According to Variety, Robbie Robertson, guitarist and singer-songwriter for Canadian-American rock outfit The Band, has passed away. Robertson’s management team announced he had succumbed to a chronic illness on Wednesday, August 9 in Los Angeles.
His long-time manager, Jared Levine, shared a heartfelt message in memory of Robertson, “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.”
In the statement, Levine also mentioned that Robertson had just completed his latest film music project with Martin Scorsese, a frequent collaborator, for Killers Of The Flower Moon. Robertson’s family have asked that fans who would like to send flowers in his memory instead choose to donate to the Six Nations of the Grand River for the support of building a new Woodland Cultural Center.
Robertson’s contributions to The Band’s discography are immense, from playing lead guitar to writing some of the rock group’s most beloved tracks including “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “The Weight” and “Up on Cripple Creek.” Robertson was one of The Band’s last surviving members along with keyboardist Garth Hudson.
Back in 2019, The Band’s self-titled album, which was originally released in 1969, received 50th anniversary vinyl reissue featuring six previously unreleased takes. The year before, in 2018, the group’s 1968 debut release, Music From Big Pink, was expanded into an anniversary edition as well.
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