Robbie Robertson, a Canadian musician and songwriter who made his mark as the leader of the 1970’s with an influential rock band that was simply called “The Band,” has died after a long illness. He was 80.

His death was announced by his longtime manager Jared Levine.

“Robbie was surrounded by his family at the time of his death, including his wife, Janet, his ex-wife, Dominique, her partner Nicholas, and his children Alexandra, Sebastian, Delphine, and Delphine’s partner Kenny,” it said, in part. “He is also survived by his grandchildren Angelica, Donovan, Dominic, Gabriel and Seraphina.”

Born Jaime Royal Robertson on July 5, 1943, he was one of the last two surviving members of The Band, an influential rock band that mixed folk, gospel and jazz with rhythm and blues and helped forge a distinctly American kind of roots rock sound.

But it was Robertson’s appearance in The Last Waltz, a 1978 documentary directed by Martin Scorsese, that made him a star.

Robertson played lead guitar and wrote some of The Band’s best-known songs, including “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek,” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”

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