Robbie Robertson Remembered by Martin Scorsese, Neil Diamond and More

Legendary musicians and Hollywood stars are paying tribute to Robbie Robertson, who died on Wednesday in Los Angeles at 80.

Roberston led the Canadian-American group the Band to rock prominence in the 1970s and worked alongside Martin Scorsese as a composer, music supervisor, and music producer starting in 1980 on films including “Raging Bull,” “The King of Comedy,” “The Color of Money,” “Gangs of New York,” “The Departed,” “Shutter Island,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Silence,” “The Irishman” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

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In a statement, Robertson’s manager of 34 years, Jared Levine, said, “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.” He additionally made note that Robertson had recently completed his fourteenth film music project with Scorsese, “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

Scorsese issued a statement on the death of his collaborator and friend obtained by Variety that lauded Roberston’s “effect on the art form” as “profound and lasting.” Read his full tribute below.

“Robbie Robertson was one of my closest friends, a constant in my life and my work. I could always go to him as a confidante. A collaborator. An advisor. I tried to be the same for him. 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.”

Neil Diamond tweeted that 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,” he wrote.

Jason Isbell, who played a role in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” said: “I think it’s safe to say that without [Robertson’s] influence the music we love and the music we make would be very different from what it is.”

Canadian musician Bryan Adams reminisced on “the great hangs” he spent with Roberston, “especially photographing you in LA not so long ago,” he wrote.

See more tributes below:

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