A rock and roll legend has died. On Wednesday, July 9, 2023, Robbie Robertson’s longtime manager Jared Levine issued a statement to announce the sad news of his client’s passing. The guitarist, songwriter, and actor was said to have died after an unknown “long illness.”
Robbie was best known for his role as leader of the Canadian-American group the Band, which dominated the airwaves in the 1970s. He was also a frequent collaborator of both Bob Dylan and Martin Scorsese. He leaves behind wife Janet Zuccarini, three children, and five grandchildren.
“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,” Jared stated on the behalf of the family. “He is also survived by his grandchildren Angelica, Donovan, Dominic, Gabriel and Seraphina. Robertson recently completed his fourteenth film music project with frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’ In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Six Nations of the Grand River to support a new Woodland Cultural Center.”
Robbie was born Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson on July 5, 1943, in Toronto, Canada. He was the only child of Rosemarie Dolly Chrysler and Alexander David Klegerman. His love for music began in childhood on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario. He first picked up a guitar at age 10. The first band he joined was called Little Caesar and the Consuls.
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The band The Hawks would give him his big break. They supported rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins. He would go on to play with Bob Dylan on his Going Electric tours in 1965 and 1966. The Band would form after recording Dylan’s “basement tapes.” Their first album Music from Big Pink contains the legendary track “The Weight.”
Martin Scorsese directed a filmed version of their final live performance “The Last Waltz” concert. Robbie would continue to make music for years to come. He told the story of his musical career in his 2016 memoir Testimony.
