Photo by Don Dixon
In a new interview with Salon, The Band’s Robbie Robertson details his ongoing dispute with the late Levon Helm over proper publishing compensation for the group’s songbook.
“Here’s something that I’ve not said before. To this day, on The Band’s songs, I share the publishing and songwriting credit with Levon,” Robertson explains. “The other guys said they wanted to sell their part of the publishing. When we started out, everyone was supposed to write songs. [When they didn’t] I thought they were being lazy. But some people can write songs, and some can’t. Levon didn’t write songs. I gave him credit on some songs because he was around. Garth was a great musician, but he couldn’t write. Ringo Starr doesn’t write songs. Charlie Watts doesn’t write songs, and they don’t share publishing credit with the other guys in their groups. After 16 years together, Levon never once mentioned songwriting. When it came up, I was generous about it. I did stuff I didn’t have to do, and I did it to be a good friend. It was 10 or 15 years after that when Levon was struggling financially, and he’s blamed someone else for what happened with him. This was another case of that.”
To read Relix‘s recent interview with Robertson click here.
23 Comments comments associated with this post
Marilyn Munster
June 11, 2020 at 4:08 pmI am a longtime Band fan and think some of these comments are from the same people using different names who are out to discredit Robbie. I’ve done extensive research on this one-sided feud and have discovered that most of the negative sentiment originates from Sandy Helm. People connected to her as well as others connected to them bash Robbie on social media every chance they get. One person even wished Robbie would contract COVID-19. I watched Robbie’s interview with Dan Rather and let’s just say someone on FB interpreted Robbie’s response to a question completely differently than I did. Sure enough, this person has a direct connection to the Helm family. I believe the hatred runs deeper than the Levon feud, but won’t communicate my suspicions here.
The fact remains the Helm family currentlyu continues to receive publishing and royalty income from Band recordings. Levon did not sell his publishing to Robbie like the others and Robbie did indeed share songwriting royalties with Levon on several songs.
Finally, Robbie is a very positive forward thinking guy who has enjoyed tremendous success in his post-Band career. The income he earns from The Band is a fraction of his total earnings. The Robbie haters connected to the Helms will never change, but I hope the next generation of detractors examines all the facts instead of subscribing to this pervasive hate-filled herd mentality.
AndoDoug
May 28, 2020 at 3:33 pmI’ll put in a word for Robbie, dickishness aside. In 1990, The Band’s three OG members still considered themselves a going concern, and went to work for SONY, their new label. But dudes didn’t have enough material. This alone shows that they couldn’t viably continue without Robbie. They needed to release new material to keep the band a going concern, but Instead of figuring it out among themselves, they got matched up with Jules Shear, a guy who had been putting out solo albums to crickets for seven years! It was a desperate move that shows how far adrift they were without a primary songwriter. You don’t invite a journeyman musician into a leadership role right out of the box unless you don’t know what else to do. Why no one was shaking them going YOU’RE THE FUCKING BANDDDDDD is beyond most of our comprehension at this point. Shear was the guy with stacks of songs, but with quite specific stylings unrelated to the Band ethos. So he seems to have just dug into his song file and picked out the ones that might have a hoe-down vibe. It overwhelmed any hope the OG members had of making ‘Tombstone, Tombstone’ sound like the Band we all knew. I think that’s why SONY rejected it and in fact never released anything by the group.
If they HAD to bring in a new guy (Manuel’s replacement in this 1990 was Stan Szelest, the kid who he replaced back in ’61, so you can see how much it meant to these guys to keep it in the family), it should have been done with the care required to make sure it sounded like the Band. But the tracks that make up the unreleased ‘Tombstone, Tombstone’ collection suggest SONY was right on the money.Rick sounds great on his lead vocs, and it’s a shame that he wasn’t capable of stepping into a lead vocals and co-songwriter role, maybe even produce the album. The group seems to bind around Rick’s singing and really sound like themselves, albeit heart-breakingly sad – but the bulk of the album sounds like Jules Shear and The Band. The title track does show some promise (these tracks, which remain in circulation, seem to be unmastered), with a killer chorus and what sounds like Danko and Shear sharing lead duties. But River of Honey and Money Whipped are terrible choices, and the so-so stuff just doesn’t sound like the same group. ‘High Price of Love’ has a Band vibe, with Levon struggling through a co-lead vocal, but the Band gene was gone – and they should’ve known it. Retire gracefully. Anything but ‘Tombstone, Tombstone,’ which effectively ended their careers. If Robbie stole from their fount of songwriting, they would have had an album in them in 1990, but they didn’t.
Greg Stinson
May 25, 2020 at 6:44 pm“The lady doth protest too much, methinks”
Pizza Guy
May 25, 2020 at 2:28 pmI used to deliver pizzas to Robbie in Brentwood (1991-92).. the dick would order pineapple on his feckin’ pizza. Nuff said… wasn’t a great tipper, either.
John
May 25, 2020 at 10:14 amRobbie Robertson didnt say word one while Levon was alive in response the rift. Now that Levon has passed, he hasn’t shut up about. Making money off it too. Robbie you are a coward and a thief. Plain and simple. And no true fan of The Band believes a word you say.
user123
May 25, 2020 at 9:22 amWe’re sick of it Robbie, let it go and shut up
AndoDoug
May 25, 2020 at 8:41 amSeems Robbie is digging himself deeper with this quote – if it’s the case that “to this day, I share the publishing and songwriting credit with Levon,” the next question is, on which tracks? On the track listings we have, all he got was 1/3 of the credit on ‘Life is a Carnival,’ half of ‘Strawberry Wine’ and half of ‘Jemima Surrender’.
