THE CONCRETE ROUNDABOUT (TCR)

Founding member, and guitarist, of The Band, Robbie Robertson, has sadly passed away aged 80.

Most will remember him for his solo smash hit Somewhere Down The Crazy River from ‘87. But do yourself a favour this morning and listen to his outstanding work with The Band. Originally formed as Ronnie Hawkins backing band, they found fame when they became Dylan’s group of choice when he went electric. In fact it’s Robertson to whom Dylan turns to and says “Play it fucking loud” after being heckled with the infamous “Judas” at the Manchester gig in ‘66.

Difficult, or blessed, with being in a band with Levon Helm and Rick Danko, his vocals and especially his ability to interweave guitar lines around vocals is a thing of wonder. And obviously he wrote an astonishing amount of what have become classic songs.

Take a look at him at the height of flower power. While everyone was hanging around looking like an exploding florists shop, he was dressed like a frontier lawman from the old west. The Band were an outstanding visual prospect.

Their cover of Holland, Dozier, Holland's Don’t Do It from The Last Waltz is one of those rare things. A cover that’s actually better than the original…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki3zzZ-GsGI

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When you make your music, do you think about the man in the street? No, I've met the man in the street. He's a Ladybit.

Sad news.

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I don't need your ill-informed, half-baked, idiotic opinions. I have plenty of those myself.

Yes, as a fan of The Band, it was very sad news to hear this.