Most of my younger Native American friends are not in any way looking for sympathy, and they’re not looking to lay guilt on anybody. They have their dignity, and they do what they do. – Robbie Robertson
People think I left The Band and spoiled this whole thing, and that’s not what happened. Nobody broke up The Band. Nobody ever said, ‘That’s it, we’re done.’ – Robbie Robertson
One of the things I feel very strong about is the achievement of the Band really being a complete band. – Robbie Robertson
One of the greatest live recordings, I think, in the history of the world is Ray Charles in Atlanta… And they didn’t even have a big mobile recording thing set up. The word on the street was they only had like two microphones, one for the band and one for him. Perfect recordings. I think it’s mono. – Robbie Robertson
Think about the number of people who do film music, make records and have a Native American heritage – and I may be the only one on the list. – Robbie Robertson
I thought of a lot of people from the same era when I was making a lot of records that had continued making a lot of records. A lot of it didn’t seem terribly inspired. – Robbie Robertson
Some bands today have the experience of really working together and honing their craft. And other bands are very much like, ‘I just got a guitar for Christmas, let’s start a band.’ And you can hear the difference. – 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
I haven’t been to many music events where somebody was performing and it actually made me cry. – Robbie Robertson
I never really had a teenage experience. I went from childhood to maturity, and in some ways, it short-circuited me emotionally. – Robbie Robertson
I’m really lucky because I found myself in a position where I can do whatever I want to do. I can make records, produce records, make movies, or I can do nothing. I’m not a slave to the dollar. – 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
It’s extraordinary that revolutions taking place around the world were sparked by communication on the Internet. – 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 our background and what was the most honest thing to do. – Robbie Robertson
I am fascinated by the places that music comes from, like fife-and-drum blues from southern Mississippi or Cajun music out of Lafayette, Louisiana, shape-note singing, old harp singing from the mountains – I love that stuff. It’s like the beginning of rock and roll: something comes down from the hills, and something comes up from the delta. – Robbie Robertson
I don’t want to be one of those people saying, ‘Remember when things were better?’ – Robbie Robertson
I do not have yearnings to get back on a bus. If it means getting on a bus, I don’t want to do it. – 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
For years after ‘The Last Waltz,’ I got all kinds of silly movie offers – or, maybe, not silly, but parts that are not my calling… lots of offers to play some wonderful boyfriend. – Robbie Robertson
I asked Bob Dylan to paint the album cover for ‘Music from Big Pink.’ He said, ‘Yeah, let me see what I can come up with.’ – Robbie Robertson
I feel so lucky to have been in a group where it was a real band. This wasn’t a singer and guitar player and some other guys. – Robbie Robertson
My thirst for knowledge and experience comes from the idea that once you learned something, it was time to learn something else. I missed out on a formal educational process, so I’m making up for that. – Robbie Robertson