Speak/Sing Native™ Artist Archive
Robbie Robertson (1943-2023)
Mohawk Tribe/Cayuga
By Sean Aaron Cruz
Robbie Robertson’s enormously influential musical career spanned more than 60 years.
Robbie was 12 when he started learning to play the guitar and by the time he was 14 he was playing in bands as a professional, on his way to becoming a virtuoso on the instrument. In 1960, he joined the rockabilly group Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks, touring across Canada and the US for several years. The Hawks’ lineup came to include all of the musicians who would later form The Band.
The Hawks grew tired of rockabilly and wanted to play more rock and blues, so they left Ronnie Hawkins in 1964. In 1965, Bob Dylan hired them to be his backup band for his 1965-66 world tour. They played dates across the US, Hawaii, Australia and Europe.
In 1967, Dylan invited them to Woodstock, New York to work on music. The house they rented to rehearse and record in was painted pink and would be featured in The Band’s debut album Music From Big Pink.
The Band was active from 1964 to 1976 (with Robbie), and from 1983 to 1999 (without Robbie). Over that span they would release ten studio albums, nine live albums, nine compilation albums and thirty-three singles, as well as two studio and two live albums in collaboration with Bob Dylan.
Robbie’s film career would begin in 1978 with The Last Waltz, Martin Scorsese’s documentary of The Band’s final concert.
He would score or contribute to the soundtrack of 10 major films, culminating in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), which was dedicated to his memory.
Professional Information
Robbie Robertson albums with The Band
1968 - Music from Big Pink
1969 - The Band
1970 - Stage Fright
1971 - Cahoots
1972 - Rock of Ages
1973 - Moondog Matinee
1974 - Planet Waves (with Bob Dylan)
1975 - The Basement Tapes (with Bob Dylan)
1975 - Northern Lights – Southern Cross
1977 - Islands
1978 - The Last Waltz
Robbie Robertson solo albums:
1987 - Robbie Robertson
1991 - Storyville
1998 - Contact from the Underworld of Redboy
2011 - How to Become Clairvoyant
2019 - Sinematic
Film scores and soundtracks:
1978 - The Last Waltz
1980 - Raging Bull
1983 - The King of Comedy
1986 - The Color of Money
1994 - Jimmy Hollywood
1995 - Casino
2002 - Gangs of New York
2013 - The Wolf of Wall Street
2016 - Silence
2019 - The Irishman
2023 - Killers of the Flower Moon (film dedicated to his memory)
The Band (with Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson), Bob Dylan, Ronnie Hawkins, many others
Robbie Robertson albums with The Band
1968 - Music from Big Pink
1969 - The Band
1970 - Stage Fright
1971 - Cahoots
1972 - Rock of Ages
1973 - Moondog Matinee
1974 - Planet Waves (with Bob Dylan)
1975 - The Basement Tapes (with Bob Dylan)
1975 - Northern Lights – Southern Cross
1977 - Islands
1978 - The Last Waltz
Robbie Robertson solo albums:
1987 - Robbie Robertson
1991 - Storyville
1998 - Contact from the Underworld of Redboy
2011 - How to Become Clairvoyant
2019 - Sinematic
Film scores and soundtracks:
1978 - The Last Waltz
1980 - Raging Bull
1983 - The King of Comedy
1986 - The Color of Money
1994 - Jimmy Hollywood
1995 - Casino
2002 - Gangs of New York
2013 - The Wolf of Wall Street
2016 - Silence
2019 - The Irishman
2023 - Killers of the Flower Moon (film dedicated to his memory)
Rock, folk, blues
Musician, songwriter, bandleader, film and TV soundtrack producer
Guitar, Vocals
Video
- Robbie Robertson
From the archives: Robbie Robertson of The Band - Robbie Robertson
Venue: CBS News
Format: Documentary
Duration: 7:33
- Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson on building The Band - Robbie Robertson
Venue: PBS NewsHour
Format: Audio
Duration: 6:51
- Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson Reflects on His Legendary Rock Career - Robbie Robertson
Venue: Amanpour and Company
Format: Audio
Duration: 19:31
One of the premier songwriters of the Rock and Roll era, Hall of Fame legend Robbie Robertson, is best known as the lead guitarist and chief songwriter for The Band. He joins Walter to discuss his new solo album Sinematic, his work with Martin Scorsese in writing the music score for the film The Irishman, and a brilliant new documentary on The Band called Once Were Brothers. Originally aired on October 15, 2019.
- Robbie Robertson, Chuck Berry,
Three songs that Robbie Robertson will never forget - Robbie Robertson, Chuck Berry,
Venue: Los Angeles Times
Format: Documentary
Duration: 4:48
- Robbie Robertson
Showdown at Big Sky 4:44 Official - Robbie Robertson
Venue:
Format: Official
Duration: 4:44
- Robbie Robertson, The Band, Eric Clapton
Further On Up The Road - Robbie Robertson, The Band, Eric Clapton
Venue: The Last Waltz
Format: Official
Duration: 4:49
- Robbie Robertson, Bob Dylan and The Band
Forever Young and Baby Let Me Follow You Down - Robbie Robertson, Bob Dylan and The Band
Venue: The Last Waltz
Format: Official
Duration: 7:42
- Robbie Robertson, The Band, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Staple Singers, Muddy Waters, Ringo Starr, Neil Young, Ronnie Hawkins,
I Shall be Released - Robbie Robertson, The Band, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Staple Singers, Muddy Waters, Ringo Starr, Neil Young, Ronnie Hawkins,
Venue: The Last Waltz
Format: Official
Duration: 4:56
R.I.P the five members of The Band
Richard Manuel (April 3, 1943 – March 4, 1986), aged 42
Rick Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999), aged 55
Levon Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012), aged 71
Robbie Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023), aged 80
Garth Hudson (August 2, 1937 – January 21, 2025), aged 87
Tribal Information
Mohawk Tribe
also known as "Mohawk"
Culture and History
“The Mohawk are traditionally the keepers of the Eastern Door of the Iroquois Confederacy, also known as the Six Nations Confederacy or the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Our original homeland is the northeastern region of New York State extending into southern Canada and Vermont. Prior to contact with Europeans the Mohawk settlements populated the Mohawk Valley of New York State. Through the centuries Mohawk influence extended far beyond their territory and was felt by the Dutch who settled on the Hudson River and in Manhattan. The Mohawks’ location as the Iroquois nation closest to Albany and Montreal, and the fur traders there, gave them considerable influence among the other Tribes.” (source: tribal website)
.There are over 630 First Nations communities in Canada, which represent more than 50 Nations and 50 Indigenous languages. As in the United States, the Canadian Constitution is the supreme law of Canada.
Section 35 of the Constitution Act of 1982 explicitly recognizes and affirms the existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. Section 35 also indicates that the term “Aboriginal peoples of Canada” includes the First Nation, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada.
Further, section 25 of the Constitution Act, 1982 protects the Aboriginal and treaty rights that are recognized in section 35 and ensures that no other provision of the Charter can take away or supersede those rights.