Editing Robbie Robertson (section)

===With Bob Dylan and the Hawks===
====1965–1966 World Tour====
{{see also|Electric Dylan controversy|Bob_Dylan_World_Tour_1966|l2=Bob Dylan 1966 World Tour}}
Toward the end of Levon and the Hawks' second engagement at Tony Mart's in New Jersey, in August 1965, Robertson received a call from [[Albert Grossman|Albert Grossman Management]] requesting a meeting with singer [[Bob Dylan]].<ref name=band_box_2005/>{{rp|21}}<ref name="taxi_2">{{cite web|last1=Laskow|first1=Michael|title=Robbie Robertson on Bob Dylan and Songwriting: Second in a Three-Part Series|url=http://www.taxi.com/transmitter/0707/robbie-robertson-taxi-rally.html|website=Taxi.com|publisher=Taxi Transmitter|access-date=February 28, 2016|date=July 2007}}</ref> The group had been recommended to both Grossman and to Dylan by Mary Martin, one of Grossman's employees; she was originally from Toronto and was a friend of the band.<ref name=whispering_pines/>{{rp|68–69}}<ref name="bowman_band_bio_4">{{cite web|last1=Bowman|first1=Rob|author-link1=Rob Bowman (music writer)|title=The History of The Band: Playing With Bob Dylan|url=http://theband.hiof.no/history/part_4.html|website=The Band Website|publisher=Jan Hoiberg|access-date=February 14, 2016}}</ref> Dylan was also aware of the group through his friend John Hammond,<ref name=whispering_pines/>{{rp|69}} whose album ''So Many Roads'' members of the Hawks had performed on.

Robertson agreed to meet with Dylan. Initially, Dylan intended simply to hire Robertson as the guitarist for his backing group. Robertson refused the offer, but did agree to play two shows with Dylan, one at the [[Forest Hills Tennis Stadium]] in [[Forest Hills, Queens|Forest Hills, New York]] on August 28, and one at the [[Hollywood Bowl]] in [[Los Angeles]] on September 3. Robertson suggested they use Levon Helm on drums for the shows.<ref name="where_are_you_now">{{cite book|last1=Kiersh|first1=Edward|title=Where Are You Now, Bo Diddley? The Artists Who Made Us Rock and Where They Are Now|date=1986|publisher=Doubleday and Company|location=Garden City|isbn=038519448X|url=http://theband.hiof.no/articles/where_have_you_gone_bo_diddly_rr.html}}</ref>{{rp|5}}

Robertson and Helm performed in Dylan's backing band, along with [[Harvey Brooks (bassist)|Harvey Brooks]] and [[Al Kooper]] for both shows. The first at Forest Hills received a predominantly hostile response, but the second in Los Angeles was received slightly more favourably.<ref name="whispering_pines"/>{{rp|70}} Dylan flew up to Toronto and rehearsed with Levon and the Hawks September 15–17, as Levon and the Hawks finished an engagement there, and hired the full band for his upcoming tour.<ref name=band_bio/>{{rp|96–99}}

Bob Dylan and the Hawks toured the United States throughout October–December 1965,<ref name="bjorner_1965">{{cite book|last1=Björner|first1=Olof|title=Something is Happening: Bob Dylan 1965|date=2000|publisher=Olaf Björner|url=http://www.bjorner.com/1965%20Something%20Is%20Happening.PDF|access-date=March 1, 2016}}</ref>{{rp|8–9}} with each show consisting of two sets: an acoustic show featuring only Dylan on guitar and harmonica, and an electric set featuring Dylan backed by the Hawks. The tours were largely met with a hostile reaction from fans who knew Dylan as a prominent figure in the [[American folk music revival]], and thought  his move into rock music a betrayal. Helm left the group after their November 28 performance in [[Washington, D.C.]] Session drummer [[Bobby Gregg]] replaced Helm for the December dates, and Sandy Konikoff was brought in to replace Gregg in January 1966.<ref name=band_bio/>{{rp|105, 109}}

