Bob Dylan remembers “lifelong friend” Robbie Robertson

Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns

Bob Dylan has paid tribute to his good friend The Band’s Robbie Robertson, who passed away Wednesday, August 9, at the age of 80.

“This is shocking news,” Dylan shared in a statement on his website. “Robbie was a lifelong friend. His passing leaves a vacancy in the world.”

Dylan and Robertson knew each other since the ’60s. In 1965, Robertson and his bandmates in the Hawks (the original name of The Band) — Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson — played in Dylan’s backing band for a series of concerts.

Robertson also played guitar on Dylan’s classic 1966 album, Blonde on Blonde, as well as 1974’s Planet Waves and more. Dylan was also one of several musicians who appeared at The Band’s final concert, which was filmed for the 1978 concert documentary The Last Waltz.