Robbie Robertson, whose lead guitar and character-driven songs drove the influential music of The Band, died Wednesday, age 80. Though his compositions include he enduring rock standards “The Weight” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” Robertson’s place in rock history goes much deeper, entwined as it is with Bob Dylan.
After he played guitar on Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde,” Robertson talked Dylan into making his compadres in the Hawks the backing band for the infamous tour on which Dylan “went electric,” to widespread booing from audiences. While Dylan recovered from his motorcycle accident the next year, Robertson and the rest of what would become The Band joined him in upstate New York. where they goofed around with songs and instruments and tape recorders to produce what became the most bootlegged music of the pre-Napster era.
The Band’s influence might be hard to appreciate 50+ years on, but the tradition-rooted sound of “Music From Big Pink,” released two months before the Byrds’ “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” in 1968, riveted a music scene dominated by psychedelia and British blues. Every Americana band since owes an enormous debt to The Band.
Like a lot of groups where one person does the bulk of the writing, and earns the bulk of the royalties, resentment and heavy touring broke up The Band. Levon Helm never got over it, and talked about it plenty. Robertson usually demurred, but when interviewers pressed he defended himself by basically pointing out that somebody had to be the grownup of the group, and because he didn’t party and worked hard at songwriting, it fell to him.
After the band’s dissolution Robertson released a series of solo LPs, but only the first one sold much. He devoted most of his energy in recent years to working on the music for Martin Scorcese’s films, both as producer and composer.
This song was on The Band’s third LP, “Stage Fright,” released in 1970. Though the album was the group’s highest-charting effort at No. 5, it wasn’t well-received at the time, partly because the songs were more rock-oriented and less old-timey. Perceptive critics noted that songs like the title track and this one had upbeat music that didn’t match the anxiety-laced lyrics.
Robertson’s perfectionism extended to remixing and remastering The Band’s output. “Stage Fright” was mixed three separate times before its release – by Glyn Johns then Todd Rundgren, then Johns again – and neither one could identify whose versions made the final cut. Robertson remastered them all later anyway.
Robertson was still in top form on his last real album with the group, “Northern Lights –Southern Cross.” This story, about the expulsion of the Acadians from Canada during the French and Indian War, features one of his prettiest melodies.
