stlukesguild
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I'm cross-posting this from my posts on the "What are you listening to?" thread because I believe Robbie Robertson is worth more attention than might be gotten on that thread.
With the passing of Robbie Robertson on August 9 at the age of 80 co-founder, songwriter, and guitarist of The Band, I had to give a listen to them again. They were a fantastic group and he was the frontman and primary songwriter. Although the group was initially founded in Canada, their music evokes early American music rooted in the South: folk, blues, R&B, country, jazz, rock & roll, etc... Robertson, was initially a member of The Hawks, the backing group for Ronnie Hawkins. The group was later hired by Bob Dylan for his 1965/66 concerts where he first went electric. They were introduced then as "the band". After Dylan was injured in a motorcycle accident, he and the band went into semi-seclusion in Woodstock, New York where they recorded a good number of tracks that were released years later as "The Basement Tapes". The Band eventually rented their own house known as "The Big Pink" in Woodstock where they began recording their first album, Music from Big Pink. The Band recorded 8 albums (not including the "Basement Tapes" and Planet Waves with Bob Dylan, and the live recordings from The Last Waltz) before disbanding in 1977 after their final concert, documented in Martin Scorsese's film, The Last Waltz. Robertson carried on recording several solo albums including a good number of soundtracks for Scorsese.
RIP
to one of the greats.
With the passing of Robbie Robertson on August 9 at the age of 80 co-founder, songwriter, and guitarist of The Band, I had to give a listen to them again. They were a fantastic group and he was the frontman and primary songwriter. Although the group was initially founded in Canada, their music evokes early American music rooted in the South: folk, blues, R&B, country, jazz, rock & roll, etc... Robertson, was initially a member of The Hawks, the backing group for Ronnie Hawkins. The group was later hired by Bob Dylan for his 1965/66 concerts where he first went electric. They were introduced then as "the band". After Dylan was injured in a motorcycle accident, he and the band went into semi-seclusion in Woodstock, New York where they recorded a good number of tracks that were released years later as "The Basement Tapes". The Band eventually rented their own house known as "The Big Pink" in Woodstock where they began recording their first album, Music from Big Pink. The Band recorded 8 albums (not including the "Basement Tapes" and Planet Waves with Bob Dylan, and the live recordings from The Last Waltz) before disbanding in 1977 after their final concert, documented in Martin Scorsese's film, The Last Waltz. Robertson carried on recording several solo albums including a good number of soundtracks for Scorsese.
RIP
to one of the greats.
