Robbie Robertson, The Band co-founder, primary songwriter and guitarist, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 80.
Robertson also served as the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan in the ‘60s and ’70s and collaborated with Martin Scorsese on a number of films, including the director’s most recent project, “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
“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,” his manager, Jared Levine, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “He is also survived by his grandchildren Angelica, Donovan, Dominic, Gabriel, and Seraphina.”
ROBBIE ROBERTSON’S LIFE IN PICTURES
Robbie Robertson, co-founder of The Band, died Wednesday. He was 80. (Getty Images)
Levine, his manager of 34 years, added, “Robertson recently completed his fourteenth film music project with frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.'”
“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,” Scorsese said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
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“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.”
Robertson was an accomplished songwriter, film soundtrack producer and composer. (Don Dixon)
Martin Scorsese had a close relationship with Robertson, not only as a friend but also as a longtime collaborator on film projects. (George Pimentel/Getty Images)
Scorsese and Robertson first collaborated on “The Last Waltz” and then the 1980 hit “Raging Bull.” (Lynn Goldsmith)
Scorsese added, “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.”
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In addition to his work with The Band and Dylan, Robertson was an accomplished composer, and he scored and sourced music for “Raging Bull,” “The King of Comedy” and “The Color of Money.”
He also worked on “Casino,” “Gangs of New York” and “The Departed,” and he provided music supervision for “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Shutter Island” and “Silence.”
Robertson performs with The Band at the Royal Albert Hall in London on June 3, 1971. (Michael Putland/Getty Images)
Steven Van Zandt of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band remembered Robertson as a “good friend and a genius.”
“The Band’s music shocked the excess out of the Renaissance and were an essential part of the final back-to-the-roots trend of ‘60s,” he shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. “He was an underrated brilliant guitar player adding greatly to Bob Dylan’s best tour & best album.”
Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood wrote, “Such sad news about Robbie Robertson – he was a lovely man, a great friend and will be dearly missed xx R.”
Joni Mitchell shared an image with the late songwriter and wrote, “Rest in peace Robbie Robertson, legendary lead guitarist of The Band, fellow Canadian, and cherished collaborator of Joni’s. May his legacy and musical harmony resonate for generations to come.”
From left: The Band included Garth Hudson, Robertson, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel and Rick Danko. (Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns)
Robertson was born in Toronto and raised on the Six Nations Reserve. He began playing guitar at age 10. By the time he was 16, he and Levon Helm formed the Hawks and were the backing band for rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins.
“The Hawks went on to play with Bob Dylan on his legendary ‘Going Electric’ tours in 1965 and 1966,” Levine wrote. “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.
“In 1969, The Band performed at the Woodstock Festival before releasing an eponymous album that included the Robertson-composed ‘Up On Cripple Creek’ and ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.’”
Levine shared, “In 1976, The Band bade farewell to live performing with the gala ‘The Last Waltz’ concert on Thanksgiving night. Guests such as Dylan, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell joined the group at San Francisco’s Winterland. The concert film, directed by Martin Scorsese, and a three-record box set, were released in 1978 and are considered landmarks in each medium.”
In 1994, The Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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