THE AMERICA ONE NEWS
Jun 1, 2025  |  
0
 | Remer,MN
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge.
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge and Reasoning Support for Fantasy Sports and Betting Enthusiasts.
back  
topic
NY Post
New York Post
9 Aug 2023


NextImg:Robbie Robertson, The Band co-founder and guitarist, dead at 80

Robbie Robertson, the guitarist-songwriter-singer who lead the Canadian-American 1970s rock group The Band, has died. He was 80.

Robertson’s longtime manager, Jared Levine, confirmed his death to The Post on Wednesday, saying Robertson died in Los Angeles after a long illness.

“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,” Levine said in a statement.

“He is also survived by his grandchildren Angelica, Donovan, Dominic, Gabriel, and Seraphina. Robertson recently completed his fourteenth film music project with frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’ In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Six Nations of the Grand River to support the building of their new cultural center.”

Born on July 5, 1943, in Toronto, Robertson had roots in the Mohawk community at the Six Nations Reserve and the Jewish enclave of the city’s downtown.

At age 10, he began playing guitar, and in 1960 at the age of 16, he joined drummer Levon Helm in the Hawks, the backing band for rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins.

(L-R) Rick Danko, Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson of The Band pose for a group portrait in London in 1971.
Redferns

Robbie Robertson visits SiriusXM Studios on Feb. 11, 2020, in New York City.

Robbie Robertson visits SiriusXM Studios on Feb. 11, 2020, in New York City.
Getty Images

The Hawks went on to play with Bob Dylan on his legendary “Going Electric” tours in 1965 and 1966. Moving to Woodstock in 1967, Robertson and his bandmates recorded the seminal “basement tapes” with Dylan before changing their name to The Band and releasing the groundbreaking “Music from Big Pink” album in 1968.

Robertson was known for writing some of the group’s classic songs, including “The Weight,” “Up On Cripple Creek,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “The Shape I’m In” and “It Makes No Difference.”

Robertson poses for a portrait circa November 1994 at The National Museum of the American Indian in NYC.

Robertson poses for a portrait circa November 1994 at The National Museum of the American Indian in NYC.
Getty Images

By 1978, Robertson claimed every member of The Band was struggling with drugs and/or alcohol, so he claimed to have made the decision that the group would be done touring, which led to its demise.

“Our musical ability was disappearing before my eyes,” he told The Week in 2015. “You’re in a place and it’s on fire and you say, ‘I’ve got to get out of here.’”

Robertson and Janet Zuccarini attend the "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson And The Band" premiere during the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2019.

Robertson and Janet Zuccarini attend the “Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson And The Band” premiere during the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2019.
Getty Images for TIFF,

Ronnie Hawkins and Robbie Robertson (playing a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar) perform on stage at The Band's 'The Last Waltz' concert at Winterland Ballroom in 1976 in San Francisco.

Ronnie Hawkins and Robbie Robertson (playing a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar) perform on stage at The Band’s ‘The Last Waltz’ concert at Winterland Ballroom in 1976 in San Francisco.
Michael Ochs Archives

Robertson was inducted into both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (1989) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1994) as a member of the Band.

He was also inducted to Canada’s Walk of Fame as a solo act in 2003 and with The Band in 2014.

In 2019, Robertson received the Lifetime Achievement award at the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame.

Robbie Robertson of The Band during Grand Opening of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland in 1995.

Robbie Robertson of The Band during Grand Opening of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland in 1995.
FilmMagic, Inc

Robertson and Scorsese became collaborators after the famed director captured The Band’s farewell concert in 1976.

Starting in 1980, Robertson scored many of  Scorsese’s films, including “Raging Bull,” “The King of Comedy,” “The Color of Money,” “Gangs of New York,” “The Departed,” “Shutter Island,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Silence,” “The Irishman” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

Robertson receives the Lifetime Achievement Honor at the 2019 Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards on May 9, 2019, in Toronto.

Robertson receives the Lifetime Achievement Honor at the 2019 Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards on May 9, 2019, in Toronto.
FilmMagic

Martin Scorsese and Robbie Robertson attend "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson And The Band" after party on Sept. 5, 2019 in Toronto.

Martin Scorsese and Robbie Robertson attend “Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson And The Band” after party on Sept. 5, 2019 in Toronto.
Getty Images

Robertson released his solo album in 1987, and would go on to release five more albums. His solo hits include “Somewhere Down the Crazy River,” “Shine Your Light,” and “Broken Arrow.”

In 2016, Robertson released his memoir “Testimony,” which was made into the 2019 documentary film “Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson And The Band.”

At the time of his death, Robertson was writing his follow-up memoir and had just finished scoring Scorsese’s “Killers of The Flower Moon” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro, which will be released October 6.