Large Father
May 25, 2020 at 8:33 amI once ask Robbie to scratch my back and he said go ask Levon to he will. What a selfish Dick head
Jack C.
May 25, 2020 at 4:44 amLook at all these people who never personally spent time with either Robertson or Helm, yet claim to understand all the nuances. Would they like their own family sized-up just from media reports on bad days?
I never took Robertson as a major ego-tripper. People just like to have a dartboard.
Pat
May 25, 2020 at 5:23 amI knew the whole Band personally. I was around for about 4 years prior to the first break up.Them and my parents had a shared outside interest.There’s reasons four guys don’t like one. Heck I didn’t like him as a little kid. He was so full of himself. Even Bob considers Robbie a pain in the ass! Robbie follows him around like the little dog following Spike in the cartoon. What we gonna do now Bob? Huh? Where you taking music next, huh Bob? It’s right there in Bob’s autobiography. It’s not a friendship, it’s more like a rabid fan gets to hang out with his crush. Levon was the nicest guy. Always asking me what I was up to. Robbie is literally pissing all over his fellow band members with these interviews. Right on their graves.
Drink the Clorox
May 25, 2020 at 10:20 amSo he can’t tell his story? because to some it doesn’t fit their fantasies , they think because someone sings a song they must have wrote it.
Lord of Innovation
May 25, 2020 at 1:27 pmWell said.
Ramon Wilcox
May 25, 2020 at 3:35 amYeah, enough already. I just hear a guilty conscience trying not to be thought of as a heel. The last one standing writes the history, but we were all along for the ride, and we know what we saw and heard…
Pat
May 25, 2020 at 5:00 amAdd Neal Schon to the group because he thought he was responsible for all of journeys hits. Its odd one guy joined, and they had 20, where there were none before, the guy leaves and suddenly crickets
Dave the Slave
May 25, 2020 at 12:56 amRobbie and Rodger Waters should start a band called It’s All About Me. They can get David Lee Roth to be the lead singer.
Jack C.
May 25, 2020 at 4:46 amI’ve never seen Robertson as nearly like those guys. Never understood the big deal with all this. You really have to know people personally to judge subtle situations over time.
B
May 26, 2020 at 12:24 amI know his BS doc is coming out – on Levon’s 80th no less – but how about you have some class and let the fight die with Levon. You supposedly visit him on his death bed and reconcile, but then you trash him when he’s in the ground. Everyone but you and Garth is dead, and Garth won’t say boo. Coward.
And just watch any interview or speech Robbie has ever given, it’s me me me. I’m the greatest. Yeah, well, without his bandmates who “sang my songs” (as he so dickishly said in the rock hall of fame speech), his music has sucked. (And Yes—I’ve tried to get into his solo albums a number of times.). I’m sure the truth is somewhere in between Robbie and Levon’s versions, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Rick was right with what he said later in life about Robbie taking credit for the songs (when talking about Twilight in particular):
“I hate to say this, but it’s as much of a Rick Danko song as it is a Robbie Robertson song. I just forgot to seek (credit). Robbie was very tight with sharing those responsibilities. That’s why he’s where he is, and that’s why we are where we are, to make a long story short… He’ll say he did it all, if you give him the opportunity.”
Stylish
May 26, 2020 at 6:40 amDon’t even think about comparing R.R. to R.W.
Waters is a genius: a brilliant, innovative artist, a political hero to hundreds of millions around the globe, an outspoken supporter of BDS, a thorn in the side of dipshit zionists, on and on delicious goodness.
Robbie Robertson? His story is all about being in the right place at the right time (think Mickey Hart- shitty drummer, zero talent/creative input – except when he was needling Weir and Hunter about being in the room when songs were written in order to get his name on credits for ROYALTIES__THE ROYALTY CHECK IS IN< HONEY___.) Gawd, Mickey Hart would have been a super-helpful coked-up customer service associate at ACE Hardware. "Nails? Aisle 9", if he wasn't so GODDAMN busy detracting from otherwise perfect GD recordings- fuckkkk… but I digress…. So, Robbie Robertson is annoying and copped art and culture from Helm and Danko. Project Object (sc. FZ): R.W. is a Brit who knows his place even as he sucks off the American teat (notable itself as most Brits don't- god, I hate the people from England except for maybe 20 or 30- but those other 100's of millions…. just so irritating
Bix woodyard
May 24, 2020 at 11:38 pm“It don’t come easy” for some to admit they’re wrong
Barry Plashka
May 25, 2020 at 2:02 pmJFYI
George Harrison wrote the song.
“ It don’t come easy “
Robert
May 24, 2020 at 11:08 pmHey really needs to stop talking. There is nobody to respond except Garth. Just stop promoting everything you do.!!!!!
Gary
May 24, 2020 at 7:55 pmAt least wait for the body to cool before you start carvin’ him up, vulture…
Pops
May 24, 2020 at 7:28 pmAnd Amy, your response?