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Robbie Robertson

Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous ancestry. He was lead guitarist for Bob Dylan in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s, guitarist and songwriter with The Band from their inception until 1978, and a solo artist.

Robertson's work with the Band was instrumental in creating the Americana music genre. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame as a member of the Band, and into Canada's Walk of Fame, with the Band and on his own. He is ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitarists. He wrote "The Weight", "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", and "Up on Cripple Creek" with the Band and had solo hits with "Broken Arrow" and "Somewhere Down the Crazy River", and many others. He was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Songwriters.

Robertson collaborated on film and TV soundtracks, usually with director Martin Scorsese, beginning in the rockumentary film The Last Waltz (1978) and continuing through dramatic films including Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1983), Casino (1995), Gangs of New York (2002), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Silence (2016), The Irishman (2019), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), scoring the latter shortly before his death. The film was dedicated to his memory, and garnered him a posthumous nomination for Best Original Score at the Academy Awards.

Early life
Jaime Royal Robertson was born an only child on July 5, 1943. His mother was born Rosemarie Dolly Chrysler on February 6, 1922. She was Cayuga and Mohawk, raised on the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve southwest of Toronto, near Hamilton. She lived with an aunt in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood and worked at the Coro jewellery plating factory. She met James Patrick Robertson there and they married in 1942.

The couple continued working at the factory and the three lived in several Toronto neighbourhoods while Robbie was a child. He often travelled with his mother to the reserve to visit family. Here he was taught guitar, particularly by his older cousin Herb Myke. He became a fan of rock and roll and rhythm and blues through the radio, listening to disc jockey George "Hound Dog" Lorenz play rock on WKBW from Buffalo, New York, and staying up to listen to John R.'s all-night blues show on WLAC, a clear-channel station in Nashville, Tennessee.

In his teens, Robertson's parents separated. His mother told him his biological father was not James, but Alexander David Klegerman, an American Jewish man she met at work. He became a professional gambler and died in a hit-and-run accident on the Queen Elizabeth Way. She had been with him while James was stationed in Newfoundland with the Canadian Army before they married. She arranged for her son to meet his paternal uncles Morris (Morrie) and Nathan (Natie) Klegerman.

Early career
When Robertson was 14, he worked two brief summer jobs in the travelling 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 later founded Traynor Amplifiers). They changed the name to Robbie and the Robots after they watched the film Forbidden Planet and took a liking to the film's character Robby the Robot. Traynor customized Robertson's guitar for the Robots, fitting it with antennae and wires to give it a space age look. Traynor and Robertson joined with pianist Scott Cushnie and became The Suedes. At a Suedes show on October 5, 1959, when they played CHUM Radio's Hif Fi Club on Toronto's Merton Street, Ronnie Hawkins first became aware of them and was impressed enough to join them for a few numbers.

With Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks
Robertson began shadowing Hawkins after the Suedes opened for the Arkansas-based rockabilly group Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks at Dixie Arena. One afternoon he overheard Hawkins say he needed some new songs since they were going into the studio to record the next month. Hoping to ingratiate himself, Robertson stayed up all night and wrote two songs, "Someone Like You" and "Hey Boba Lu", and played them for Hawkins the next day. The showman was impressed and recorded both of them for his new album, Mr Dynamo (1959). Hawkins brought Robertson to the Brill Building in New York City to help him choose songs for the rest of the album. Hawkins hired pianist Scott Cushnie away from the Suedes, and took him on tour in Arkansas with the Hawks. When the Hawks' bass player left the group, Cushnie recommended that Hawkins hire Robertson to replace him on bass.

Hawkins invited Robertson to Arkansas, and then flew to the UK to perform on television there. Left in Arkansas, Robertson spent his living allowance on records and practised intensively each day. Upon returning, Hawkins hired him to play bass. Cushnie left the band a few months later. Robertson soon switched from bass to playing lead guitar for the Hawks. Robertson developed into a guitar virtuoso.

