This article will share some personal information about the Canadian-born songwriter, Robbie Robertson and his parents.
Who is Robbie Robertson?
Jaime Royal Robertson gave birth to Robertson on July 5, 1943. He was the only kid in the family. Rosemarie Dolly Chrysler, his mother, was born on February 6, 1922.
She was reared on the Six Nations Reserve southwest of Toronto, Ontario, as a Cayuga and Mohawk. Chrysler resided in Toronto’s Cabbagetown district with an aunt and worked at the Coro jewellery plating plant. At the workshop, she met James Patrick Robertson, whom she married in 1942.
Rosemarie and James Robertson kept working at the factory where they first met. When Robbie was a youngster, the family moved throughout many Toronto communities.
He frequently accompanied his mother to the Six Nations Reserve to visit her family. Family members, particularly his older cousin Herb Myke, taught Robertson how to play the guitar when he was there.
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Listening to disc jockey George “Hound Dog” Lorenz play rock ‘n’ roll on WKBW in Buffalo, New York, and staying up late to listen to disc jockey John R.’s all-night blues show on WLAC, a clear-channel station in Nashville, Tennessee, he became a lover of rock ‘n’ roll and R&B.
Robertson’s parents divorced while he was in his early teens. His mother told Robertson that his real father was Alexander David Klegerman, a guy she met while working at the Coro factory. Klegerman was a Jew.
He became a professional gambler before being slain in a hit-and-run on Queen Elizabeth Way. Before they married, she was with Klegerman while James Robertson was stationed with the Canadian Army in Newfoundland. His mother arranged for Robertson to meet his paternal uncles Morris (Morrie) and Nathan (Natie) Klegerman after he told her.
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When Robertson was fourteen, he worked two brief summer jobs in the traveling carnival circuit, first for a few days in a suburb of Toronto, and later as an assistant at a freak show for three weeks during the Canadian National Exhibition. He later drew from this for his song “Life is a Carnival” (with the Band) and the movie Carny (1980), which he both produced and starred in.
The first band Robertson joined was Little Caesar and the Consuls, formed in 1956 by pianist/vocalist Bruce Morshead and guitarist Gene MacLellan.
He stayed with the group for almost a year, playing popular songs of the day at local teen dances. In 1957 he formed Robbie and the Rhythm Chords with his friend Pete “Thumper” Traynor (who would later found Traynor Amplifiers).
They changed their name to Robbie and the Robots after seeing the film Forbidden Planet and falling in love with the character Robby the Robot. Traynor modified Robertson’s guitar for the Robots, adding antennas and cables to give it a space-age appearance. Traynor and Robertson formed The Suedes with pianist Scott Cushnie.
Ronnie Hawkins first became aware of the Suedes on October 5, 1959, when they performed at CHUM Radio’s Hif Fi Club on Toronto’s Merton Street. He was intrigued enough to join them for a few tunes.
View this post on InstagramRobertson is best known as a film soundtrack producer and composer for his work with director Martin Scorsese, which began with the rockumentary film The Last Waltz (1978) and continued with a number of dramatic films, including Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1983), Casino (1995), The Departed (2006), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), The Irishman (2019), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). He also contributed to numerous additional film and television soundtracks.
Robbie Robertson Parents
Alexander David Klegerman (father) and Rosemarie Myke Chrysler (mother) gave birth to Robbie Robertson in Toronto, Canada. Despite his celebrity, there is no information on his parents because their name, date of birth, age, and employment are unknown at the time of writing.
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