Robbie Robertson, the guitarist and songwriter for The Band, passed away on August 9th from complications of prostate cancer. Anyone that knows me knows that The Band is one of my all-time favorite bands, EVER! There was a reason that no one argued that these guys called themselves The Band. They could play anything, as a group, and they fit in with anyone.
With the passing of each member, starting with Richard Manuel in 1986, I continually had a piece of my soul ripped out. I was able to see Rick Danko at a live solo show shortly before he died in 1999 (strangely, a few days before he had passed, he played The Ark in Ann Arbor, and signed one of the green room walls with the statement “I’m not feeling well”). If I were to say the one bassist that my style was most like, it was Rick.
I was also able to catch Levon Helm perform at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville a day prior to one of the Americana Music Association’s annual conference in 2008. Even though the original band had broken up in 1976 as seen in the triumphant film The Last Waltz, one could tell in Levon’s performance that there was still a piece of The Band in his heart.
I remember also watching the 1989 Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent to the Grammys) on the Windsor station that we could watch here in Detroit. Robbie, Rick, and Garth Hudson (along with Richard’s children) accepted the Hall of Fame award, then the three performed “The Weight” with Blue Rodeo (another of my all-time favorite bands) backing them up.
The breakup of The Band had a lot to do with songwriting control. Many of the songs, especially all of them on their self-titled second album, were credited to Robbie. Other members, especially Levon, claimed that they had contributed to the compositions. Levon wrote about it in his autobiography This Wheel’s On Fire, and held that grudge to his death. For Robbie’s part, he often admitted that other members threw in ideas. Like The Beatles, the members of The Band became too close, like a family, and had their family arguments, which led to a divorce.
I always had respect for Robbie’s guitar playing. It was totally underrated by rock music listeners, but fellow musicians often praised his six-string work. Bob Dylan (who often worked with The Band), George Harrison, and Eric Clapton are just a few fans. In fact, Robbie was able to not only keep up with Clapton in a guitar duel in The Last Waltz, but even jumped in fast when Clapton’s guitar strap broke so there was no dead air. Robbie was humble about his guitar work, but I will always be in awe of his simple but effective intro to “The Weight.”
Robbie was a fan of film, and became good friends with The Last Waltz director Martin Scorsese. He would handle the soundtracks for a number of Scorsese’s films as well as other films. However, one of the best outputs I loved from Robbie was his 1987 self-titled solo release. Although he was from Toronto, his mother had Native-American roots, and his passion for this ancestry shows up in the music. He also secured some amazing talent to record with him, such as U2, Peter Gabriel, The BoDeans, and Maria McKee. Both Gorth and Rick also appeared on the album.
While I always had a leaning toward Levon as far as who was my favorite member, all of the members of The Band mean a lot to me. That includes Robbie, who was more than just a cog in the machine. His work in The Band helped make it the forefathers of the Americana music genre (no one can deny that “The Weight” is the Americana national anthem), and he will never be forgotten by those who understand how important his work was. This weekend, I plan on watching The Last Waltz.
Chew on it and comment.
Luegra 