If it wasn’t for The Band, Americana, country rock, and a whole host of other genres may not exist, at least not in the way we know them today.
The Band was first known as The Hawks and toured with rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins around Canada and the U.S. in the early 1960s before becoming Bob Dylan’s backing band when he went electric.
The Band split off to record on their own and in 1968 released “Music from Big Pink,” which influenced everyone from Pink Floyd to the Beatles and Eric Clapton, who wanted to join the group so much that he left his own successful band, Cream.
Robertson earned full writing credit for many of The Band’s songs, much to the consternation of drummer Levon Helm, who insisted it was a group effort throughout his life.
After The Band, Robertson became a moderately successful solo artist and producer and wrote film scores for Martin Scorsese — the upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon” is his final collaboration with the director.
He passed away on August 9, 2023.
