According to The Band's official website, Robbie Robertson was born in Toronto, Canada in 1943 and was of mixed Jewish and First Nations ancestry. Later on in his life, Robertson wrote and performed music inspired by his First Nations family history — most notably in "Music for the Native Americans," released in 1994 along with his Red Road Ensemble. 

By 1958, Robertson met future Band and Hawks musicians, including Ronnie Hawkins, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and others. By the mid-1960s Robertson toured the world with Bob Dylan. Some of Robertson's most well-known work with The Band includes "Music from Big Pink," and The Band concert film and album "The Last Waltz." "The Last Waltz" movie was directed by Martin Scorsese, and 2023's "Killers of the Flower Moon" was Robertson's fourteenth project with the director. 

As well as the American Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in 1989 Robertson was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. According to The New Yorker, Robertson's relationship with his former bandmate, Levon Helm — who died in 2012 — was acrimonious, and Robertson was blamed by some for the band's breakup. 

Once Robertson's death was announced, songwriter Neil Diamond tweeted, "The music world lost a great one with the passing of Robbie Robertson. Keep making that Beautiful Noise in the sky, Robbie. I'll miss you." Canadian musician Ron Sexsmith also tweeted, "Unspeakably sad news. His songwriting and guitar playing made such a lasting impact on music and in fact changed the direction of music in the late 60's from psychedelic to a more roots based approach."

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