The autobiography of Robbie Robertson. I read this right after My Cross To Bear by Gregg Allman. The only surprising part is it stops at 1976 and doesn’t cover Robbie’s solo career.
Robbie is 33 when the book ends. It ends at a recording session where only Robbie shows up after The Last Waltz.
If you have read Levon Helm’s This Wheels on Fire you know that Levon was pretty hard on Robbie. He rips him for songwriting credits and The Last Waltz. Robbie takes the high road in his book. He talks about the brotherhood they all shared. He mentions that Levon was his best friend he ever had in his life.
Robbie was in the middle of musical history throughout the book. He talks about joining Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks and befriending Levon…they eventually picked up Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, and Garth Hudson. After they split with Ronnie they get busted and gigged at various bars while meeting music legends Sonny Boy Williamson II, Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield and then Bob Dylan. After meeting Dylan they start backing him on his first electric tour.
They are in the middle of the chaos of Dylan’s electric tour…Levon quits a few shows into it because of the booing and the people that surround Dylan. The rest of the Band (still called the Hawks) continue to back Dylan around the world. Along the way, they make friends with Brian Jones, The Beatles, Johnny Cash and eventually Jimi Hendrix (Jimmy James at the time).
He also mentions about living at the Chelsea Hotel, Big Pink, Levon coming back, living in Woodstock, playing Woodstock, and being friends with Dylan. This is one book that gives you a side of Dylan you never read much about. Robbie humanizes him while keeping respect. The Band much like the Allman Brothers valued brotherhood. They stuck together and got along really well until heroin started to enter the picture.
He goes into his songwriting and where he got the ideas. A lot of his ideas came from hanging out with Levon at Levon’s home in Arkansas. Robbie enjoyed the area and the southern culture that surrounded him.
Robbie is big foreign film buff who read many screenplays and would have people to pick them up when going through New York. After reading those he said it helped him to express what he felt in lyrics.
You get such a mix of personalities in the book… Edie Sedgwick, Carly Simon, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, to smoking pot with John Lennon in the sixties with John’s special made “cigarettes.”
All of the Band had street smarts and mixed with killers, thieves and mafia members before they made it. They were without money at one point and Robbie and Levon were actually going to wear masks and hold up a high stakes poker game. It’s a wonder one of them wasn’t killed before the band met Dylan.
I’ve read both Levon’s and Robbie’s books. I liked them both. Robbie is more consistent in his telling. There is a reason Robbie wanted to get off the road. Richard Manuel was not in good shape…even on The Last Waltz and Robbie was no angel himself. The road brought temptations that were hard for them to resist.
If you are a Band fan and/or Dylan fan…get it. I would place this book up there with Keith Richard’s book Life. That is about the highest praise I can give…
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Another one, as with the Gregg Allman book, that I’ve been wanting to read. With Robbie, it’s mostly to strike a balance with Levon’s book which, as you point out, is rather bitter at times. I’m not sure I’d be very interested in reading about Robbie past the Last Waltz, although I’ve always really liked his self-titled album with all those great guest musicians. It’s fascinating to me how some of the best “Americana” tunes of the early 70’s were written by a couple of non-Americans: Robbie Robertson and Bernie Taupin. Thanks for the write up!
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From what I’ve read he might do a part 2 but there won’t be as much interest. I would like to know Robbie’s opinion on the post- Robbie albums. The musical history he was part of was huge. This one and the Gregg Allman’s book have been two of the best I’ve read recently. I’m going to write up something on Graham Nash’s soon… You are right about the two non-Americans writing some of the best Americana.
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I have seen Robbie’s book in the stores but haven’t bought- I think the library system has it- will have to order it and read up! Glad to hear Robbie takes the high road.
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I think you will enjoy it. One of the best rock autobiographies I’ve read in the past couple of years.
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It seems like every rock star is writing a biography- i bet we don’t see one from Paul or Ringo. Who started all this Bob or Keith?
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Good question…I think it was Bob’s Chronicles. Keith’s was just so enjoyable… I haven’t read Bob’s Chronicles yet. Bob’s needs to be soon for me. I usually like a more objective point of view from a writer… well like Mark Levinson… I’ve been disappointed in a few like Neil Young’s Waging Heavy Peace…
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Yes I have a problem with most autobiographies in general. Most take a favorable view of the subject- themselves.It seems like every rock star and even minor stars have put books out now. I haven’t read many of them.
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They will either take a favorable view or skip bad things all together. I don’t see Paul or Mick ever writing one. They are too private. Some like Keith Richards and Gregg Allman are a little different because they have always had a bad boy image and they revel in it… But yes I do like an objective point of view better.
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One I would bet the ranch on never doing one of those books- Van Morrison.
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Oh no Van would not ever write one… I have heard some writers talk about him. Interviewing him and he just gets up and walks away in mid-sentence. I read a book on Van many years ago. I traded a bio on Eric Clapton to a friend for this bio on Van Morrison. After reading it…still didn’t feel like I knew anything about him. He is really private…you have a safe bet.
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