Guitarist, songwriter, and singer Robbie Robertson, best known for leading the Canadian-American rock group The Band to stardom, has died. He was 80.
Robertson died Wednesday in Los Angeles after a long illness, according to an announcement from his management. In a statement, Robertson’s manager of 34 years, Jared Levine, said:
“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. 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 a new Woodland Cultural Center.”
Robertson is perhaps best remembered for the classics he wrote for The Band, including “The Weight,” “Up On Cripple Creek,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “The Shape I’m In” and “It Makes No Difference.”
In addition to his time with The Band, Robertson also worked on music for the big screen, teaming up with Martin Scorsese – who directed The Band’s 1976 classic documentary, The Last Waltz – on era-spanning films such as Raging Bull (1980), Casino (1996), The Departed (2006), The Irishman (2019), and most recently the upcoming The Killers of the Flower Moon (2023).
Over the years, Roberston engaged in memorable conversations at SiriusXM, including one where he called working with Bob Dylan:
Check out his archival interviews on the SiriusXM App now, plus this clip featuring Robertson talking about his creative process:
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