Canadian · 1943–2023
Robbie Robertson (1943-2023) was a Canadian guitarist, songwriter and film composer. Born in Toronto to a Mohawk mother and a Jewish father, he spent boyhood summers on the Six Nations Reserve. At sixteen he joined Ronnie Hawkins's band, the Hawks, which later became the Band and backed Bob Dylan on his 1966 electric tour. As the Band's main songwriter, Robertson wrote "The Weight," "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Up on Cripple Creek." The group ended with The Last Waltz in 1976, filmed by Martin Scorsese. Robertson then scored many of Scorsese's films, including Raging Bull, Casino, The Departed and Killers of the Flower Moon. He also released solo albums, among them Music for The Native Americans, which drew on his Indigenous heritage. The Band entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. His memoir Testimony appeared in 2016. His account of the Band's story, and his songwriting credits, caused a long dispute with Levon Helm.