Robbie Robertson was a good Man.
Robbie was a guitar giant
Robbie was a leader
Robbie was a showman
Robbie was a writer
Robbie was a scholar
Robbie was a style icon
Robbie was a legend
Robbie Robertson died today, he was 80 years old. I didn’t think he was that old, and I was under the impression that he was healthy and vibrant (judging by late nite TV and the Socials)…
For several decades now, during visits to drinking establishments the world over – if there was a jukebox in these joints, I would commandeer it. And when I did, I would always play a healthy dose of The Band. Always.
Why? Because Robbie and the boys were for black and white, for the north and the south, for the US and Canada. They were for all. And Robbie was their leader. He was a uniter.
Just a few days ago, I was speaking to a close friend of mine – someone whose musical taste I regard highly – during our discussion, he told me that The Band was overrated. I imagine that he was looking to get a rise out of me – and damn he did.
Overrated? The Band?
NO.
As I write this, I am sitting in a honky-tonk bar somewhere in honky-tonk New York (the state, not the city). This bar has a jukebox – and I have commandeered it with a $10 deposit which gave me much more than I expected. And as is my wont, I’m playing The Band – back to back to back to back, etc…. nothing but The Band.
The denizens of this half filled bar don’t seem to know what they’re hearing, or why they may be hearing it, but the music is seeping into their souls – penetrating their bones. It is becoming part of them.
Robbie and The Band were at the center of it all – the genius, the personalities, the music that has left a mark that won’t ever be erased.
Robbie Robertson drove the story of what is perhaps the greatest band of all-time – The Band.
Rest In Peace Robbie.
-Blotto West, somewhere in the great state of NY, August 9th, 2023
Brown Brothers Recordings 