Vale Robbie Robertson

[CliffMcTainshaw]

Wonderful musician and a truly wonderful person. What a contribution to music.
This was his contribution during Covid. Playing for Change, if you haven't seen this, watch it, you are in for a huge treat.


See what he thought of his career.

 

[Professor Knowall]

I was still in Paris when I got news of the passing of Robbie Robinson. In addition to his guitar and vocal skills, he penned some great songs, joining that pantheon of Canadian singer-songwriters that includes Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Buffie Sainte-Marie, Fred Eaglesmith and, of course, Gordon Lightfoot, amongst others.

He was also one that took himself on a pilgrimage through the U.S. South before it really became a thing to do amongst music lovers, seeking out the places like the Mississippi delta and Appalachians that birthed the blues and country music and through them, rock and roll. Out of that trip, and the research he did into southern history and culture, he wrote what is my favourite Robinson penned song ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’ (the most successful of many covers, though not for me the best, was by Joan Baez)

The song is full of historical allusions (not all totally accurate) to the immediate aftermath of the Civil War and the devastation it left in the South. To mention just 2 examples, the Robert E. Lee mentioned in the second verse of the song is a steamboat named after the general that was launched on the Mississippi river in 1866. The line “… I don’t care that the money’s no good …” refers to the fact most Southerners were only left with Confederate currency at the end of the war.

This clip comes from their famous final concert - The Last Waltz, and starts with a most apt tribute Robinson makes to his former friend and band-mate, Levon Helm, who puts everything he has in this. They are now both meeting “on the other end”, as Robinson concludes in his tribute -

 

[Spearman]

Robertson is HoF for writing The Weight at a minimum. The Band and him were of their time in the late 60s, and defined what would become Americana.
The Last Waltz is still an epic live show and highly recommended.

 

[Gough]

He also had some of the finest singers you could ever wish for to interpret his songs. Whether it's something like the Weight or Acadian Driftwood where Rick, Levon and Richard share verses or songs like It Makes No Difference or Dixie or Whispering Pines which each respectively made their own he had a sound at his finger tips that few other did, then add Garth Hudson into the mix... That's before you even talk about his role with Dylan going electric and the seismic ripples that caused or that Clapton broke up Cream because of The Band, dude changed music.

 

[mellowyellow]

Not familiar with his early material but his 1987 album is essential listening

 

[No eye deer]

Rock in Peace Robby!
I ****ing love The Band!
What they did changed things in the late sixty’s.
The Last Waltz is a top 5 concert movie for sure!