Dylan and the Hawks played more dates in the continental United States from February to March 1966 of [[Bob Dylan World Tour 1966|Bob Dylan's 1966 World Tour]]. From April 9-May 27, they played Hawaii, Australia, Europe, and the UK and Ireland. Drummer Sandy Konikoff left after the [[Pacific Northwest]] dates in March,<ref name=whispering_pines/>{{rp|74}} and [[Mickey Jones]] replaced him, staying with the group for the remainder of the tour. The Australian and European legs of the tour received a particularly harsh response from disgruntled folk fans. The May 17 Manchester Free Trade Hall show is best known for an angry audience member audibly yelling "Judas!" at Dylan; it became a frequently-bootlegged live show from the tour,<ref name="bootleg_book">{{cite book|last1=Heylin|first1=Clinton|title=Bootleg: The Secret History of the Other Recording Industry|date=1995|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|isbn=0312142897|edition=First|url=http://monoskop.org/images/a/a4/Heylin_Clinton_Bootleg_The_Secret_History_of_the_Other_Recording_Industry.pdf|access-date=February 27, 2016}}</ref>{{rp|73–76}} but was eventually released officially as ''[[The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert]]''.<ref name="bjorner_1966">{{cite book|last1=Björner|first1=Olaf|title=Skeleton Keys: Bob Dylan 1966|date=2000|publisher=Olaf Björner|url=http://www.bjorner.com/1965%20Something%20Is%20Happening.PDF|access-date=March 1, 2016}}</ref>{{rp|4}}

The European leg of the tour was filmed by documentary filmmaker [[D. A. Pennebaker]], but completion of a planned film was delayed. After recovering from an accident, Dylan decided to edit it himself.<ref name=bjorner_1966/> [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC television]] rejected it,<ref>[[Howard Sounes]]. ''Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan.'' Doubleday 2001 p258 {{ISBN|0-552-99929-6}}</ref> and it was never commercially released. It was screened as ''[[Eat the Document]]'' in 1972 at the [[Whitney Museum]] in New York.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1972/12/01/issue.html| title = Dylan's '66 European Tour at the Whitney| author = Canby, Vincent| date = December 1, 1972| page = 31| access-date = February 9, 2021| work = The New York Times}}</ref><ref name =Rapp>{{cite web| url = https://ultimateclassicrock.com/bob-dylan-eat-the-document/| title = Why Bob Dylan's 'Eat the Document' was Shelved | author = Rapp, Alison| date = February 8, 2021| access-date = February 9, 2021| website = ultimateclassicroak.com}}</ref>

On November 30, 1965, Dylan cut a studio session with members of the Hawks,<ref name="bjorner_sessions_1965">{{cite web|last1=Björner|first1=Olof|title=Still On the Road: 1965 Concerts, Interviews, and Recording Sessions|url=http://www.bjorner.com/DSN00785%20%2865%29.htm|website=Bjorner.com|publisher=Olof Björner|access-date=March 2, 2016}}</ref> which yielded the non-LP single "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?" Dylan completed the ''[[Blonde on Blonde]]'' album in Nashville in mid-February 1966, employing Robertson for one of these sessions, which took place on February 14.<ref name="bjorner_sessions_1966">{{cite web|last1=Björner|first1=Olof|title=Still On the Road: 1966 Blonde on Blonde Recording Sessions and World Tour|url=http://www.bjorner.com/DSN01225%20%2866%29.htm|website=Bjorner.com|publisher=Olof Björner|access-date=March 2, 2016}}</ref>

===="Basement Tapes" period====
{{see also|The Basement Tapes|
The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete}}
[[File:The_Big_Pink_(crop).jpg|left|thumb|The "Big Pink" house in 2006. "Big Pink" was the house where Bob Dylan and the Band's [[The Basement Tapes|''Basement Tapes'']] were recorded, and the music from the Band album ''[[Music From Big Pink]]'' was written.]] 
On July 29, 1966, Dylan sustained an injured neck from a motorcycle accident, and retreated to a quiet domestic life with his new wife and child in upstate New York.<ref name="down_the_highway">{{cite book|last1=Sounces|first1=Howard|title=Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan|date=2011|publisher=Grove Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0802145529|edition=revised and updated|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-GjRsF5AT_oC}}</ref>{{rp|216–219}} Some of the members of the Hawks were living at the [[Hotel Chelsea|Chelsea Hotel]] in New York City at the time,<ref name=down_the_highway/>{{rp|220}} and were kept on a weekly retainer by Dylan's management.<ref name=bowman_band_bio_4/>

