Testimony [Signed 1st Printing with Publisher's Compliments Card Laid-in]

Robertson, Robbie (1943-2023)

ISBN 10: 0307401391 / ISBN 13: 9780307401397

Published by Knopf Canada, Toronto, 2016

About this Item

1st printing of the first Canadian hardcover edition of the late Canadian musician's autobiography SIGNED by Robertson with a black fountain pen on a tipped-in page. LAID-IN is the business card of the Publishing Director of Knopf Canada with a handwritten note on the reverse side noting that this book is among several supplied and that it is autographed. Full gray paper boards and binding with black titles and white end papers. 494 pages plus 17 pages of colour and b&w photography. A tight copy with sharp corners. Slight spine roll. Mild tanning of the exposed page edges. The top edge of the back board has been bumped at its mid-point, and the heel of the spine is softened. The jacket is bright, crisp and price intact with sharp edges. Produced without a surface laminate, the jacket show shelf wear at the top and bottom edges of the black back panel, just next to the spine. There is a crease in the surface of the jacket that runs for a half-inch from the heel of spine in the direction of the publisher's colophon. A very well-preserved copy of the scarcely signed follow-the-flag edition. Please search our inventory for other books and ephemera autographed by musicians, including Johnny Cash and the late Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip.

Seller Inventory # 002717

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Testimony [Signed 1st Printing with Publisher's Compliments Card Laid-in]
• Publisher: Knopf Canada, Toronto
• Publication Date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0307401391
• ISBN 13: 9780307401397
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Musicians Signed
  • Non-Fiction Autographed
  • Entertainment Autographed

About this title

Synopsis

On the fortieth anniversary of The Band’s legendary The Last Waltz concert, Robbie Robertson finally tells his own spellbinding story of the band that changed music history, his extraordinary personal journey, and his creative friendships with some of the greatest artists of the last half-century.

Robbie Robertson’s singular contributions to popular music have made him one of the most beloved songwriters and guitarists of his time. With songs like “The Weight,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” and “Up on Cripple Creek,” he and his partners in The Band fashioned music that has endured for decades, influencing countless musicians.
     In this captivating memoir, written over five years of reflection, Robbie Robertson employs his unique storyteller’s voice to weave together the journey that led him to some of the most pivotal events in music history. He recounts the adventures of his half-Jewish, half-Mohawk upbringing on the Six Nations Indian Reserve and on the gritty streets of Toronto; his odyssey at sixteen to the Mississippi Delta, the fountainhead of American music; the wild, early years on the road with rockabilly legend Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks; his unexpected ties to the Cosa Nostra underworld; the gripping trial-by-fire “going electric” with Bob Dylan on his 1966 world tour, and their ensuing celebrated collaborations; the formation of The Band and the forging of their unique sound,  culminating with history’s most famous farewell concert, brought to life for all time in Martin Scorsese’s great movie The Last Waltz. 
     This is the story of a time and place—the moment when rock ʼnʼ roll became life, when legends like Buddy Holly and Bo Diddley crisscrossed the circuit of clubs and roadhouses from Texas to Toronto, when The Beatles, Hendrix, The Stones, and Warhol moved through the same streets and hotel rooms. It’s the story of exciting change as the world tumbled through the ʼ60s and early ʼ70s, and a generation came of age, built on music, love, and freedom. Above all, it’s the moving story of the profound friendship among five young men who together created a new kind of popular music.    
   Testimony is Robbie Robertson’s story, lyrical and true, as only he could tell it.

About the Author

ROBBIE ROBERTSON was the guitarist and principal songwriter in The Band. He grew up in Toronto and on the Brantford Six Nations Reserve before heading to Arkansas to join Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks. He has produced many movie soundtracks for Martin Scorsese, including Raging Bull, and others, and continues to record as a solo artist. His most recent record, How to Become Clairvoyant, came out in 2011. His support of NA Native Music has been galvanizing. Robertson is also one of the coauthors of the children's book Legends, Icons & Rebels. He lives in Los Angeles and visits Canada often.