Robbie Robertson, who was an enormously influential guitarist and vocalist with The Band, died this week at 80.
The Band was primarily a Canadian group with Levon Helm the only American. They became well-known for their association with Bob Dylan and for a few years, along with Creedence Clearwater Revival, they helped pull rock music back from the stupidity of the late ‘60’s with the psychedelic era and all that tosh.
They focused much more on the music rather than whatever people were trying to burden it with. CCR came up with classics like Fortunate Son and Proud Mary while The Band had enduring classics like The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, their cover of Bob Dylan’s I Shall Be Released (by the way, you should check out Nina Simone’s unbelievable cover of that song) and, most of all, The Weight.