ROBBIE ROBERTSON, 78 YEARS OLD

While Robbie Robertson is best known as a musician, this was not the case in his early years. Before he started his music career, he was working for freak shows in 1957. He began to be quite serious about music in 1959 when he joined Ronnie Hawkins’ group. His time with Hawkins soon led to the formation of The Band. Within the group, Robertson became the lead guitarist and songwriter. He is widely given credit for forming the Americana genre, exemplified in many of his compositions such as Broken Arrow, Somewhere Down the Crazy River, and The Weight. The group eventually disbanded in 1977.

Robertson pursued a solo career as an artist and composer and found massive success in both. As a composer, he is known for his extensive collaboration with director Martin Scorsese. Among their collaborative works include The Departed, The Irishman, and The Wolf of Wall Street. For his contributions to music, he received countless accolades and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.