Bob Dylan pays tribute to “lifelong friend” Robbie Robertson
nme.comBob Dylan has issued a statement paying tribute to late musician Robbie Robertson.Dylan said in a statement posted onto social media yesterday (August 12): “This is shocking news.
Robbie was a lifelong friend. His passing leaves a vacancy in the world.Robertson, who besides performing as part of Dylan’s backing band in the latter half of the 1960s, was a guitarist and singer-songwriter for The Band, died earlier this week at the age of 80.Statement from Bob Dylan on the passing of Robbie Robertson:“This is shocking news.
Robbie was a lifelong friend. His passing leaves a vacancy in the world.”— Bob Dylan (@bobdylan) August 12, 2023Robertson met Ronnie Hawkins, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson as a teenager, and they went on to form The Hawks.
Following the band’s split from Hawkins in 1965, they were recruited to be Bob Dylan’s backing band during his pivot to non-acoustic music.Dylan is the latest prolific artist to pay homage to the late Robertson, following tributes from Bruce Springsteen, Neil Diamond, Ringo Starr, Joni Mitchell, Martin Scorsese and more.For his tribute, Springsteen dedicated the closing song (‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’) of his recent three-hour performance to Robertson.
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