Rock icon Robbie Robertson passes away at 80 after prolonged illness

Los Angeles, Aug 10 (IANS) Canadian singer and guitarist Robbie Robertson who was renowned in the rock'n roll scene for leading the rock band The Band passed away on August 9, at the age of 80.

As reported by Variety, in a statement given by Jared Levine, who was the manager of Robbie for over 34 years, the musician passed away in his home in Los Angeles after battling a long time illness.

He said: "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. 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."

The Band was one of the biggest rock rage in the 1960's and 1970's due to their take on rock'n roll, folk, roots rock and rockabilly. The group is known for some of the biggest rock hits, such as 'The Weight', 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down', and 'Up on Cripple Creek'. The group disbanded in 1976 after their farewell concert 'The Last Waltz'. For their work, The Band has often been compared to groups such as The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Doors and Credence Clearwater Revival in evolving rock'n roll.

After The Band disbanded, Robbie went on a very successful solo career where he frequently collaborated with director  Martin Scorsese. With Scorsese, Robertson worked as a composer, music supervisor, and music producer starting in 1980.

Since then, he went on to compose soundtracks for some of the director's biggest films such as  'Raging Bull', 'The King of Comedy', 'The Color of Money', 'Gangs of New York', 'The Departed', 'Shutter Island', 'The Wolf of Wall Street', 'Silence', 'The Irishman' with his last contribution being in the Leonardo DiCaprio starrer, 'Killers of the Flower Moon'.

For both his work with The Band as well as his own solo career, Robbie was regarded as an icon whose work was monumental in creating the Americana genre.