robbierobertson

Robbie and look back at Nov 25 1976 and the final concert by The Band at the Winterland Ballroom in SF.

Called The Last Waltz.

This is a combination of 2 interviews I did over the past few years 

Robbie Robertson passed away Aug 9, 2023.

We were born a year apart and once we were both making and playing music we crossed paths over the years.

What was special about the relationship was that we talked like two friends who loved the same music and artists.

I was fascinated by his Indigenous roots and he couldn’t believe that I had been a Mountie.

We discovered that we both found our musical roots through late-night radio. I was completely in awe of the Border Radio of  Wolfman Jack on XERB Del Rio Texas. Hard driving r&b, blues, conjunto and zydeco at midnight. Radio under the blankets and pillows.

Robbie was doing the very same thing in downtown Toronto and with his Mom’s family at  Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve.

Robbie of course went on to become a legendary guitarist and songwriter.

From Ronnie Hawkins Hawks to The Band to playing with Bob Dylan when he decided to introduce electric backing to his folk audience. They were decidedly not happy with Bob or The Band.

Robbie, Levon, Garth, Rick and Richard created historic music.  First in the basement of Big  Pink in Woodstock with Dylan then on their own.

The songs became the fabric of what was to become Roots and Americana Music.

Several became anthems.

The Weight, The Night they drove old Dixie down, Up on Cripple Creek. All three were written by Robbie.

I was lucky enough to be in the audience at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco for The Last Waltz.  November 25, 1976. Their final concert.

The only reason I got into that magical event was because Robbie had invited me to come.

I did interviews with him while he mixed the film’s audio a year later.

Another one was when the  Martin Scorsese film actually came out in 1978 and another was when Robbie released his autobiography,  Testimony.

Some interviews are locked away in network archives and some are lost.

However, in putting this special together I did discover, at the last minute,  another partial interview and I’ve added it into the Mulligan Stew Podcast.

It's nearly impossible to include every project that Robbie either planned or executed. He was never not busy creating.

However, I’ll leave you with a partial awards list.

The Band and/or  Robbie were inducted into the Juno Hall of Fame, Rock Hall of Fame, Aboriginal Lifetime Achievement Award,  Canada’s Walk of Fame, Songwriting Hall of Fame, Govern General’s Performing Arts Awards for Life Time Achievement, Grammy Lifetime Achievement, Order of Canada, and many more.

Robbie and I talk, The Hawks, Bob Dylan, growing up at Six Nations, heading for the Mississippi Delta as a 16 year., The Last Waltz (and one magic moment) and talks about his three most famous songs.

If I'm lucky enough to locate more of our interviews, I’ll add them to the Podcast mix and repost them.

Thank you all..for Remembering Robbie and his life!

“…and then there was one “

One of the greatest bands to ever walk our stages and play with our hearts has been taking the final curtain – one by one.

Ricky Danko

Levon Helm

Richard Manual

This week – the heart of The Band -  Robbie Robertson

Left to carry the flag Garth Hudson.

Very few artists can ever lay claim to changing popular music. Just a handful.

Then one day it hits you– hammers you actually.  You get total clarity and begin to change everything you’ve known and held sacred.   So it was when Eric Clapton heard The Bands Music from Big Pink.  It was like all of a sudden he heard this record and said to himself, “Now this is what music should sound like.” For me personally– this has always been one of the most interesting moments in rock music history.

My pal Corey Wood called me just as I was finishing recording Saturdays Stew. “sorry to tell you this but Robbie’s gone”

He knew how special I thought Robbie Robertson was.

Dixie Down, Cripple Creek, I shall be Released, Chest Fever, King Harvest, Stage Fright, Acadian Driftwood, Somewhere down the crazy river. Once were brothers.

On the eve of the 50th anniversary of The Band’s landmark self-titled 1969 album, Terry David Mulligan catches up with Robbie Robertson. As the lead guitarist and principal songwriter for the brotherhood known to all as The Band, Robertson holds an esteemed place in music history.

On September 20th, his sixth solo album Sinematic will be released. The record will be followed by the release of the documentary Once Were Brothers, the story of The Band on film. Robbie talks with Terry about his many projects, including the soundtrack he wrote for Martin Scorcese’s film The Irishman.  

The topic, again, is Gordon Lightfoot as Robert Neil Speaks with music journalist and historian Nicholas Jennings about his book ‘Lightfoot,’ the authorized biography of the legendary Canadian singer/songwriter.

This episode is part two of a three-part series and focuses on Lightfoot’s character, and how the Canadian legend’s principles have sometimes kept him from achieving a higher degree of fame, yet, at the same time, have endeared him to his legions of fans.

The conversation includes stories involving Robbie Robertson and The Last Waltz, Bob Dylan, David Foster and Whitney Houston as well as the woman who inspired the very personal song “Sundown.”

A video presentation of this episode is available on Robert Neil’s YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuArgJm-6kaTVnILSic5lbQ).

Robert Neil is a journalist and songwriter based on the West Coast of the United States.

His current album is entitled ’20-22,’ by The Robert Neil Network, and the album includes the summer love song “Golden Beach” feat. Scott McDavid.

Folk music, pop, country

The plot to use John Jameson as a weapon is advanced and reveals that the mystery villain has a hate-on for both Spidey & J. Jonah Jameson. Who's pulling the Man-Wolf's strings?

Inspired by his decades of creating and composing music for film and filled with an enthralling set of songs exploring the darker corridors of human nature, Robbie Robertson’s aptly titled, evocative new solo album Sinematic was released on September 20 via UMe.  

For his new album, Robertson drew inspiration from his recent film score writing and recording for director Martin Scorsese’s eagerly anticipated organized crime epic “The Irishman,” as well as the feature documentary film, “Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band,” based on his 2016 New York Times bestselling memoir “Testimony.”

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