Quotes by Robbie Robertson

About Robbie Robertson:

Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist best known for his work as lead guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. As a songwriter, Robertson is credited for such songs as "The Weight", "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "Up On Cripple Creek", "Broken Arrow" and "Somewhere Down the Crazy River". He has been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

At a young age I thought, 'Wow, that fiddle thing, that's pretty cool. That mandolin is great. These drums, I like these drums... ' They were Indian drums. And I was saying, 'But that guitar. That guitar. Girls are going to like that guitar.'

Robbie Robertson

When you look at that period when Warhol and the Velvets and the Stones were doing things, it was this intersection of art and music. And then it went away.

Robbie Robertson

You don't stumble upon your heritage. It's there, just waiting to be explored and shared.

Robbie Robertson

I remember from my earliest years people speaking, you know, in a certain kind of rhythm and telling stories and sharing experiences in a way that was different in Indian country than it was other places. And I was really struck by this and obviously...

Robbie Robertson

Sixteen years on the road is long enough. Twenty years is unthinkable.

Robbie Robertson

There's a thing that has happened in the U.S. where the spirit has been beaten so badly and so you feel no unity in the voice of the country.

Robbie Robertson

There's something so healthy about young people speaking up in unity.

Robbie Robertson

People go through periods when things are dark and cloudy, and they talk dark and cloudy.

Robbie Robertson

My mother was a Mohawk, born and raised on a reservation, and when I was a kid, she would take me there to visit her relatives.

Robbie Robertson

To find a new star in the sky is pretty hard.

Robbie Robertson

The kid at 9 or 10 who knows who Billie Holiday is... that's the coolest thing ever.

Robbie Robertson

Boy, do I got some stories to tell.

Robbie Robertson

The Band was rebelling against the rebellion. The rebellion went to a place where it became too obvious, too trendy, like you were just following the pack. So it was our choice to get off the bandwagon - no pun intended - and do things that were in o...

Robbie Robertson

When I was 14 years old, I had the opportunity to meet Buddy Holly. I asked him how he got that big, powerful sound out of his guitar amp. He said, 'I blew a speaker and decided not to get it fixed.'

Robbie Robertson

I was a storyteller for The Band. It was never, 'Hey guys, here's a song about what happened to me.' I was always more comfortable writing fiction.

Robbie Robertson

Bob Dylan is as influential as any artist that there has been.

Robbie Robertson

When I was younger, I thought I was too young to really be personal. I thought that what I was feeling and thinking might be half-baked.

Robbie Robertson

Do you know what a skin walker is? It's a thing in Indian mythology. There are certain people born with this gift, and they're able to actually get inside you and mess with your feelings and with your mind. And if a skin walker chooses to get a hold ...

Robbie Robertson

Cowboys had guitars. And they sang country 'cause they lived in the country.

Robbie Robertson

Everybody grows in their own way.

Robbie Robertson

Author Bio

  • NameRobbie Robertson
  • DescriptionCanadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • BornJuly 5, 1944
  • CountryCanada
  • ProfessionGuitarist; Singer-songwriter; Singer
  • AwardsOfficer Of The Order Of Canada; Governor General’s Performing Arts Award