FILE - Robbie Robertson performing with The Band in San Francisco in 1976

 

Robbie Robertson, lead guitarist and songwriter of The Band, has died aged 80.

 

Robertson was behind such classics as The Weight, Up On Cripple Creek, and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.

His manager of 34 years, Jared Levine, wrote: "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.

 

Full story: https://news.sky.com/story/robbie-robertson-lead-guitarist-and-songwriter-of-the-band-dies-aged-80-12937002

 

-- © Copyright  SKY NEWS 2023-08-10

Sad news, his score for Raging Bull was class 

Another one passed on,  another Canadian. Bugger. Hope he left stage left & quietly.

I often wonder who will remember these legends?

Thanks to my Pop, I fondly remember Max Bygraves, Des O'Connor, Ricky Vallance and Engelbert Humperdinky (sic????).

Music to me transcends all boundaries.????????

 

Cut my teenage teeth on the Band. Loved em all my life. Thank you mate for such joy, both stoned and straight.

Robbie was a legend in his own lifetime.

I liked a lot of the songs that Robbie wrote and sang.  Being a boomer is not easy, as so many of us are now dying off.

  

  

Very sorry to hear that. I loved his later music in the 90's with the Red Road Ensemble and the canadian aboriginals style, he was often the soundrack in my car during long night trips. Thank you Robbie, RIP.

RIP Smokey Robinson
 

 

I saw The Band 4 times: Fillmore East, Schaefer Harvard Stadium, Boston Symphony Hall and Watkins Glen. Janis Joplin gave one of her final performances here. I remember one Boston writer saying The Band came on more like the Budapest String Quartet than a rock band. Great stuff. I like their performance at 1971 Academy of Music more than the Last Waltz.

 

His later years tiff with Levon Helm over song-writing credits was sad. 

On a separate note, the TMZ report is that RR died from prostate cancer. No one should have to die from prostate cancer.

I love the part in the Once Were Brothers doco when Robbie explains the beginnings of one of his 2 most famous songs. "The Weight" (the other being The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down).

 

He said he was noodling around on his C.F. Martin acoustic guitar when he looked inside of it and saw that the Martin Company was based in Nazareth, PA. Thus come the opening line:

 

I pulled into Nazareth,

was feeling 'bout half-past dead.

 

I also once read elsewhere that he saw the song like a Luis Buñuel movie

From the available information, it would seem that, by the time a problem was recognized, it had already progressed to  prostate cancer metastasis else a radical prostate removal would have been available.

15 hours ago, jerrymahoney said:

From the available information, it would seem that, by the time a problem was recognized, it had already progressed to  prostate cancer metastasis else a radical prostate removal would have been available.

That's sad.