Companion of Bob Dylan "The Band" founder Robbie Robertson has died at the age of 80
Robbie Robertson, guitarist and songwriter of the Canadian-American group The Band, has died at the age of 80. The musician was a companion of Bob Dylan for many years. He died after a long illness.
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- Robbie Robertson, former lead guitarist and songwriter of The Band, has died at the age of 80.
- He shaped the pop music of the 1960s and 70s.
- Robertson was also successful as Bob Dylan's backing musician and later as a solo artist.
He died at the age of 80 surrounded by his family: Robbie Robertson, former lead guitarist and songwriter of The Band, is dead. The Canadian died on Wednesday in Los Angeles "after a long illness", announced his spokesman Ray Costa.
Together with The Band, he shaped the pop music of the 1960s and 70s. The members started out as the backing band for rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins in the early 1960s, then became Bob Dylan's backing musicians and later enjoyed success as a solo group.
In addition to Robertson, the group included American drummer and singer Levon Helm and three other Canadians: bassist, singer and songwriter Rick Danko, keyboardist, singer and songwriter Richard Manuel and musical all-rounder Garth Hudson.
Career as a solo artist and soundtrack composer
Their first two albums, both released in the late 1960s, have shaped their musical legacy to this day: "Music from Big Pink" - named after the old house near Woodstock (US state of New York) where the band members lived - and "The Band".
In 1969, The Band performed in their neighborhood at the Woodstock Festival and later appeared on the cover of "Time Magazine". However, upcoming albums such as "Stage Fright" and "Cahoots" disappointed - including Robertson himself, who admitted that he found it difficult to come up with new ideas.
In the 1970s, Robertson moved to Los Angeles, while the others stayed close to Woodstock. In the early 1980s, the group re-formed without Robertson, and the former lead guitarist began a long career as a solo artist and soundtrack composer. Robertson worked closely with filmmaker Martin Scorsese.
There is now only one left of The Band
He was involved in the soundtracks for "The King of Comedy", "The Color of Money", "Departed" and "The Irishman", among others. He also produced the Neil Diamond album "Beautiful Noise".
In 1967, Robertson married the Canadian journalist Dominique Bourgeois, whom he later divorced. The marriage produced three children.
Only Garth Hudson is now left from the original line-up of the band: Richard Manuel was found dead in 1986, which was ruled a suicide. Rick Danko died of heart failure in 1999, Levon Helm of cancer in 2012.