Heartbreaking news: Robbie Robertson has died at age 80. The founding member of The Band, I’m told, had a short battle with aggressive cancer. It’s almost hard to believe since just recently scored Martin Scorsese’s movie, “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Robbie and Scorsese had a long, close relationship going back to the 1970s when Scorsese filmed “The Last Waltz.”
I was lucky enough to know Robbie, we shared a mutual friend. He was such a great musician and a gentle soul. I was there when he debuted his documentary about The Band at the Toronto Film Festival, which some said erred a little too much on his side. But even with the various machinations of being in a band of geniuses, the combined efforts of Robbie, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson produced a body of work that has never — and will never — go out of style.
Of course, The Band was known sort of as Bob Dylan’s backup group thanks to “The Basement Tapes.” But they stood out on their own with albums like ‘Stage Fright” and “Music from Big Pink” and songs like “The Weight.” I always loved Robbie’s solo records, too, especially this one below, “Broken Arrow.” What a sad day. Condolences to his family.
