Musician and Composer Robbie Robertson Has Died

Robertson’s work has graced many movie soundtracks beyond his composing duties for Scorsese, and he became a hugely influential musician.

Robbie Robertson in 'Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band,' a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo credit: © Don Dixon.

Robbie Robertson, a founding guitarist of legendary musical group The Band who launched a successful solo career and worked closely as a composer on Martin Scorsese’s movies and more has died. He was 80.

Early Life and music career

The Band (left to right): Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson, and Robbie Robertson in 'Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band,' a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo © by Elliott Landy.

Born Jaime Royal Robertson on July 5, 1943, in Toronto, he began playing guitar at age 10 and six years later joined up with Levon Helm in The Hawks. Robertson’s guitar style on songs such as ‘Who Do You Love’ helped birth in an era of classic bluesy rock and influenced countless musicians.

Robertson got his break at age 16 with Ronnie Hawkins’ The Hawks, which eventually would feature many of his Band mates. He was Bob Dylan’s guitarist on the infamous mid-’60s ‘Going Electric’ tours and, as leader of The Band, collaborated on groundbreaking album ‘The Basement Tapes’, helping to invent the Americana genre.

The Band hit it big with their debut album ‘Music from Big Pink’, which included classic track ‘The Weight’, which graces numerous movie soundtracks (in case the name doesn’t register, listen to this and you will recognize it immediately). In 1969, The Band played at Woodstock and became the first North American rock group to appear on the cover of Time magazine.

They would go on to enjoy many more hit albums and singles, and when Robertson left the band in 1976 to pursue a solo career, the final concert was captured forever in iconic Martin Scorsese documentary ‘The Last Waltz’.

Robbie Robertson in Martin Scorsese's 'The Last Waltz.' Courtesy of United Artists.

Robertson’s work in film

(L to R) Martin Scorsese and Robbie Robertson at a screening of 'The Last Waltz' at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019.

In addition to his solo work, Robertson became a frequent collaborator with Scorsese, working on 14 movies together including ‘The Irishman’, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, ‘Gangs of New York’, ‘Casino’, ‘The King of Comedy’ and ‘Raging Bull’. His work as composer will also be heard in the director’s latest, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’, due in theaters on October 20th.

In addition to his work with Scorsese, he also contributed to the 1988 Bill Murray Christmas comedy ‘Scrooged’, recording a poppy, keyboard-heavy cover of The Band’s “Christmas Must Be Tonight,” which he wrote originally for the album ‘Islands’.

Martin Scorsese released the following statement about his friend and colleague:

“Robbie Robertson was one of my closest friends, a constant in my life and my work. I could always go to him as a confidante. A collaborator. An advisor. I tried to be the same for him. Long before we ever met, his music played a central role in my life — me and millions and millions of other people all over this world. The Band’s music, and Robbie’s own later solo music, seemed to come from the deepest place at the heart of this continent, its traditions and tragedies and joys. It goes without saying that he was a giant, that his effect on the art form was profound and lasting. There’s never enough time with anyone you love. And I loved Robbie.”

(L to R) Robbie Robertson and Bob Dylan in 'Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band,' a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo credit: © Barry Feinstein.

Here’s the note on Robertson’s death released by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, into which The Band were inducted in 1994:

“The architect and primary songwriter of The Band, 1994 inductee Robbie Robertson changed the course of popular music in the late 1960s. Though born and raised in Canada, Robertson found poetry in America’s history and mythology, and with a fusion of blues, rock, folk, R&B and country, his compositions embodied the genre that came to be known as Americana. Such songs as ‘The Weight,’ ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,’ and ‘Up On Cripple Creek’ have become cultural monuments, thematically fusing the past with the present and leaving an immeasurable impact. Robertson’s razor-sharp guitar leads were a critical part of The Band’s sound, and after the group’s original lineup ended with the epic concert and film ‘The Last Waltz’, he went on to an acclaimed solo career and extensive work scoring films, including those of director Martin Scorsese.”

Robertson is survived by his wife, Janet; his children, Alexandra, Sebastian, Delphine; grandchildren Angelica, Donovan, Dominic, Gabriel and Seraphina.