Robbie Robertson, a Canadian musician and songwriter who made his mark as the leader of the 1970s with the influential rock group The Band, died Wednesday after a long illness. He was 80.
His death was announced by his longtime manager, Jared Levine.
“Robbie 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,” it said, in part. “He is also survived by his grandchildren Angelica, Donovan, Dominic, Gabriel and Seraphina.”
Born Jaime Royal Robertson on July 5, 1943, he was one of the last two surviving members of The Band, an influential rock band that mixed folk, gospel and jazz with rhythm and blues and helped forge a distinctly American kind of roots rock sound. The other is keyboardist Garth Hudson. Drummer Levon Helm died in 2012, bassist Rick Danko in 1999, and pianist Richard Manuel in 1986.
But it was Robertson’s appearance in “The Last Waltz,” a 1978 documentary directed by Martin Scorsese, that made him a star.
Robertson played lead guitar and wrote some of The Band’s best-known songs, including “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek,” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
