Robbie Robertson was a Canadian singer, songwriter, composer and producer. He best known for being the lead guitarist and songwriter for the band, The Band.
His writing credits for the group include “The Weight,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” and “Up on Cripple Creek.”
Robbie Robertson also had a successful career as a solo artist, and has worked on numerous film and television soundtracks. Unfortunately Robbie died on August 9, 2023 at the age of 80.
Who was Robbie Robertson?
Robbie Robertson was born as Jaime Royal Robertson on 5 July 1943. He was the only child of Rose Marie Chrysler and Alexander David Klegerman.
His father was killed in an accident when he was an infant. His mother then married her co-worker James Patrick Robertson, who adopted him as his son.
Robertson learnt guitar at an early age from his family members. He listened to rock ‘n’ roll and R&B music on the radio. In around 1957, he began playing in bands with his friend Pete Traynor.
The first band he formed was called Robbie and the Rhythm Chords. It later became Robbie and the Robots. At the age of sixteen, he dropped out of school in order to pursue a career in music.
After playing for some local groups, he went to work for the well-known artist Ronnie Hawkins as a part of his backup band The Hawks. Hawkins also recorded two tracks by Robertson named ‘Hey Boba Lou’ and ‘Someone Like You’.
Robbie Robertson Career
Robbie Robertson and his Hawks band mates also toured with Bob Dylan; however it was met with negative reactions. The musical group ‘The Band’ was eventually formed in 1968 with Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson as the members.
Their first album was ‘Music from Big Pink’. The album was praised by critics. It was eventually ranked at No.32 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Robertson sang on one of the album’s tracks ‘To Kingdom Come’.
The band found more commercial success with their next self-titled album. Many of the songs were written by Robertson and his work was quite appreciated. The band’s popularity grew with the release of albums, such as ‘Stage Fright’, released in 1970, and ‘Cahoots’, released in 1971.
They also collaborated with Bob Dylan on two live albums named ‘Planet Waves’ (1974) and ‘The Basement Tapes’ (1975). The band continued to release several more albums such as ‘Moondog Malinee’ (1973) and ‘Islands’ (1977).
In 1976, a concert was held by ‘The Band’ which included famous guests such as Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, and Ronnie Wood. It was filmed by the well-known director Martin Scorsese who made it into a documentary. It was praised by the critics as well.
Shortly before Robertson split up with the band, he became a producer for Neil Diamon’s album ‘Beautiful Noise’, which was released in 1976. He also tried a career in acting. His first role was in the drama film ‘Carny’.
He was also the producer, a co-writer and composer. Over the next few years, he worked as a composer for several films such as ‘Raging Bull’ (1980), ‘The King of Comedy’ (1983) and ‘Jimmy Hollywood’ (1994).
Meanwhile, he also began his solo career in music with a self-titled album in 1987. The album did well commercially, and it stood at the 38th position on the US Billboard 200.
Robertson won the Juno Award for ‘Album of the Year’ and another Juno Award, shared with Daniel Lanois, for ‘Producer of the Year’. His second album ‘Storyville’ was released in 1991, and his third album ‘Music for the Native Americans’ was released in 1994.
He worked as a music composer, music consultant, and music producer in several films over the next few years. These films include ‘Forces of Nature’ (1999), ‘Gangs of New York’ (2002), ‘The Departed’ (2006), ‘Shutter Island’ (2010) and ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ (2013). He also released a recording ‘How to Become Clairvoyant’ in 2011.
Robbie Robertson Cause of Death
Robbie Robertson died in Los Angeles on August 9, 2023, at the age of 80, after a one year battle with prostate cancer.
His management confirmed the celebrity’s death after a long illness on Wednesday in a statement to Variety.
“Robbie was surrounded by his family at the time of his death, including his wife, Janet, his ex-wife, Dominique, her partner Nicholas, and his children Alexandra, Sebastian, Delphine, and Delphine’s partner Kenny,” the statement said.
“He is also survived by his grandchildren Angelica, Donovan, Dominic, Gabriel and Seraphina.”
Instead of sending flowers, his family has asked supporters for donations to be sent to the Six Nations of the Grand River, where Robertson spent much of his childhood, “to support a new Woodland Cultural Center.”
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