Filmmaker Martin Scorsese paid tribute Wednesday to Robbie Robertson, calling the musician “one of my closest friends, a constant in my life and my work.”
Robertson, a guitarist, bandleader, producer and composer who also wrote film scores for Martin Scorsese and served as a record executive, died on Wednesday at the age of 80 after a long illness.
Robertson was best known for his stint in The Band, a group of four Canadians (including Ontario native Robertson) and one American who first met while playing backup for rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins. Their final concert was chronicled in Scorsese’s “The Last Waltz” in 1976, with the film released in 1978.
“I could always go to him as a confidante,” Scorsese continued. “A collaborator. An advisor. I tried to be the same for him.”
Following the breakup of the band, Robertson wrote scores for several Scorsese pictures, beginning with “Raging Bull” in 1980 all the way through to “The Irishman” in 2019 and the upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Long before we ever met, his music played a central role in my life—me and millions and millions of other people all over this world. The Band’s music, and Robbie’s own later solo music, seemed to come from the deepest place at the heart of this continent, its traditions and tragedies and joys.
“It goes without saying that he was a giant, that his effect on the art form was profound and lasting. There’s never enough time with anyone you love. And I loved Robbie.”
Steve Pond contributed to this report.
