2023’s Music Losses “Top” Ten: Robbie Robertson (#5)

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Somehow I end up saying this every January: I’m sure glad it’s raining and not sn*wing out there. According to the National Weather Service’s data, we’ve had 5 1/2 inches of rain this month. That would be six feet of sn*w! I also say this every January: we sure lost a lot of music greats last year. Here’s another one of my favorites who said goodbye in 2023. #5: Robbie Robertson Please bookmark this discussion to see if I’m correct. Today, January 27, 2024, I’m predicting that Robbie Robertson will win the Academy Award for his score of Killers of the Flower Moon. How do I know that? The Academy has a long, long history of giving awards to people who died. Yeah, they could have nominated him for any of the other Martin Scorsese films he worked on (their cinematic relationship began when Scorsese directed The Last Waltz, the documentary/concert of the last performance of The Band). But he was alive then. Jaded, I know. But it’s the truth. Warren Zevon and Steve Goodman never got nominated for a Grammy until they died, then they won. Enough grousing. I have to say this in utter amazement: how did the name The Band last long enough for Robertson and his mates, the backing band for Bob Dylan when he “went electric,” to be the first to lay claim to it???? The Band began as the Hawks, the backing band for Ronnie Hawkins. Honing their craft in the rockabilly world, Bob Dylan hired them for his first “electric” tour (including the infamous “Judas!” gig [where someone called Dylan a “Judas” for abandoning folk music in favor of rock and roll]). When Dylan was injured in a motorcycle wreck and touring was put on hold, the band (then called “the Crackers,” despite the fact that only one [Levon Helm] was from the southern US [the other four members were Canadian]) began recording at a house Dylan used for rehearsals. The result: Music From Big Pink, the name The Band (they said it was simultaneously humbling and presumptuous…and they were right), and the genesis of what we now know as “Americana music.” Blending folk, country, R&B, blues, and anything else that American music had to offer (yes, including jazz), The Band created something singularly fresh and unique in the world of “acid rock” and “psychedelic rock” of the late 60s. The Band lasted until 1976, when their final concert was filmed as The Last Waltz. After the split, Robertson continued his relationship with Scorsese, doing the music scores for films such as Raging Bull, The Color of Money, and The King of Comedy. Then Robertson decided to resume his rock and roll career. He released a masterpiece of a solo debut, Robbie Robertson, in 1987. He continued working hard in music everywhere, from producer (he worked with Tom Petty on Southern Accents and Neil Diamond on Beautiful Noise) to movies to his own solo work. As Robertson’s mother was Cayuga and Mohawk (he was Canadian, so I can’t call him a “Native American,” can I?), Robertson did a considerable amount of work exploring the music of the indigenous nations. That’s what led him to Killers of the Flower Moon, which, if you don’t know, is based on a real event surrounding greedy politicians trying to run the Osage off their land after oil was discovered there. Robertson had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022, and it caused his death on August 9, 2023, a month after his 80th birthday. Robertson’s legacy in his solo work, the work with The Band, and his movie scores will ensure he’s never forgotten. Watch for his name to be announced at the Oscars this year. Robbie Robertson Born Jaime Royal Robertson July 5, 1943 - August 9, 2023 (age 80) HALL OF FAME: Rock and Roll (with The Band), 1993; Canadian Music (with The Band), 1989; Canadian Songwriters, 2010 Here’s one of the best-known songs from The Band, “The Weight”: