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Why did the Last Waltz Lead to The Band’s Fallout? — Transcript

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0:00In 1977, the band sat around a table
0:03with their managers and accountants
0:05discussing their uncertain future. While
0:07Robbie Robertson was looking to buy out
0:09his bandmate shares, they pitched yet
0:11another money-making scheme that one
0:14accountant declares a genius idea. That
0:16was the breaking point for Levon Helm.
0:18He shot to his feet, eyes blazing.
0:21Genius my there ain't a genius within
0:23walking distance of this
0:24self-infactuated crowd. He cussed them
0:26out to the point he had to leave town
0:28immediately. Speaking about them, he
0:30says, "They put the IRS after me. That's
0:33what kind of people we're talking about
0:34here." Not more than a year later, the
0:37recording studio named Shanganger,
0:39located in Malibu, California, [music]
0:41was being shut down. Richard Emanuel had
0:44been living out of one of the bungalows
0:45on the property when management tried to
0:47get him to move out. He didn't have
0:49anywhere else to go [music] and
0:50continued to stay as they shut off the
0:52phone and then the gas. Levonne stopped
0:55by to check on him one night when he
0:57finds Richard cooking minute steaks on
0:59an upside down clothes iron. He
1:02describes the scene in his
1:03autobiography. The thing was set on
1:05cotton. Richard would drop a pad of
1:07butter on the hot iron, slap on a steak,
1:10flip it over, drop another butter pat,
1:13and eat it right off the grill, so to
1:15speak. When they finally get him out of
1:16there, it took them a couple of days to
1:18clean out the 2,000 Grand bottles they
1:21found. Today, people tell me all the
1:23time how [music] much they love The Last
1:25Waltz. I try to thank them politely and
1:27usually refrain from mentioning that for
1:29me, it was a real scandal. But Robbie
1:33Robertson sees it completely
1:35differently, describing it in his
1:37posthumis memoir as the greatest [music]
1:39music film of all time. He details the
1:42two years he spent living with Martin
1:43Scorsesei, making the film as a labor of
1:46love mixed with a lot of debauchery. So,
1:49how is it that two band members that
1:50once considered themselves brothers
1:53could come away with completely
1:54different perspectives on the same
1:56experience [music] that concluded their
1:5816-year journey. I'll present you both
2:00sides and allow you [music] to decide
2:02why they felt so differently and how
2:04that led to the band's demise.
2:07The band was a traveling group called
2:09the Hawks and were playing gigs on the
2:11road all over the US and Canada for 8
2:13years before meeting Bob Dylan. Levon
2:16describes their lifestyle like this. I
2:18was the road. It was my life and I was
2:20living it to the hilt and beyond. We may
2:22have had a hard time getting credit
2:24cards and insurance, but we felt freer
2:26than anyone else in the land. As we
2:28crisscross province, prairie, and state,
2:30we didn't have to answer to anybody. It
2:32was the kind of life where if you had a
2:34problem today, you could be 500 miles
2:36away from it the next day. But Levon
2:39left that lifestyle he loved so much
2:41when they were touring with Bob Dylan
2:43during his contentious tour in ' 65 when
2:46they were booed, had things thrown at
2:48them, and caused an uproar everywhere
2:50they went. He says he was too sensitive
2:52to bear it, but the other guy stuck it
2:54out and followed Bob to Woodstock where
2:56he basically taught them how to write
2:57songs.
3:02>> [music and singing]
3:04>> Levonne gets the call from Rick in late
3:06' 67 when they finally get a record
3:08contract [music] and he returns to the
3:10band in Woodstock. He discovers they
3:12have developed miles beyond where they
3:14were when [music] he left them 2 years
3:15earlier. Richard tells Levon how they'd
3:17been working with Bob since March when
3:19he started coming by every day at the
3:22same time and they would go downstairs
3:23into their makeshift studio in the
3:25basement and play music they felt like
3:27playing or songs they had just written.
3:29Richard says to Levon, "It's like real
3:31work."
3:33Bob and Rick wrote This Wheels on Fire,
3:35while Richard and Bob wrote Tears of
3:37Rage. Robbie had always been writing
3:39songs since he joined the Hawks when
3:40[music] they were teenagers.
3:42and watching Bob, helping Bob construct
3:46some songs. Uh, everybody got a better
3:49idea of how to put a song together and
3:53and learned that there wasn't any set
3:56formula. A song could happen from a
3:58groove or from a from an idea, from a
4:02title, uh, from a story. And from doing
4:05that, uh, a lot of, uh, good
4:08arrangements came from that. a lot of
4:10musical ideas and just uh us living our
4:12lives, you know, just uh establishing
4:15some some little life rules. It was an
4:19incredible time period.
4:21>> Around this time, there was a reaction
4:23to the unrest in the country and a
4:25movement towards what Levon described as
4:27country values. [music] And that's why
4:29the band sound hit the spot with so many
4:31fed up with the age of Aquarius music by
4:3468. The Hawks were coming up with new
4:36ideas for band names [music] when Levon
4:38suggested the Honkys. But in Woodstock,
4:40they'd become so beloved where they were
4:42known as Bob Dylan's band that when
4:43people asked about them, they'd say, "Is
4:45the band in town?" And that's the name
4:47that stuck. So when their album started
4:49coming out, they began to notice that
4:51the writing credits were mostly listed
4:53as J.R. Robertson instead of the actual
4:55band member who Levon says wrote the
4:57[music] songs. They thought that was
4:58kind of funny, but were so caught up in
5:00their newfound success that they barely
5:02mentioned it. Their producer, John
5:04Simon, says, "In those days, that's how
5:06it was done. If there was a group, one
5:08guy tended to write [music] the songs
5:09and get credit for them. It kept things
5:11relatively simple that way. But Levon
5:14saw Richard as the [music] main
5:15songwriter with him and Rick and Robbie
5:17also writing some songs. He thought by
5:19the second album it would get corrected.
5:20[music]
5:21And when the songs got credited to
5:23Robertson, he approached Robbie, who had
5:25become close with their manager, Albert
5:27Gman. [music] Robbie assures him that
5:29everything will work out with the
5:30royalties once Albert builds a new
5:32state-of-the-art studio for them to
5:34record in as they pleased. Levon points
5:36out that the royalty changes never
5:38materialized. Around this same time,
5:41they are being referred [music] to by
5:42critics as the best band in America and
5:44enjoying a great deal of fame as [music]
5:46they begin to work on their third album,
5:48Stage Fright. Levon says this is when
5:50the stage is being set [music] for the
5:52last walts, despite owing the record
5:54company eight more albums.
5:56Kane is a name and [music and singing] I
5:58served on the train.
6:01>> He describes the crowd at Woodstock
6:03Music Festival as real tired and real
6:05unhealthy, saying as soon as they were
6:07done playing, they got out of there.
6:09Albert Gman refused their movie rights
6:11to the documentary in exchange for their
6:13fee, so they were not in the film. As a
6:15result,
6:17in July 1973, they played a festival in
6:20Watkins Glenn, New York with the
6:22Grateful Dead and the Almond Brothers
6:23band to a quarter of a million people.
6:25Richard [music] describes it as a hell
6:27of a lot better than Woodstock and
6:28Levonne says, "It is burned in my
6:30memory." In 1974, they joined back up
6:33with Bob Dylan for a tour, and this time
6:35they were met with a completely
6:37different response [music] than the
6:38animosity of 1965, just 9 years earlier.
6:42Levon tells of the electricity when
6:44Dylan entered the stage. [music] We
6:46understood that people were excited by
6:47Bob's comeback after a long public
6:49absence, [music] but we were astounded
6:51anyway when he walked on stage in the
6:53darkened hall in Chicago and [music] saw
6:55the entire audience stand and hold up
6:58flaring lighters in a roar of tribute to
7:00Bob. He says the normally stoic Dylan is
7:02moved to the point of not being able to
7:05face the crowd. They perform the same
7:07songs they played in ' 65, but with a
7:09completely different response. The album
7:11of the tour went on to become their
7:13legendary live album, Before the Flood.
7:21>> In 1976, after finishing a concert at
7:24Stanford with the Flying Burrito
7:25Brothers, Robbiey's daughter's been
7:27born, and the band was seeing less and
7:29less of each other. Rick signed a solo
7:31record deal because he couldn't take
7:32being so Still while Richard was
7:34recovering from a neck injury. Robbie
7:36tells Levon he is ready to hang it up
7:38and stop touring. He wants to spend more
7:40time with his family. Levon couldn't
7:42understand this and thought he was
7:43joking initially, but he wasn't. Robbie
7:45goes on to tell Levon of his worries
7:47about being on the road and that it was
7:48too dangerous after their friend had
7:50died in an airplane crash, [music] as
7:52well as other musicians who had lost
7:53their lives on the road, saying, "Do we
7:55have to spend the rest of our lives on
7:57the road, man, until we can't stand each
7:59other like Sam and Dave, man?" Effing
8:01knife fights in the dressing room. They
8:03soon get word from management in
8:04September that their final show will be
8:06in San Francisco where they launched the
8:08band and [music] it would be a
8:09star-studded event with everyone who
8:11influenced them throughout the years.
8:13And that was that. It was decided for
8:15them. Levon says they were nowhere near
8:17being ready to stop touring, especially
8:19after those monumental life concerts
8:22they had leading up to this. Levon meets
8:24with Robbie in early October to protest
8:26the breakup of the band. He describes
8:28Robbie as barely able to open his eyes
8:30as he'd been up all night producing a
8:32Neil Diamond album. Levonne says they
8:34will go on as the band without him as
8:36Robbie responds they would stop them
8:38legally. This is when he catches wind
8:40that the final concert will also be
8:42filmed for a documentary. The concert
8:44and a feast scheduled for Thanksgiving
8:46Day, November 25th, 1976 at the
8:49Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco
8:52features an extraordinary lineup of
8:54guest musicians. They had everyone lined
8:56up and agreed to play, including Ronnie
8:58Hawkins, Dr. John Neil Young, Neil
9:00Diamond, Joanie Mitchell, Muddy Waters,
9:03Paul Butterfield, Van Morrison, Ringo
9:05Star, Ron Wood, and Bob Dylan. Warner
9:08Brothers agrees to put them on a
9:09retainer for $2,000 a week each
9:12throughout the process along [music]
9:13with rights to the film. Levon says he
9:15was completely against the film and
9:17didn't understand why someone like Neil
9:19Diamond would be included because he has
9:21absolutely nothing to do with the band.
9:22He was informed that Robbie had just
9:24produced his album and wanted to perform
9:26a couple of their songs. Levon says the
9:28film was more or less shoved down their
9:30throats and would be done live with one
9:32take. Levonne recalls that they went to
9:34Mo O at Warner Brothers and asked for
9:36the money to shoot the film. Oon is
9:38reluctant and only agrees to it if Bob
9:40Dylan agrees to be in the film. So they
9:42go to Bob and ask him and he doesn't
9:44want to do it because he has been
9:46finishing up his Ronaldo and Clara film
9:48from the Rolling Thunder tour and didn't
9:50want to compete with himself. But
9:51according to Levon, Robbie and
9:53management tell Oston that Bob did agree
9:55to be in the film. So he fronted them
9:57$1.5 million to make it. They go back
10:00and forth and Bob keeps saying, "I don't
10:02know, man. I need to talk to
10:03management." Clearly hoping they will
10:05let it go. So all the way up to the day
10:07of the concert, they still don't have
10:09his agreement to be in the film. There
10:10are nine cameras set up pointing
10:12directly at the stage, mind you. At 6:00
10:14p.m., the doors open as people who pay
10:17$25 enjoy a feast of 220 turkeys, 500 lb
10:21of cranberry [music] sauce, 90 gallons
10:24of brown gravy, a ton of candied yams,
10:26800 lb of minced meat, 6,000 rolls, and
10:30400 gallons of cider. The stuffing was
10:32made of 500 lb of onions and [music]
10:34celery, 70 bunches of parsley, and 16
10:37quarts of herbs sauteed in 100 lb of
10:39butter. And if you didn't eat meat, you
10:41could sample some of the 400 pounds of
10:43fresh salmon and then get up to dance to
10:45a 38piece orchestra encouraged by three
10:48teams of professional ballroom dancers.
10:53[music]
10:57>> The concert began around 900 p.m. as the
10:59band played their most popular songs
11:01before any of the guest performers came
11:03on stage. Bob arrives during the first
11:05half of the show and goes directly into
11:07his dressing room. About 15 minutes
11:09before he was set to go on stage, he
11:11tells them he doesn't want to be in the
11:13film. Robbie went totally pale and
11:15Scorsesei went berserk. Without him,
11:17there was no film and they would have to
11:19pay the money back. Everyone kept going
11:21in trying to get him to change his mind,
11:23but it was Bill Graham who said, "That's
11:25it. I'm going to get him to do it." He
11:26entered the dressing room as everyone
11:28waited, holding their breath. Bill
11:30finally emerges with five minutes left
11:32before stage time and says Bob agrees to
11:34be in it, but only for two songs.
11:40[music and singing]
11:44>> By 3:00 a.m., the last Waltz was over.
11:46It was one of those nights Levon says
11:48you didn't want to let go of.
11:54Don't you break my heart.
11:57>> The following February 1977, Robbie
12:00Robertson had [music] been asked by his
12:02wife to leave their home. He briefly
12:03stayed in a room at Shangerla Recording
12:06Studio before winding up at Martin
12:08Scorsese's house on Mahalland where he
12:10was invited to move in as Marty's
12:12[music] wife had also recently moved
12:14out, leaving both men newly single with
12:16a film to finish. He describes trying to
12:18explain to the guys in the band all that
12:20it took to make a film and saying they
12:22understood it to the best of their
12:24ability. He cites Richard Emanuel's
12:26drinking problem as why they needed to
12:28get off the road. Robbie recalls in his
12:30latest memoir, Insomnia, [music] "I was
12:32tired of pulling the train up the hill,
12:34tired of trying to figure out what to do
12:35with Richard's situation, and I was
12:37tired of Levon, who was becoming more
12:39and more difficult to deal with." When
12:41he tells Levon he finally got the money
12:43to make the film, he says Levon tells
12:45him, "F the film. Let's just use the
12:47concert and keep the money. A shocked
12:49Robbie doesn't understand why Levon
12:51can't see how great this documentary
12:53could be and all that it took to make
12:54it. Robbie tells Levon this could be one
12:57of the best music films ever made. We
12:59have to see this through. At Marty's
13:01house, they initially spend a lot of
13:02[music] time screening movies as he
13:04taught Robbie details to look out for in
13:06old films. Robbie compares them to a
13:08whacked out odd couple. as Scorsesei was
13:11meticulous about every detail and Robbie
13:13was [music] used to the freewheing rock
13:15and roll life on the road where everyone
13:17cleaned up after you. Each of the
13:18artists get to screen their part of the
13:20film [music] before signing off. When
13:22Neil Young sees his part, he says he
13:23can't be in the film due to a rock of
13:25coke in his nose that is visible, not
13:27wanting his kids to see that someday.
13:29So, they had to go through some special
13:31effects to remove that before he agreed
13:33to sign off.
13:35Two production assistants, Ava and
13:37Sylvia, who are young women in their
13:3920s, arrange a screening at MGM with the
13:41heads of the Can's film festival. Along
13:44with the Can's people, they invite two
13:45Hell's [music] Angels, one of which
13:47recited a poem during the last Walt's
13:49film named Sweet William. Suddenly
13:51towards the end of the screening, Ava
13:53and Sylvia call Marty and Robbie in a
13:55panic because Sweet William went
13:57ballistic and was holding them hostage.
13:59He started screaming at the top of his
14:01lungs after his performance. He is
14:03making demands for drugs and money and
14:05it has them locked in a room. Finally,
14:07Sweet William gets on the phone with
14:08Robbie and says, "You've shortened my
14:11poem and taken the soul out of it." He
14:13goes on to tell him by cutting out the
14:14middle of the very long poem, "He
14:16disgraced his tale about the killing of
14:18another Hell's Angel in Florida by the
14:20cops." He then demands $1,000, an ounce
14:23of Coke, and his full poem back in the
14:26movie, or quote, "You can't imagine what
14:28we're going to do to your little
14:29secretaries." Robbie then remembers
14:31another leader within the Hell's Angel,
14:33Sunny Barger, that he knows personally
14:35who he brings up to Sweet William,
14:37saying, "Why don't we get his input
14:39about the poem?" Sweet William stops and
14:41finally responds. I don't want Sunny to
14:43have to decide or anyone else. Cut me
14:45out of the movie, that's all. I can't
14:47live with it like this, so just take me
14:49out. They then up and leave MGM.
14:52Robbie describes the money coming from
14:53United Artists going towards the
14:55additional filming, [music] editing, and
14:57mixing, saying they would only get paid
14:58the profit sharing of the film, calling
15:01it a labor of love and [music] madness.
15:03During this time, Robbie is dating his
15:05wife's best friend, but is not entirely
15:07convinced his marriage is over, and he
15:09finds himself confused over the entire
15:11[music] situation. He writes a song for
15:13the soundtrack called Out of the Blue
15:15about his [music] wife, in which the
15:16band comes together at Shanganger to
15:18record. He gets the feeling that
15:20everyone had one foot out the door and
15:22realize the distance that had grown
15:23between them [music] despite their
15:25musical bond.
15:27Throughout Levon's accounts, you can
15:29hear the bitterness unfold as he tells
15:31off Martin Scorsesei at one point during
15:33the interviews for the film, saying, "I
15:35was coarse and rude, country rude,
15:37because I was so damn angry." Levon does
15:40not hold back on his distaste towards
15:42him regarding the film and how he
15:43perceives his hand in the demise of the
15:45productivity of the band. Next, the guys
15:48in the band screen the movie. Robbie
15:49says, "Rick thought the film was
15:51tremendous. G tried to stay awake due to
15:53his narcolepsy, and Richard commented on
15:55the great performances by Van, Joanie,
15:57Bob, and Muddy. He doesn't mention
15:59Levon's reaction except when mentioning
16:01Lawrence Fairetti's poem, Loud Prayer,
16:04which is a take on the Lord's Prayer."
16:06He brings up Levon's Southern Baptist
16:08upbringing as he remarks, "Somebody
16:10could be struck by lightning screwing
16:12around with the Bible. We ought not to
16:14be messing with that kind of [music]
16:15boys. Fair and Gaddy.
16:18In Levon's book, he makes it very clear
16:20he hates the film and sees it as
16:22Robbie's way into the Hollywood scene at
16:24his band's expense. He says, "After the
16:27screening [music] ended, I was in shock
16:28over how bad the movie was." Nine
16:30cameras on the floor and there wasn't
16:32even a shot of Richard Emanuel singing
16:34the finale, I Shall Be released, his
16:36trademark song. He basically feels the
16:38whole film is edited in a way to focus
16:40on Robbie and there's barely any shots
16:43of Richard or Gar during the concert and
16:45the interviews all make it seem like
16:46it's Robbiey's band. He says Ronnie
16:48Hawkins even made a joke at the end of
16:50the screening that the movie would be
16:52all right had there just have been more
16:54shots of Robertson. Robbie details
16:56Levon's frustration with Richard being
16:58drunk during some of the interviews and
17:00taking Levon's concerns about the film
17:02to Rick, who seemed to agree with Robbie
17:04on allowing Richard to just be himself.
17:06But they are starting to pit each other
17:08against one another at this point,
17:09whether they know it or not. It's around
17:11this time that Levon tells everyone off
17:13at the meeting. As the film is making
17:15its way through screenings, Robbie's
17:17fallen into the Hollywood scene as he
17:19tells some hilarious stories about wild
17:21nights with Scorsesei and the likes of
17:23Liza Minnelli, Robert Dairo, and Harvey
17:26Keitel. They had begun shooting raging
17:28bull during this time period. During the
17:30can's film festival, they arrive as
17:32angry crowds outside waiting [music]
17:34scream fascist at Martin Scorsesei
17:36because of their perception of his
17:38American views on the films he made.
17:40Robbie is interviewed by Andy Warhol for
17:42his magazine interview. They enjoy
17:44catching up and recalling old times at
17:46the Chelsea Hotel with Edie Sedwick,
17:48Nico, and Salvador Dolly. They laugh
17:50about the time Andy gave Dylan a silk
17:52screen of Elvis and Bob immediately
17:54traded it with Albert Gman for a couch.
17:57Back in London at the Savoy Hotel, they
17:59meet up with Jack Nicholson, who tells
18:01them about the film he's working on with
18:02Stanley Kubri, about a family in an old
18:05mountain resort, and the man is losing
18:07his mind. The movie is called The
18:09Shining. Jack describes to them a scene
18:11they worked on where his character hacks
18:13his way through the door, and he
18:15spontaneously comes up with the line,
18:17>> "Here's Johnny."
18:18>> Which Kubri finds hilarious and keeps in
18:21the movie. While editing Raging Bull,
18:22Marty turned to Robbie to help with the
18:24soundtrack. He brought in G and Richard
18:26to help on a song and play a 1940s New
18:29York jazz scene. It would be the first
18:31of many soundtracks he worked on for
18:33Scorsese Films. After all the accolades
18:36of the last Waltz came pouring out and
18:38everything settled down, Robbie
18:39describes that the rest of the band had
18:41left California and moved back to
18:43Woodstock. He says he couldn't imagine
18:45going back there, believing their
18:47physical distance led to their personal
18:49connection drifting them apart. He began
18:51working on a film called Carney with
18:53Gary Buucy. One day, Rick and Gary came
18:55to visit him at his house. And Rick
18:57describes checking in on G since his
18:59house burned down in Malibu. Gar sat on
19:02a hill powerless watching his house
19:04burned to the ground. And Rick says,
19:05"Hey, let's give Levon a call." They
19:08call him up as he's sitting watching
19:09basketball. Robbie tells Levon about a
19:11film director who asked about him to
19:13play a part as Loretta Lynn's father in
19:15an upcoming movie. He liked his presence
19:18in The Last Walt. He says Levon's
19:20response is dismissive, saying, "Hell,
19:22Loretta's older than me." He then gets
19:24off the phone and gets back to his game.
19:26Of course, he would go on to play that
19:27role and several others, but Robbie says
19:29it is at this point that he sees he
19:32himself has changed. His time with the
19:34band was incredible and they had become
19:36brothers. But Levon was quote limited in
19:38his vision and ambitions, happy to go
19:40round and round playing music in the
19:42same old [music] circuit. I couldn't
19:44stand still like that. I wanted to make
19:46original music to find new sounds. But
19:48in this group, it came to feel like I
19:50was the only one who had these thoughts.
19:52I'd had to take over the reigns of our
19:54direction. [music] If id left it up to
19:56Levon, we would have never joined up
19:57with Bob Dylan. He went along with it
19:59for a while to appease me, but he hated
20:02it so much. He eventually quit his own
20:04[music] band. I didn't even know you
20:05could do that. There would have been no
20:07basement tapes or Big Pink if it was
20:09left up to him. No last walts. Levon saw
20:12Robbiey's move to evolve into movies as
20:15a betrayal. And Robbie saw Levon and the
20:17band holding him back. So, did Robbie
20:19make questionable decisions with
20:21songwriting credits? Possibly. But he
20:23says that Levon just didn't understand
20:25how it all worked. So, it's hard to say
20:26because the other guys didn't seem to
20:28have the same grievances, at least
20:30publicly. And they never saw a dime of
20:32the money from the film due to it being
20:34over budget. And there it was. That's
20:36what the demise all came down to.
20:37Differences in how the publishing rights
20:39were distributed and how the band's end
20:41was handled. [music] Richard's life
20:42ended heartbreakingly sad on the road
20:44with the band Sans Robertson in 1983.
20:47And when Rick died suddenly in his sleep
20:49at age 56, Levonne made it clear who he
20:52held responsible, saying Rick worked too
20:54hard. He wasn't that old and he wasn't
20:56that [music] sick. He just worked
20:58himself to death. And the reason Rick
21:00worked all the time was because [music]
21:01he had been effed out of his money.
