Testimony

With songs like ´The Weight´, ´The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down´ and ´Up on Cripple Creek´, songwriter/guitarist Robbie Robertson and his partners in The Band introduced a music lexicon, one soaked in the mythology of the Old South that has influenced countless musicians. In this remarkable memoir, Robertson weaves together his rollicking years with rockabilly Ronnie Hawkins; The Band´s formation and trial-by-fire supporting Bob Dylan on his ´66 world tour, and the cloistered sessions leading to their unique sound. He recounts being part of Dylan´s Blonde on Blonde recording sessions (on the album he is credited as Jaime Robertson), and catapulting to fame on the release of The Band´s Music From Big Pink in 1968 and takes us through the astonishing album run that culminated in The Last Waltz farewell concert, which was made into a film of the same name by Martin Scorsese. With a supporting cast that includes Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddly, Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, Miles Davis, Van Morrison, Salvador Dali, Carly Simon, Marlon Brando, Allen Ginsberg and David Crosby, Testimony is the story of seismic 1960s change, of how Dylan and The Band redefined culture, and of the profound friendship between five men who created music that still fascinates us.