In February 1967, Dylan invited the members of the Hawks to come up to [[Woodstock, New York]] to work on music.<ref name=bowman_band_bio_4/> Robertson had met a French-Canadian woman on the [[Paris]] stop of Dylan's 1966 world tour,<ref name="rs_rr_intv_1987">{{cite magazine|last1=Goldberg|first1=Michael|date=November 19, 1987|title=The Second Coming of Robbie Robertson|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/the-second-coming-of-robbie-robertson-19871119|magazine=Rolling Stone|publisher=Wenner Media LLC|publication-date=November 19, 1987}}</ref> and the two moved into a house in the Woodstock area.<ref name=band_bio/>{{rp|135}} The remaining three members of the Hawks rented a house near [[West Saugerties, New York]]; it was later dubbed "[[Big Pink]]" because of its pink exterior.<ref name=down_the_highway/>{{rp|220–221}}

Dylan and the members of the Hawks worked together at the Big Pink house every day to rehearse and generate ideas for new songs, many of which they recorded in Big Pink's makeshift basement studio.<ref name=band_bio/>{{rp|137}} The recordings were made between the late spring and autumn of 1967.<ref name="rs_basement_tapes_complete_14">{{Cite magazine |first=Andy |last=Greene |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bob-dylan-complete-basement-tapes-bootlegs-released-november-20140826 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013114328/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bob-dylan-complete-basement-tapes-bootlegs-released-november-20140826 |archive-date=2017-10-13 |title=Bob Dylan's Complete, Legendary 'Basement Tapes' Shall Be Released |date=2014-08-26 |access-date=2024-02-04 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] }}</ref> Previous Hawks member Levon Helm returned to the group in August 1967.<ref name=band_box_2005/>{{rp|27}} By this time, Robertson's guitar style had evolved to be more supportive of the songs and less devoted to displaying speed and virtuosity.<ref name="Drozdowski"/>

In time, word about these sessions began to circulate, and in 1968, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine co-founder [[Jann Wenner]] brought attention to these tracks in an article entitled "Dylan's Basement Tape Should Be Released".<ref name=rs_basement_tapes_complete_14/><ref name="rs_jann_wenner_1968">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dylans-basement-tape-should-be-released-19680622 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227225330/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dylans-basement-tape-should-be-released-19680622 |archive-date=December 27, 2012 |title=Dylan's Basement Tape Should Be Released |author=[[Jann Wenner]] |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=June 22, 1968 |access-date=February 4, 2024}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In 1969, a bootleg album with a plain white cover compiled by two incognito music industry insiders featured a collection of seven tracks from these sessions. The album, which became known as ''[[Great White Wonder|The Great White Wonder]]'', began to appear in independent record stores and receive radio airplay. This album became a runaway success<ref name=bootleg_book/>{{rp|42–46}} and helped to launch the [[bootleg recording]] industry.<ref name="bootlegging_bob">{{cite book|last=Klagg|first=James C.|title=Bob Dylan And Philosophy|editor-last1=Vernezze|editor-first1=Peter|editor-last2=Porter|editor-first2=Carl|publisher=Open Court Publishing Company|location=Peru, Illinois|date=2005|page=40|chapter=Chapter 4: Great White Wonder: The Morality of Bootlegging Bob|isbn=0812695925}}</ref>

In 1975, Robertson produced an official compilation, ''[[The Basement Tapes]]'', which included a selection of tracks from the sessions. An exhaustive collection of all 138 extant recordings was released in 2014 as ''[[The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete]]''.<ref name=rs_basement_tapes_complete_14/>