we weren91裸聊视频檛 operating on all cylinders, it threw the whole machine off course,91裸聊视频� Robertson wrote in his memoir 91裸聊视频淭estimony,91裸聊视频� published in 2016.
The Band regrouped without Robertson in the early 1980s, and Robertson went on to a long career and soundtrack composer. His self-titled 1987 album was certified gold and featured the hit single 91裸聊视频淪how Down at Big Sky91裸聊视频� and the ballad 91裸聊视频淔allen Angel,91裸聊视频� a tribute to Manuel, who was found dead in 1986 in what was ruled a suicide (Danko died of heart failure in 1999, and Helm of cancer in 2012).
Robertson, who moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s while the others stayed near Woodstock, remained close to Scorsese and helped oversee the soundtracks for 91裸聊视频淭he Color of Money,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淭he King of Comedy,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淭he Departed91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淭he Irishman91裸聊视频� among others. He also produced the Neil Diamond album 91裸聊视频淏eautiful Noise91裸聊视频� and explored his heritage through such albums as 91裸聊视频淢usic for the Native Americans91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淐ontact from the Underworld of Redboy.91裸聊视频�
The Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994; Robertson attended, Helm did not.
In 2020, Robertson looked back and mourned in the documentary 91裸聊视频淥nce Were Brothers91裸聊视频� and in the title ballad, on which Robertson sang 91裸聊视频淲hen the light goes out and you can91裸聊视频檛 go on / You miss your brothers, but now they91裸聊视频檙e gone.91裸聊视频�
Robertson married the Canadian journalist Dominique Bourgeois in 1967. They had three children before divorcing.
Jaime Royal Robertson was born in Toronto and spent summers at the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve where his mother Rosemarie Dolly Chrysler grew up. He never met his father, Alexander David Klegerman, who died before he was born and whose existence Robertson only learned of years later. His mother had since married a factory worker, James Robertson, whom Robbie Robertson at first believed was his biological parent.
Music was an escape from what he remembered as a violent and abusive household; his parents separated when he was in his early teens. He would watch relatives play guitar and sing at the Six Nations reserve, and became 91裸聊视频渕esmerized91裸聊视频� by how absorbed they were in their own performances. Robertson was soon practicing guitar himself and was playing in bands and writing songs in his teens.
He had a knack for impressing his elders. When he was 15, his group opened for Hawkins at a club in Toronto. After overhearing Hawkins say he was in need of new material, Robertson hurried home, worked up a couple of songs and brought them over to his hotel. Hawkins recorded both of them, 91裸聊视频淪omeone Like You,91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淗ey Boba Lu,91裸聊视频� and Robertson would soon find himself on a train to Hawkins91裸聊视频� home base in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Over the next few years, he toured with Hawkins in the U.S. and Canada as members left and the performers who eventually became The Band were brought in. By 1963, Robertson and the others had grown apart from Hawkins and were ready to work on their own, recording a handful of singles as the Canadian Squires and stepping into rock history when mutual acquaintances suggested they should tour behind Dylan, then rebelling against his image as folk troubadour and infuriating fans who thought he had sold out.
In 1965-66, they were Dylan91裸聊视频檚 co-adventurers in some of rock91裸聊视频檚 most momentous shows, with Dylan playing an acoustic opening set, then joined by the Hawks for an electric set that was booed so fiercely, Helm dropped out and was replaced on the road by Mickey Jones.
As captured in audio recordings and in footage by filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker seen decades later in the Dylan documentary 91裸聊视频淣o Direction Home,91裸聊视频� the music on stage for such Dylan songs as 91裸聊视频淛ust Like Tom Thumb91裸聊视频檚 Blues91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淏allad of a Thin Man91裸聊视频� more than equaled the fury of its detractors, culminating in a May 1966 show at Manchester, England, when one fan screamed out 91裸聊视频淛udas!91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 belieeeeve you,91裸聊视频� Dylan snarled in response. 91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檙e a liar!91裸聊视频� Calling on the Hawks to 91裸聊视频漰lay f91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频攊ng loud,91裸聊视频� he led them through an all-out finale, 91裸聊视频淟ike a Rolling Stone.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淎 kind of madness was percolating,91裸聊视频� Robertson wrote in his memoir. 91裸聊视频淭he whole atmosphere was heightened. I adjusted the strap on my Telecaster so I could release it with a quick thumb movement and use the guitar as a weapon. The concerts were starting to feel that unpredictable.91裸聊视频�
Later in 1966, Dylan was badly injured in a motorcycle accident and recuperated in the Woodstock area, where The Band also soon settled.
Under no contractual obligations or any sort of deadlines, Dylan and his fellow musicians stepped out of time altogether. They jammed on old country and Appalachian songs and worked on such originals as 91裸聊视频淭ears of Rage91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淚 Shall Be Released91裸聊视频� that were originally intended as demo recordings for other artists. 91裸聊视频淭he Basement Tapes,91裸聊视频� as they were eventually called, were among rock91裸聊视频檚 first bootlegs before being released officially 91裸聊视频� in part in 1975, and in a full six-CD set in 2014.
Working and writing with Dylan encouraged The Band to try an album of its own. 91裸聊视频淢usic from Big Pink91裸聊视频� featured the Dylan-Danko collaboration 91裸聊视频淭his Wheel91裸聊视频檚 On Fire91裸聊视频� and Dylan-Manuel91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淭ears of Rage,91裸聊视频� along with such Band originals as Manuel91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淚n a Station91裸聊视频� and Robertson91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淐aledonia Mission.91裸聊视频�
In his memoir, Robertson remembered the first time their old boss listened to 91裸聊视频淢usic from Big Pink.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淎fter each song, Bob looked at 91裸聊视频榟is91裸聊视频� band with proud eyes. When 91裸聊视频楾he Weight91裸聊视频� came on, he said, 91裸聊视频楾his is fantastic. Who wrote that song?91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� he wrote. 91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频楳e,91裸聊视频� I answered. He shook his head, slapped me on the arm, and said, 91裸聊视频楧amn! You wrote that song?91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
