I hardly paid much attention to the following obituary
Robbie Robertson (Mohawk), most recognized for leading the 70’s rock group, The Band, and his work with Bob Dylan and Martin Scorsese, who also was a leading collaborator and producer for Native American music, has sadly passed away after a long illness on Wednesday August 9, 2023 at the age of 80.
Formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1967, The Band was a Canadian-American rock band consisting of Canadians Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson, and American Levon Helm. The Band combined elements of Americana, folk, rock, jazz, country, and R&B, influencing musicians such as; George Harrison, Elton John, the Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton and Wilco. Robertson and The Band were inducted into the Juno Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
Following The Band, Robertson went on to enjoy a successful solo career, with six solo albums including two featuring Native American musicians. In 1998, at the inaugural Native American Music Awards, Robertson performed live and was honored for his Lifetime Achievements. His recipient speech can be seen here: https://youtu.be/-UeAliaZ5gU
Jaime Royal “Robbie” Robertson was born on July 5, 1943. His mother was Rosemarie Dolly Chrysler, a Cayuga and Mohawk woman who was raised on the Six Nations Reserve southwest of Toronto, Ontario. Robertson was an only child who became a self taught musician. At an early age, he began learning guitar from relatives during his summer visits to the reservation.
He would go on to write classic hit songs as an inventor of the Americana music genre, create music soundtracks and earn numerous accolades and awards. Robertson was not only the primary songwriter and guitarist for The Band who penned classic hits such as; “The Weight,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “Up on Cripple Creek,” and many others, but he was also a pathfinder for Native American music.
In 1994, Robertson returned to his Mohawk roots, forming a Native American group the Red Road Ensemble for “Music for the Native Americans”, a collection of songs that accompanied a PBS television documentary series.
In 1995, Robbie Robertson performed at the “In Unity Concert”, live in Agrigento-Sicily, Italy with the Red Road Ensemble and other special guests including John Trudell and Buffy Sainte-Marie. The concert was broadcasted on Italian TV. https://youtu.be/mKbX4q5IbR8
In 1998, he released a follow up solo recording entitled, “Contact from the Underworld of Redboy” which took a closer look at native music traditions. The album's title comes from an experience when Robertson was referred to as "Red Boy," by several bullies when he was a child.
During the production and release of both those solo albums featuring Native American musicians such as; Kashtin, Ulali and Primeaux and Mike, who later won a Grammy Award, Robertson also supported the formation of the Native American Music Association. Founded by Ellen Bello, the Association created the first Awards show honoring Native American musicians.
In May 1998, Robbie Robertson appeared and performed live at the Inaugural Native American Music Awards show in May 1998 at Foxwoods Resort Casino and was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In his recipient speech, he stated, “To me this is a sign of the times, a sign of the acceptance of Native American music out in the world like never before.” He also encouraged the continuation of honoring “the original roots music of this country” by other organizations such as the Grammys. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UeAliaZ5gU
In February 2001, Robbie Robertson presented the first Grammy for Best Native American Music Album with actor Val Kilmer following the efforts of the Association’s successful proposal to have Native American music recognized by the Grammys. In his presentation, Robertson also decried the continued imprisonment of American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier before announcing the winner as “Gathering of Nations”, a compilation album featuring over two dozen drum groups.
Prior to his death, Robertson had just completed soundtrack work on Martin Scorsese’s soon to be released “Killers of the Flower Moon” movie, marking their 14th film music collaboration together. The film, due out in October is about members of the Osage Native American tribe of Osage County, Oklahoma, who are murdered after oil is found on their land, in the 1920s. .Robertson also worked on Scorsese’s “Wolf of Wall Street”, “Gangs of New York”, “Casino” after The Band’s legendary 1976 farewell concert that was made into a 1978 documentary, “The Last Waltz”. In their final concert, The Band was joined by more than a dozen special guests, including Paul Butterfield, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood and Neil Young. Filmed by director Martin Scorsese, it has been hailed as one of the greatest concert films of all time. Robertson’s personal story with The Band was also captured in the 2019 documentary “Once Were Brothers.“
Following the announcement of his death, Rolling Stone called Robertson, “A Master Storyteller”. The NY Times referred to him as a, ”Songwriter who captured the American spirit”. Scorsese remembered Robertson as “one of my closest friends, a constant in my life and my work.” Founder of the Native American Awards and Association (NAMA), Ellen Bello, called him an “Inspirational Icon.” She credits Robertson with the early endorsement of her organization’s formation and for launching the careers of other musicians. She stated, “Without Robbie bringing Indigenous artists and their music to the forefront of the recording industry, and without his unrelenting public support, I’m not certain any of us would have been as successful or sustained the challenges we faced during our formative years. We are all forever indebted to Robbie for his belief, support and the inspiration he provided. He will be forever missed .”
According to an announcement from Robbie Robertson’s manager of 34 years, Jared Levine, “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. 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.”
ROBBIE ROBERTSON’S NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC RECORDINGS:
MUSIC FOR THE NATIVE AMERICAS:
Released on Capitol Records in 1994, Music for The Native Americans is an album by Robbie Robertson and other colleagues billed as the Red Road Ensemble for the television documentary film, The Native Americans. The album was Robertson's first foray into writing music specifically inspired by his Mohawk heritage. Robertson’s son Sebastian Robertson played the drums on "Golden Feather", "Skinwalker", "It Is a Good Day to Die" and "Words of Fire, Deeds of Blood". His daughter Delphine Robertson sang backing vocals on "Coyote Dance" The album was compiled as a soundtrack, being credited to a variety of musicians including; Jim Wilson, Dave Pickell, Ulali; Pura Fé, Soni Moreno, Jennifer Kreisberg, Kashtin: Florent Vollant, Claude McKenzie, Walela; Rita Coolidge, Priscilla Coolidge and Laura Satterfield, The Silvercloud Singers, Dave Carson and Bonnie Jo Hunt.
The Native Americans was a three-part American television documentary miniseries that premiered on TBS on October 10, 1994.The remaining two episodes aired on October 11 and 13, 1994. The six-hour series explored the history of Native American cultures, with each hour of the series devoted to a particular region of the United States.
CONTACT FROM THE UNDERWORLD OF REDBOY
Contact from the Underworld of Redboy is an album by Robbie Robertson released in 1998 by Capitol Records. The album is composed of music inspired by traditional Aboriginal Canadian and North American Indigenous songs and chants, as well as modern rock, trip hop, and electronica, with the various styles often integrated together in the same song. It features many guest artists with Robertson including; Joanne Shenandoah, Tim Gordine, Leonard Peltier, Marius de Vries, Six Nation Women Singers, James Bilagody, Verdell Primeaux and Johnny Mike. The album peaked at No. 119 on the Billboard 200.
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