Robbie Robertson, lead guitarist and songwriter of The Band, dies at 80

By HILLEL ITALIE
AP National Writer

One of rock’s greatest songwriters and musicians, Robbie Robertson, has died at 80. His manager said he died surrounded by family. As the guitarist and lead writer for The Band, Robertson mined American music and history for such classics as “The Weight” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” He later worked on the soundtracks for several Martin Scorsese movies, including “The Departed” and “The Irishman.” Robertson was a self-taught musicologist and storyteller who absorbed everything American from the novels of William Faulkner to the scorching blues of Howlin’ Wolf to the gospel harmonies of the Swan Silvertones.