Author : Hughes Nelson
Musical Legend Robbie Robertson passed away at the age of 80 after a long illness. It did not just create a void in the industry but also in Dylan’s heart as Bob Dylan was his long-time collaborator. After two days after his death, Dylan spoke of his long-time friend who passed away. He expressed, “This is shocking news.” Dylan further said, “Robbie was a lifelong friend. His passing leaves a vacancy in the world.” This legendary duo share a long musical history that has enriched the music industry. Dylan often used to call Robertson a “mathematical guitar genius,” who could offer flawless guitar compositions like no one. He used to play guitar with Dylan during the mid-1960s.
At that time, Dylan was quite conscious about the Levon and the Hawks, which later on became ‘The Band’. Dylan made a drastic switch from acoustic to electric music and it made the situation even more intense. In 2017, Robertson shared, “When The Hawks hooked up with Dylan, he found this explosive, dynamic thing. Because of his intensity, it raised everything up and we didn’t come down enough and people were saying this music is so loud we can’t hear the words. Part of that was he wanted that raging spirit on these songs. We got booed all over North America, Australia, Europe, and people were saying this isn’t working and we kept on and Bob didn’t budge.” It was evident that The Hawks hold Dylam for several months and their efforts were visible through the works like 1998’s The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966: The ‘Royal Albert Hall’ Concert.
Read Also: Bob Dylan: A Singer, Poet, and Philosopher
When it comes to the relationship between Bob and Robbie was both exploratory and revelatory. Robertson stated “The obvious thing we learned – that everybody learned – was there was a new way of songwriting. There was a much more colorful, descriptive, humorous, outrageous thrill ride of wordplay.” Talking about the experience of working with Bob, Robbie said, “We hadn’t seen this before – this was breaking some big rules. I remember saying to Bob one time, ‘Maybe there’s too many verses in this’ [Laughs], and he said, ‘There probably are, but that’s what I was thinking about when I wrote it.’ His spirit was on fire, and he was knocking down the boundaries that had been built up around music. It excited me to be part of this revolution.” Truly, they are the legends of the Golden Era.
Robbie Robertson played in Dylan’s hit album ‘Blonde on Blonde’ in 1966. They continued to collaborate for many decades and The Band was also a part of it. Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece” on 1971’s Cahoots album was a masterpiece and it shows their united musical effort. One of the most acclaimed works by Dylan, ‘Planet Waves’ was another fruitful result of this high-octane collaboration. Robertson once said, “We do a tour, the [1974] Dylan/Band tour, we play the same way [as we did in 1966], same intensity and everybody says, ‘Wow, that was amazing.’ The world came around – we didn’t change a note.” Quite evidently, the legendary duo came up with some of the best timeless compositions that remained the same for the next decades along with a potential dose of excitement and energy.
Robbie Robertson will be missed by Bob along with millions of their loving fans.
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