Robbie Robertson, frontman of The Band, dies aged 80
Robbie Robertson, frontman of The Band, dies aged 80
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To play this video you need JavaScript enabled in your browser. < /figure>By Christy CooneyBBC News
Robbie Robertson, guitarist and songwriter for Canadian-American band The Band, has died aged 80.
A statement from his manager says he died on Wednesday surrounded by his family after a long illness.
The Band were an influential band in the late 1960s and were also the subject of The Last Waltz, a 1978 Martin Scorsese film about their farewell concert.
Robertson wrote some of their best-known songs, including The Weight and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.
< p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10">Born Jaime Royal Robertson in Toronto in 1943, he left home to pursue a career in music at the age of 16.
In addition to their own music, The Band were known for touring as Bob Dylan's backing band before the success of their 1968 debut album, Music From Big Pink.
They released a series of acclaimed albums in the 1970s and, after playing their last gig as a full band in 1976, reunited without Robertson for a number of tours and studio releases throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Along with keyboardist Garth Hudson, Robertson was one of two surviving members of The Band's classic lineup.
After The Last Waltz, he collaborated with Scorsese on soundtracks for some of the director's best-known films, including the 1980 classic Raging Bull and The Irishman of 2019.
To play this video you need JavaScript enabled in your browser. < /figure>By Christy CooneyBBC News
Robbie Robertson, guitarist and songwriter for Canadian-American band The Band, has died aged 80.
A statement from his manager says he died on Wednesday surrounded by his family after a long illness.
The Band were an influential band in the late 1960s and were also the subject of The Last Waltz, a 1978 Martin Scorsese film about their farewell concert.
Robertson wrote some of their best-known songs, including The Weight and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.
< p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10">Born Jaime Royal Robertson in Toronto in 1943, he left home to pursue a career in music at the age of 16.
In addition to their own music, The Band were known for touring as Bob Dylan's backing band before the success of their 1968 debut album, Music From Big Pink.
They released a series of acclaimed albums in the 1970s and, after playing their last gig as a full band in 1976, reunited without Robertson for a number of tours and studio releases throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Along with keyboardist Garth Hudson, Robertson was one of two surviving members of The Band's classic lineup.
After The Last Waltz, he collaborated with Scorsese on soundtracks for some of the director's best-known films, including the 1980 classic Raging Bull and The Irishman of 2019.
