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The music world unites in grief following the passing of legendary musician Robbie Robertson

Matthew Hart
Aug 11, 2023
As news of Robertson's passing broke, the music community joined high-profile figures to pay tribute and reflect on his legacy. Source: Getty Images.

The global music community has united in grief as it bids farewell to legendary musician Robbie Robertson, The Band’s lead guitarist and songwriter, with an outpouring of heartfelt tributes.

Robertson passed away on Wednesday, August 9 in Los Angeles at the age of 80 after reportedly suffering a long illness.

In a statement, Robertson’s manager Jared Levine, issued a statement announcing the musician’s passing, revealing that he was “surrounded by his family at the time of his death, including his wife, Janet, his ex-wife, Dominique, her partner Nicholas, and his children Alexandra, Sebastian, Delphine, and Delphine’s partner Kenny.”

“He is also survived by his grandchildren Angelica, Donovan, Dominic, Gabriel, and Seraphina. Robertson recently completed his fourteenth film music project with frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon,” the statement read.

Born July 5, 1943, in Toronto, Ontario, Robertson began taking guitar lessons from a young age with his cousin and eventually graduated to compose his first songs before eventually dropping out of school to pursue a career as a performer.

In 1958, he joined Ronnie Hawkins’ band the Hawks, joining fellow members Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, and Richard Manuel.

As the Hawks began to branch out they eventually came to the attention of Bob Dylan, and became the supporting act for the legendary singer’s 1965-1966 world tour.

Robertson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame as a member of the Band. He was also added to Canada’s Walk of Fame, both with the Band and as a solo performer.

He holds the 59th spot in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the top 100 guitarists. Robertson is known for creating songs like The Weight, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down with the Band. He also had successful solo tracks like Broken Arrow and Somewhere Down the Crazy River, among many others.

He was also inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Academy of Songwriters.

As news of Robertson’s passing broke, the music community joined high-profile figures to pay tribute and reflect on his legacy.

Roberston is survived by his second wife, Janet Zuccarini, two daughters, Alexandra and Delphine, son Sebastian, and five grandchildren.

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