21:03People ask me what I think of The Last
21:05Walts all the [music] time. Rick Denko
21:07dying at 56 is what I think about The
21:09Last Walts. It was the biggest effing
21:11ripoff that ever [music] happened to the
21:13band without a doubt.
21:16As the band members began going their
21:18own ways, the animosity between Levon
21:20and Robbie during The Last Walts
21:22irreparably fractured their bond,
21:24leading to the band's demise. The others
21:26stayed mostly quiet, though they tooured
21:28without Robbie, likely out of financial
21:30need. To fans, the riff felt like
21:32watching old friends in a feud, each
21:34with their own side of the story. Both
21:36men likely shared some of the blame.
21:38Robbie later said there was no feud from
21:40his side and that he'd made peace with
21:41Levon before his death. Leon loved life
21:44on the road. Torian made him feel alive.
21:46Robbie, meanwhile, was drawn to film
21:48making and storytelling and wanted more
21:50time with his young family. A choice
21:52that made sense, but left Levonne
21:54feeling left out in the cold. [music]
21:55The disputes over songwriting and
21:57royalties deepen the divide. If Robbie
21:59acted unfairly behind the scenes, that's
22:01hard to forgive. But it's [music] also a
22:03lesson on protecting your own interest
22:05early on before resentment takes root.
22:10This story is a great reminder that just
22:12because you have a long history with
22:14someone, it doesn't mean that they share
22:16the same moral clarity or vision as you.
22:19They were looking at the situation from
22:20two different levels. Robbie took a
22:22rational approach to how he saw the
22:24situation and decided he was ready to
22:27move on while being more business savvy
22:29while Levon was coming from a
22:30relationship level with what they refer
22:32to as brothers. So, he took it
22:35personally when Robbie didn't live up to
22:37that expectation. But life has a funny
22:39way of coming full circle. After
22:41Robbiey's death in 2023, in a twist that
22:44would have made Levon smirk, the band's
22:46old feud over money didn't exactly die
22:49with them. It just changed cast members.
22:52After [music] decades of Robertson being
22:54painted as the guy who walked away with
22:56the band's fortune during their time of
22:58need, his own children are now in court
23:01battling his much younger widow over
23:03control of his estate. the same
23:05arguments about who really owns the
23:07riches that began with the band. They
23:10are alleging financial elder abuse and
23:12torturous interference with inheritance.
23:15The lawsuit claims his widow took
23:16advantage of Robertson while he was in
23:19declining health after a recent surgery,
23:21coercing him into signing documents that
23:24she allegedly knew he didn't understand
23:27due to medication. The children are
23:28seeking to cancel these documents which
23:31they claim grant her an unfavorable life
23:34estate in their father's home, forcing
23:36them to pay expenses until she dies. In
23:40a strangely poetic echo of the band's
23:42original breakup drama, Robbie's kids
23:45are now accusing his widow of doing to
23:47him what Levon long claimed Robbie did
23:49to the rest of the band, taking
23:51advantage of someone at a vulnerable
23:53moment to secure a financial upper hand.
23:55The parallels are hard to ignore. Of
23:58course, they are now all gone while
23:59their stories and music live on. It's
24:01good that Robbie and Levon got to make
24:03peace before Levon [music] passed away.
24:05Our time here is short. Make peace today
24:08because tomorrow is promised to no one.
24:14Thank you for watching. I'll put a link
24:16to the uncensored version with longer
24:18music excerpts available on the Patreon
24:20page in the description if you want to
24:22watch that and be so kind as to support
24:25my work. This was a complicated story
24:27because it spans so many years [music]
24:29and there were several points of
24:31contention and two different versions of
24:33events. Hopefully, I showed grace to
24:35both sides. Almost everyone knows what
24:38it feels like to be ripped off and also
24:40to be blamed for something due to a
24:42misunderstanding. It's easy to jump to
24:44conclusions based on our own experiences
24:46and project that when making up our
24:48mind. I look for evidence and patterns
24:51in people's behavior when making up my
24:53own mind. Let me know what you think in
24:55the comments below. I'll put a link in
24:57the description as well to the books if
24:59you want to get more into their stories
25:01as well as the music featured here. I
25:03highly recommend both. Thanks again. See
25:05you next video.

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