Said Robbie Robertson, on the Marc Maron podcast, in 2017, previously blogged here.
Robertson died today, at the age of 80, I'm reading in the NYT obituary — Robbie Robertson, Guitarist and Songwriter With the Band, Dies at 80/The music he and his bandmates made stood out by inverting the increasing volume and mania of psychedelic rock. 'We just went completely left when everyone else went right,' he once said."
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30 comments:
This is the tough part of getting old - watching your heroes fade away and die.
That's sad. He was a very talented and skilled musician.
He didn't just write hit songs, he wrote songs that belong in the Great American Songbook. As the leader of The Band, he was blessed with soulful musicians he could turn to for just the right vocal nuance. I saw them many times, including the 1974 tour with Bob Dylan.
RIP Robertson.
Garth Hudson - older than the rest - becomes the sole survivor.
I love Up on Cripple Creek
Robertson didn't sing that one, but he wrote it.
I had some ideas for ‘Up On Cripple Creek’ when we were still based in Woodstock making Music From Big Pink. Then after Woodstock, I went to Montreal and my daughter Alexandra was born. We had been snowed in at Woodstock and in Montreal it was freezing, so we went to Hawaii, really as some kind of a way to get some warmth, and to begin preparing for making our second album. I think it was really pieces and ideas coming on during that travelling process that sparked the idea about a man who just drives these trucks across the whole country. I don’t remember where I sat down and finished the song, though.
more on the song here
Really original song, always loved it. RIP, brother.
blogger went glitchy on me so apologies if I published twice or thrice
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down is a beautiful song. It is a shame lots of people today can't enjoy it because anything about the Civil War today has to be reduced to South evil, North good.
Amazing that a Canadian wrote The Night They Drove old Dixie Down. Great song that is politically so incorrect now, but really was back in the day as well. Acadian Driftwood also a great song about some of the forgotten losers in history
"And it was a place to go, like a workshop... And this had been a dream of mine: If we could only have the clubhouse, where we could go every day, and we could lock ourselves away from the world and create something that we are meant to do, that we are on a mission to do."
You know, like Satriale's,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satriale%27s_Pork_Store
All I know about Robbie and The Band is from Scorsese's "Last Waltz". One of the better of the very few concert videos I've ever viewed.
Enjoyed that very much.
Decent actor also..
Two brilliant songs. Pure Americana.
RIP Robbie. A legend.
Levon was made to sing "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." Apparently Robbie wrote it for Levon after Levon took him to visit his Dad in rural Alabama or Arkansas, I forget which one.
Also the Pointer Sister woman was born to sing "The Weight."
It was Arkansas (and there is nothing that The Woke can't try to ruin. https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/the-night-they-drove-old-dixie-down-needs-no-redemption/
They did not like the way Joan Baez changed the lyrics to The Night They Laid Old Dixie Down and said so in an interview.
I liked their song "Chest Fever" but that one seems lost in the sands of time.
"Ophelia, please darken my door."
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJp0CzMYY_w
He will be missed.
Sad. The Band's music was a special part of my youth. Can still remember listening to them for the first time at a friend's house during middle school.
I wasn't surprised when the other members passed away. But Robbie's death gave me a bit of a jolt. He was always the young, sensible one that seemed destined for a long life.
Used to be that 80 was a long life span, now it's average. Didn't know that he was only two years younger than Dylan, who is 82.
boatbuilder said...
"Also the Pointer Sister woman was born to sing "The Weight." "
Is he talking about Mavis staples?
Blogger boatbuilder said...
Also the Pointer Sister woman was born to sing "The Weight."
———-FYI that woman (who is indeed born to sing “the weight”! ) is Mavis Staples, with her sisters and her dad “Pops” Staples, who together formed the Staples Singers. Saw her with Bob Dylan a few years ago and she had the audience— many of whom were young and unfamiliar with her—in the palm of her hand. There’s a good documentary about her that might still be on some of the streaming services
https://youtu.be/FiPLfwi2Uqo
RIP Robbie Robertson, a truly talented original
RIP. Being an American who grew up in Canada I always have a sweet place in my heart for the Canadians who went south to make it big. Quote has some serious BAP vibes with all the "boys get together in the treehouse and change the world" stuff. Lindy. The modern take lets girls in like The Famous Five. But Enid Blyton didn't stray too far from the treehouse.
Broken Record podcast from Pushkin ...
In honor of Robbie Robertson's passing we're replaying an old episode ...
When Robbie Robertson turned a house perched above Malibu beach into a home studio in the 1970's, he had no idea it'd remain a refuge for artists decades later. In this episode, Robbie returns to Shangri La -- now the home of our own Rick Rubin -- to discuss creating the studio, helping Bob Dylan go electric with The Band, writing "The Weight" and collaborating with Martin Scorsese on his films.
Robbie Robertson: Leader of The Band and Architect of Shangri La
Loved the stories they told on The Last Waltz. Especially the one about the time they played in a bar in Texas that was owned by Jack Ruby that had a one arm go-go girl.
Good catch Mutaman & Katbec: The moment I heard that voice I knew it was the legendary Mavis Staples.
Mavis Staples. My bad. She is a wonderful singer.
I’d almost forgotten that, Rich @5:59am. What a crack-up!
And a toast to Levon, Richard and Rick!
I recall reading Todd Rundgren talking about his time producing one of the Band’s records and how he never felt confidence in having the band members available to work most mornings, as it was normal to find at least one of them had driven into a ditch in an inebriated state the night before.
I personally think Cahoots is their most enjoyable album……..a really unpopular opinion, apparently.
Robbie was one of the greats.
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