Robbie Robertson, songwriter and lead guitarist of The Band, has died

Robbie Robertson, who was the lead guitarist and songwriter for Canadian-American group The Band, has passed away, Variety reports. He was 80 years old and had been combatting a long illness.

“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," Jared Levine, his longtime manager, confirmed. "He is also survived by his grandchildren Angelica, Donovan, Dominic, Gabriel, and Seraphina. Robertson recently completed his fourteenth film music project with frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’ 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.”

Robertson's work with The Band — who started as a backing band for both Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan — was instrumental in creating the Americana genre in the '70s. With the group, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame as a solo artist as well as with The Band. Robertson frequently collaborated with Martin Scorsese and helped produce and compose soundtracks for films like Casino and The Wolf of Wall Street.

In 2019, Robertson became the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame from Canadian Music Week.