Robbie Robertson

Robbie Robertson is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. The Band has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[4] and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. As a songwriter Robertson is responsible for such classics as "The Weight", "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "Up On Cripple Creek", "Broken Arrow" and "Somewhere Down the Crazy River", and has been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

By 1958, Robertson was performing in various groups around Toronto, including Little Caesar and the Consuls, Robbie and the Robots, and Thumper and the Trambones. By 1959, he had met singer Ronnie Hawkins, who led a band called The Hawks. In 1960, Hawkins recorded two early Robertson songs, "Hey Boba Lu" and "Someone Like You" on his Mr. Dynamo LP. Robertson then took over lead guitar with The Hawks and toured often, before splitting from Hawkins in 1963. Robertson would The Band along with Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, and Garth Hudson.

Robertson produced Neil Diamond's albums Beautiful Noise in 1976 and Love at the Greek in 1977. Between 1979 and 1980 Robertson co-starred with Gary Busey and Jodie Foster in Carny. He also co-wrote, produced, and composed source music for the film. For Scorsese's Raging Bull, Robertson created background music and produced source music. For another Scorsese film, The King of Comedy, Robertson served as music producer and also contributed with his first post-Band solo recording, "Between Trains." Additionally, he produced and played guitar on Van Morrison's song "Wonderful Remark".

Robertson would release his debut solo album with producer Daniel Lanois. He also scored Scorsese's The Color of Money, working with Gil Evans and Willie Dixon and co-wrote "It's In the Way That You Use It" with Eric Clapton. Robertson was enlisted as creative consultant for ''Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll'', Taylor Hackford's film saluting Chuck Berry.

From 1987 onwards, Robertson has released five solo albums. The first was self titled followed by Storyville, Music for the Native Americans and Contact from the Underworld of Redboy. In 1990, he contributed to Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto's album Beauty. Robertson's song "Broken Arrow", off the Robbie Robertson album, was covered by Rod Stewart on his album Vagabond Heart and became a hit single. "Somewhere Down the Crazy River", became Robertson's biggest solo hit. In 1994, Robertson returned to his roots, forming a Native American group the Red Road Ensemble for Music for The Native Americans, a collection of songs that accompanied a television documentary series.

Also in 1994, Robertson joined Garth Hudson, Rick Danko and inductor Eric Clapton onstage to perform "The Weight" when The Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. How To Become Clairvoyant was released on April 5, 2011 and is the fifth solo release from Robertson. The album was also released in a deluxe edition containing five bonus tracks. In 1996, Executive soundtrack producer Robertson heard a demo of Change The World and sent it to Clapton as a suggestion for the soundtrack to Phenomenon, starring John Travolta. Change the World won 1997 Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. In 1997, Robertson received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Songwriters.

In 2000, David Geffen and Mo Ostin convinced Robertson to join DreamWorks Records as creative executive. Robertson, who persuaded Nelly Furtado to sign with the company, is actively involved with film projects and developing new artist talent. Robertson served as music supervisor on the Martin Scorsese film Gangs Of New York. In 2003, Robertson was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.&nbsp In 2006, Robertson recorded with Jerry Lee Lewis and Samuel Bidleman on Last Man Standing on the track "Twilight". That same year, he received the Governor General's Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. He also produced the soundtrack for the Scorsese film, The Departed. In 2010, Robertson provided music supervision for another Scorsese film, Shutter Island.

Music Videos

 * Somewhere Down The Crazy River