Robbie Robertson

  • Toronto, Canada
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  • Classic Rock
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  • 1960
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About Robbie Robertson


One of the premier songwriters of the rock era, Robbie Robertson was born July 5, 1943, in Toronto, Ontario. The son of a Jewish father and Mohawk mother, Jaime Robbie Robertson's first brush with live music came at the Six Nations Reservation, his mother's girlhood home; at the age of five, he also gained exposure to the country music of rural America. Not long after, he began taking guitar lessons from a cousin, and gradually began composing his first songs. As time wore on, his musical interests evolved from country to big band to rock, and he eventually dropped out of school to pursue a career as a performer.

In 1958, he hooked up with rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins' backing band the Hawks, joining fellow sidemen Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, and Richard Manuel. After remaining with Hawkins through 1963, the Hawks began working on their own; they soon came to the attention of Bob Dylan, and became the support unit on the singer's now-legendary 1965-1966 world tour. Continuing their affiliation with Dylan, the group, renamed simply the Band, went on to become one of rock's seminal acts; propelled by Robertson's acute, evocative examinations of American mythology and lore, they made a series of seminal LPs, including 1968's Music from Big Pink and the following year's self-titled masterpiece.

The Band dissolved on Thanksgiving Day 1976 following an all-star concert filmed by director Martin Scorsese and later released as The Last Waltz. The project marked the beginning of Robertson's long affiliation with Scorsese, as well as an interest in dramatic acting; in 1980, Robertson produced and starred in Carny, co-starring Jodie Foster and Gary Busey. Also in 1980, he composed the score to Scorsese's brilliant Raging Bull, and continued to confine his musical activity to the film medium for the next several years, later working with Scorsese on the acerbic 1983 satire The King of Comedy and 1986's The Color of Money, the sequel to The Hustler.

Finally, in 1987 Robertson released his self-titled solo debut, which included guest appearances from onetime Band-mates Danko and Hudson as well as U2, Peter Gabriel, Daniel Lanois, and Gil Evans. Storyville, a conceptual piece steeped in the sounds and imagery of a famed area of New Orleans, followed in 1991. In 1994, Robertson returned to his roots, teaming with the Native American group the Red Road Ensemble for Music for the Native Americans, a collection of songs composed for a television documentary series. Contact from the Underworld of Redboy followed in 1998.

In 2000, Robertson joined Dreamworks as a creative executive; he signed Nelly Furtado and other artists to the label. In 2002, he performed at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, UT. He appeared on Jerry Lee Lewis' comeback recording Last Man Standing in 2006, and made an appearance at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2007. Robertson also remained close to Scorsese. He composed, consulted on, and produced soundtracks for Casino and The Departed, and acted as executive music director on Gangs of New York. He also contributed original music to Shutter Island. Robertson returned to recording with the album How to Become Clairvoyant on the 429 Records imprint in 2011. The album featured guest appearances by Clapton, Steve Winwood, Trent Reznor, Robert Randolph, Tom Morello, and Angela McCluskey. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

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Music

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    Fallen Angel
  • Somewhere Down The Crazy River
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    Somewhere Down The Crazy River
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    • Somewhere Down The Crazy River
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    • Showdown At Big Sky
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    • Broken Arrow
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    • Fallen Angel
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    • Unbound
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News

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  • Robbie Robertson
    Robbie Robertson Announces First Studio Album in 13 Years
    Paste
    time ago, continuing to do so even decades after its demise. Founding guitarist Robbie Robertson has gone on to have a nice solo career, releasing fou...
    Read More
  • Robbie Robertson
    Robbie Robertson Recruits Dawes as Live Band
    Paste
    Robertson knows a thing or two about live music. The guitarist toured with The Band for 16 years straight before the group's renowned farewell perform...
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  • Robbie Robertson
    Watch Robbie Robertson and Dawes Perform on Letterman
    Paste
    Robertson recently announced his decision to recruit Americana-rockers Dawes for a series of appearances in support of his recently-released new album...
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  • Robbie Robertson
    Robbie Robertson Returns To TV, But No Concerts or Festivals Planned | Billboard.com
    www.billboard.com
    full-length concert was a show in Sicily related to his Native American music project. "There are no festival gigs planned," Robertson's manager, Jare...
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  • Robbie Robertson
    Stream Robbie Robertson's New Solo Album
    American Songwriter
    Robbie Robertson's latest solo album, the autobiographical How To Become Clairvoyant, in its entirety this week. The idea for the album, due April 5, ...
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  • Robbie Robertson
    Q&A: Robbie Robertson On The Clairvoyant Collector's Set, "The Weight" And More
    American Songwriter
    . Vinyl is really important for geeky audiophiles. Yes, it's clear vinyl. With black vinyl you can cheat a bit, but with clear you'll hear every inch ...
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  • Robbie Robertson
    Robbie Robertson And Dawes Team Up For Letterman
    American Songwriter
    Robbie Robertson performed on TV for the first time in over a decade last night, burning through his new single "He Don't Live Here No More" on Late N...
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  • Robbie Robertson
    Robbie Robertson 'So Saddened' Over Levon Helm Illness | Billboard.com
    www.billboard.com
    of support from a pair of his Band mates. "Last week I was shocked and so saddened to hear that my old band mate, Levon, was in the final stages of hi...
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  • Robbie Robertson
    Robbie Robertson Comments On Levon Helm
    American Songwriter
    Former bandmates Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm have had a strained relationship since the Band's original lineup dissolved in 1976. Helm was critica...
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  • Robbie Robertson
    Levon Helm and Songwriting: Larry Campbell and Robbie Robertson Weigh In
    American Songwriter
    debate about credit for The Band's incredible output continues When writing the September/October issue's cover story about Levon Helm's life and lega...
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Discography

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  • How to Become Clairvoyant (2011)
    Robbie Robertson
    How to Become Clairvoyant (2011)
    Fontana
  • Contact from the Underworld of Red Boy (1998)
    Robbie Robertson
    Contact from the Underworld of Red Boy (1998)
    Capitol/EMI Records
  • Music for the Native Americans (1994)
    Robbie Robertson
    Music for the Native Americans (1994)
    Capitol/EMI Records
  • Storyville (1991)
    Robbie Robertson
    Storyville (1991)
    Geffen Records
  • Robbie Robertson (1987)
    Robbie Robertson
    Robbie Robertson (1987)
    Geffen Records
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