At the age of 80, Robbie Robertson, renowned guitarist of The Band and collaborator with Bob Dylan, has passed away

Canadian rock legend and the lead guitarist of The Band, as well as the primary songwriter, Robbie Robertson, has passed away at the age of 80.

Don Robertson, a relative, told NPR that the information was true.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s songwriting credits include several iconic songs that have left an indelible mark on American music, including “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek,” and the controversial “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” A song that narrates the perspective of Confederate soldiers.

Robbie Robertson and The Band, initially formed as a backing group for rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins, garnered praise initially as a live backing unit for Bob Dylan, who first took them on tour in 1965 when they were still known as The Hawks. With the release of the classic album “Music From Big Pink” in 1968 and “The Band” in 1969, the group soon became stars in their own right. In 1976, Robertson also immortalized The Band with the help of director Martin Scorsese when he recorded a guest recording.

As a final show for The Band, an announcement was made to perform with stars. Scorsese’s concert film, “The Last Waltz,” is set to release in theaters in 1978.

In the decades that followed, band members reunited multiple times, but Robertson never rejoined the group.In addition to releasing a few solo albums, he composed the music for the Scorsese “Raging Bull” and “The Color of Money” soundtracks. His last one, “Sinematic,” came out in 2019.

After Richard Manuel in 1986, Rick Danko in 1999, and singer/drummer Levon Helm in 2012, Robertson is the fourth member of The Band to pass away. Currently, the only remaining member of the band is Garth Hudson, who is the keyboardist and organist.

Before Robbie Robertson, the birth of a future rock star happened in the form of Jaime Royal Robertson, who was the son of a Mohawk mother and was raised in the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario. In his later years, he discovered that his biological father, Alexander Klegerman, was a prominent Jewish gambler associated with Toronto’s criminal underworld.