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Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson

July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023

Robbie was 16 years old when he joined the Hawks as a guitarist.
The band went on to play with Bob Dylan during his "Going
Electric” tours in 1965 and 1966. Two years later, the
Hawks were renamed The Band. They recorded their
first two albums "Music from Big Pink" and "The Band".
The group rose to fame in the early 1970s with a sold-out
tour and a number one album "Planet Waves" along with
their appearance at Woodstock.

Robertson's work with the Band was instrumental in
creating the Americana music genre. He was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame as a
member of The Band, and into Canada's Walk of
Fame, with the Band and on his own. He is ranked
59th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100
greatest guitarists.

Roy Buchanan, a few years older than Robertson,
was briefly a member of the Hawks and became
an important influence on Robertson's guitar
style: "Standing next to Buchanan on stage for
several months, Robertson was able to absorb
Buchanan's deft manipulations with his volume
speed dial, his tendency to bend multiple strings
for steel guitar-like effect, his rapid sweep picking,
and his passion for bending past the root and fifth
notes during solo flights."

He wrote ‘The Weight’, ‘The Night They Drove Old
Dixie Down’, and ‘Up on Cripple Creek’ with the
Band and had solo hits with ’Broken Arrow’ and
’Somewhere Down the Crazy River’, and many
others. He was inducted into the Canadian
Songwriters Hall of Fame, and received a Lifetime
Achievement Award from the National Academy
of Songwriters.

In what was intended to be a farewell gig, The
Band booked The Winterland Ballroom, in San Francisco for an event called “The Last Waltz”.
The gig included Ronnie Hawkins, Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield, Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Eric
Clapton, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris and others. The
event was filmed by Martin Scorsese, a moment which later led to a new venture for Robertson—
writing and making music for movies with the title Executive Music Producer.

Robertson died in Los Angeles on August 9, 2023, at the age of 80, after a year-long illness with
prostate cancer.

Ian K McKenzie