Roy Buchanan, a few years older than Robertson, was briefly a member of the Hawks and became an important influence on Robertson's guitar style: "Standing next to Buchanan on stage for several months, Robertson was able to absorb Buchanan's deft manipulations with his volume speed dial, his tendency to bend multiple strings for steel guitar-like effect, his rapid sweep picking, and his passion for bending past the root and fifth notes during solo flights."

Drummer/singer Levon Helm was already a member of the Hawks and soon became close friends with Robertson. The Hawks continued to tour the United States and Canada, adding Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson to the Hawks lineup in 1961.

This lineup, which later became the Band, toured with Hawkins throughout 1962 and into 1963. They also hired the saxophone player Jerry Penfound and later Bruce Bruno, who were both with the group in their intermediary period as Levon and the Hawks.

Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks cut sessions for Roulette Records throughout 1961–1963, all of which Robertson appeared on. The sessions included three singles: "Come Love" b/w "I Feel Good" (Roulette 4400 1961); "Who Do You Love" b/w "Bo Diddley" (Roulette 4483 1963); and "There's A Screw Loose" b/w "High Blood Pressure" (Roulette 4502 1963).

With Levon and the Hawks
The Hawks left Ronnie Hawkins at the beginning of 1964 to go on their own. The members of the Hawks were losing interest in playing in the rockabilly style and favoured blues and soul music. In early 1964, the group approached agent Harold Kudlets about representing them, which he agreed to do, booking them a year's worth of shows in the same circuits as they had been in before with Ronnie Hawkins. Originally dubbed The Levon Helm Sextet, the group included all of the future members of the Band, plus Jerry Penfound on saxophone and Bob Bruno on vocals.

After Bruno left in May 1964, the group changed their name to Levon and the Hawks. Penfound stayed with the group until 1965. Kudlets kept the group busy performing throughout 1964 and into 1965, finally booking them into two lengthy summer engagements at the popular nightclub Tony Mart's in Somers Point, New Jersey, at the Shore. They played six nights a week alongside Conway Twitty and other acts.

The members of Levon and the Hawks befriended blues artist John P. Hammond while he was performing in Toronto in 1964. Later in the year, the group agreed to work on Hammond's album So Many Roads (released in 1965) at the same time that they were playing the Peppermint Lounge in New York City. Robertson played guitar throughout the album, and was billed "Jaime R. Robertson" in the album's credits.

Levon and the Hawks cut a single "Uh Uh Uh" b/w "Leave Me Alone" under the name the Canadian Squires in March 1965. Both songs were written by Robertson. The single was recorded in New York and released on Apex Records in the United States and on Ware Records in Canada. As Levon and the Hawks, the group cut an afternoon session for Atco Records later in 1965, which yielded two singles, "The Stones I Throw" b/w "He Don't Love You" (Atco 6383) and "Go, Go, Liza Jane" b/w "He Don't Love You" (Atco 6625). Robertson also wrote all three of the tracks on Levon and the Hawks' Atco singles.

1965–1966 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 Management requesting a meeting with singer Bob Dylan. 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. Dylan was also aware of the group through his friend John Hammond, 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, 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.

Robertson and Helm performed in Dylan's backing band, along with 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. 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.

Bob Dylan and the Hawks toured the United States throughout October–December 1965, 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.

Dylan and the Hawks played more dates in the continental United States from February to March 1966 of 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, 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, but was eventually released officially as The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert.

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. ABC television rejected it, and it was never commercially released. It was screened as Eat the Document in 1972 at the Whitney Museum in New York.

On November 30, 1965, Dylan cut a studio session with members of the Hawks, 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.

"Basement Tapes" period
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. Some of the members of the Hawks were living at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City at the time, and were kept on a weekly retainer by Dylan's management.

In February 1967, Dylan invited the members of the Hawks to come up to Woodstock, New York to work on music. Robertson had met a French-Canadian woman on the Paris stop of Dylan's 1966 world tour, and the two moved into a house in the Woodstock area. 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.

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. The recordings were made between the late spring and autumn of 1967. Previous Hawks member Levon Helm returned to the group in August 1967. By this time, Robertson's guitar style had evolved to be more supportive of the songs and less devoted to displaying speed and virtuosity.

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".

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 The Great White Wonder, began to appear in independent record stores and receive radio airplay. This album became a runaway success and helped to launch the bootleg recording industry.

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.

1967–1968: Music From Big Pink
In late 1967, Dylan left to record his next album, John Wesley Harding (1967). After recording the basic tracks, Dylan asked Robertson and Garth Hudson about playing on the album to fill out the sound. Robertson liked the starkness of the sound and recommended Dylan leave the tracks as they are. Dylan worked with the Hawks again when they were his backup band for two Woody Guthrie memorial concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York City in January 1968. Three of these performances were later released by Columbia Records on the LP A Tribute to Woody Guthrie, Vol. 1 (1972).

Over the course of the "Basement Tapes" period, the group had developed a sound of their own, and Grossman went to Los Angeles to shop the group to a major label, securing a contract with Capitol Records. The group went to New York to begin recording songs with music producer John Simon. Capitol brought the group to Los Angeles to finish the album. The resulting album, Music From Big Pink, was released in August 1968.

Robertson wrote four of the songs on Music From Big Pink, including "The Weight", "Chest Fever", "Caledonia Mission", and "To Kingdom Come". He is listed in the songwriting credits as "J.R. Robertson". He sang lead vocal on the track "To Kingdom Come"; he did not sing on another Band song released to the public until "Knockin' Lost John" on 1977's Islands. Two of Robertson's compositions for the album, "The Weight" and "Chest Fever", became important touchstones in the group's career. "The Weight" was influenced by the films of director Luis Buñuel, in particular Nazarín (1959) and Viridiana (1961), and reflects the recurring theme in Buñuel's films about the impossibility of sainthood. The song portrays an individual who attempts to take a saintly pilgrimage, and becomes mired down with requests from other people to do favors for them along the way. The mention of "Nazareth" at the beginning of the song refers to Nazareth, Pennsylvania, where the C. F. Martin & Company guitar manufacturer is located; it was inspired by Robertson seeing the word "Nazareth" in the hole of his Martin guitar. Although "The Weight" reached #21 on the British radio charts, it did not fare as well on the American charts, initially stalling at #63.

The song gained traction following more successful covers by Jackie DeShannon (US #55, 1968), Aretha Franklin (US #19, 1969), and the Supremes with the Temptations (US #46, 1969), and the song's inclusion in the movie Easy Rider (1969), which became a runaway success. "The Weight" has since become the Band's best known song. It has been covered by many artists, appeared in dozens of films and documentaries, and has become a staple of American rock music.

When Music from Big Pink was released in 1968, the Band initially avoided media attention, and discouraged Capitol Records from promotional efforts. They also did not immediately pursue touring to support the album, and declined to be interviewed for a year. The resulting mystery surrounding the group prompted speculation in the underground press. Music from Big Pink received excellent reviews, and the album influenced many well-known musicians of the period.

1969–1973: Expansion and acclaim
In early 1969, the Band rented a home from Sammy Davis Jr. in Hollywood Hills, and converted the pool house behind it into a studio to recreate the "clubhouse" atmosphere that they had previously enjoyed at Big Pink. The band began recording every day in the pool house studio, working on a tight schedule to complete the album. An additional three tracks were recorded at The Hit Factory in New York in April 1969. Robertson did most of the audio engineering on the album.

The Band began performing regularly in spring 1969, with their first live dates as the Band taking place at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Their most notable performances that year were at the 1969 Woodstock Festival and the UK Isle of Wight Festival with Bob Dylan in August.

The Band's album The Band was released in September 1969, and became a critical and commercial success. The album received almost universal critical praise, peaked at #9 on the U.S. pop charts, and stayed on the Top 40 for 24 weeks. The Band works as a loose concept album of Americana themes, and was instrumental in the creation of the Americana music genre. It was included in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2009. The song from this album that had the strongest cultural influence was "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". The song explores a Confederate man's life after defeat of the South following the American Civil War. It incorporates historical events to create a larger American mythos. Although the Band's original version was only released as the B side of the single "Up on Cripple Creek", a cover version by Joan Baez went to #3 on the charts in 1971 and helped to popularize the song.

Several other tracks from The Band received significant radio airplay, and became staples in the group's concert appearances. "Up on Cripple Creek" peaked at #25 in late 1969 in the United States, and was their only Top 30 hit there. "Rag Mama Rag" reached #16 in the UK in April 1970, the highest chart position of any single by the group in that country. "Whispering Pines", co-written by Richard Manuel, was released as a single in France in 1970, and was later the title of a 2009 book about Canadian contributions to the Americana music genre by Jason Schneider. On November 2, 1969, the Band appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, one of only two television appearances they made.

On January 12, 1970, the Band was featured on the cover of Time magazine. This was the first time a North American rock band had been featured on the cover of the magazine. The Band rented The Woodstock Playhouse in Woodstock, New York with the intent of recording a new live album there, but the city council voted against it, so they recorded on location, but without an audience. Robertson handled most of the songwriting duties as before. Robertson brought in Todd Rundgren to engineer the album which was recorded in two weeks' time. These sessions became their third album, Stage Fright, which became the Band's highest-charting album, peaking at #5 on September 5 and staying on the Billboard Top 40 for 14 weeks.

The Band's next album, Cahoots, was recorded at Albert Grossman's newly built Bearsville Studios and was released in October 1971. The album received mixed reviews, and peaked at #24 on the Billboard charts, only remaining on the Billboard Top 40 for five weeks. Cahoots is notable for its cover of Bob Dylan's "When I Paint My Masterpiece", as well as for featuring the concert favourite "Life Is a Carnival". The inclusion of "When I Paint My Masterpiece" came about when Dylan stopped by Robertson's home during the recording of Cahoots and Robertson asked if he might have any songs to contribute. That led to Dylan playing an unfinished version of "When I Paint My Masterpiece" for him. Dylan soon completed the song and the Band recorded it for the album. "Life Is a Carnival" features horn parts written by producer and arranger Allen Toussaint. It was the only track from Cahoots the Band kept in their set list through to The Last Waltz concert and film.

The Band continued to tour throughout 1970–71. A live album recorded at a series of shows at the Academy of Music in New York City between December 28–31, 1971, was released in 1972 as the double album Rock Of Ages. Rock of Ages peaked at #6, and remained in the Top 40 for 14 weeks.

After the Academy of Music shows, the Band again retreated from performing live. They returned to the stage on July 28, 1973, to play the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen alongside the Allman Brothers Band and the Grateful Dead. A recording of the Band's performance was released by Capitol Records as the album Live at Watkins Glen in 1995. With over 600,000 people in attendance, the festival set a record for "Pop Festival Attendance" in the Guinness Book of World Records. The record was first published in the 1976 edition of the book. In October 1973, the Band released an album of cover songs entitled Moondog Matinee, which peaked at #28 on the Billboard charts. Around the time of the recording of Moondog Matinee, Robertson began working on an ambitious project entitled Works that was never finished or released. One lyric from the Works project, "Lay a flower in the snow", was used in Robertson's song "Fallen Angel", which appeared on his 1987 self-titled solo album.

1974: Reunion with Bob Dylan
In February 1973, Bob Dylan relocated from Woodstock, New York to Malibu, California. Coincidentally, Robertson moved to Malibu in the summer of 1973, and by October of the year the rest of the members of the Band had followed suit, moving into properties near Zuma Beach. David Geffen had signed Dylan to Asylum Records, and worked with promoter Bill Graham on the concept that became the Bob Dylan and the Band 1974 Tour. It was his first tour in over seven years.

Meanwhile, Bill Graham took out a full-page advertisement for the Bob Dylan and the Band tour in The New York Times. The response was one of the largest in entertainment history up to that point, with between 5 and 6 million requests for tickets mailed in for 650,000 seats. Graham's office ended up selling tickets off on a lottery basis, and Dylan and the Band netted $2 million from the deal.

Amongst the rehearsals and preparations, the Band went into the studio with Bob Dylan to record a new album for Asylum Records, Planet Waves (1974). Sessions took place at Village Recorder in West Los Angeles, California, from November 2–14, 1973. Planet Waves was released on February 9, 1974. The album was #1 on the Billboard album charts for four weeks, and spent 12 weeks total in the Billboard Top 40. Planet Waves was Bob Dylan's first #1 album, and the first and only time Bob Dylan and the Band recorded a studio album together.

The 1974 tour began at the Chicago Stadium on January 3, 1974, and ended at The Forum in Inglewood, California on February 14. The shows began with more songs from the new Planet Waves album and with covers that Dylan and the Band liked, but as the tour went on, they moved toward playing older and more familiar material, only keeping "Forever Young" from the Planet Waves album in the set list. Dylan and the Band played a number of tracks from the controversial 1965–1966 World Tour, this time to wildly enthusiastic response from the audience where there had been mixed reaction and boos nine years previously.

The final three shows of the tour at The Forum in Inglewood, California were recorded and assembled into the double album Before the Flood. Credited to "Bob Dylan/The Band", Before the Flood was released by Asylum Records on July 20, 1974. The album debuted at #3 on the Billboard charts, and spent ten weeks in the Top Forty.

1974–1975: Shangri-La Studios
Following the 1974 reunion tour with Bob Dylan, rock manager Elliot Roberts booked the Band with the recently reunited Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. On September 4, both artists played Wembley Stadium in London, appearing with Jesse Colin Young and Joni Mitchell.

After moving to Malibu in 1973, Robertson and the Band had discovered a ranch in Malibu near Zuma Beach called "Shangri-La", and decided to lease the property. The main house on the property had originally been built by Lost Horizon (1937) actress Margo Albert, and the ranch had been the filming and stabling site for the Mister Ed television show in the 1960s. In the interim, the house had served as a high-class bordello.

The album release of The Basement Tapes, credited to Bob Dylan and the Band, was the first album production that took place in the new studio. The album, produced by Robertson, featured a selection of tapes from the original 1967 Basement Tapes sessions with Dylan, as well as demos for tracks eventually recorded for the Music From Big Pink album. Robertson cleaned up the tracks, and the album was released in July 1975.

Shangri-La Studios proved to be a return to a clubhouse atmosphere that the Band had enjoyed previously at Big Pink, and in the spring of 1975, the group began work on Northern Lights – Southern Cross, their first release of original material in four years. One of the best known tracks on the album is "Acadian Driftwood", the first song with specifically Canadian subject material. Robertson was inspired to write "Acadian Driftwood" after seeing the documentary L'Acadie, l'Acadie (1971) on Canadian television while in Montreal. Two other notable tracks from that album are "It Makes No Difference" and "Ophelia".

Northern Lights – Southern Cross was released on November 1, 1975. The album received generally positive reviews, and reached #26 on the Billboard charts, remaining on the Top 40 for five weeks.

1976–1978: The Last Waltz
The Band began touring again in June 1976, performing throughout the summer. The members of the Band were splintering off to work on other projects, with Levon Helm building a studio in Woodstock and Rick Danko having been contracted to Arista Records as a solo artist. While on the summer tour, member Richard Manuel severely injured his neck in a boating accident, so ten dates were cancelled. During this time, Robertson suggested the Band cease to tour. He said they agreed on a "grand finale" show, part ways to work on their various projects, then regroup. Helm later made the case in his autobiography, This Wheel's on Fire, that Robertson had forced the Band's breakup on the rest of the group.

Concert promoter Bill Graham booked the Band at the Winterland Ballroom on American Thanksgiving, November 25, 1976. The Last Waltz was a gala event, with ticket prices of $25 per person. It included a Thanksgiving dinner served to the audience, and featured the Band performing with various musical guests. The onstage guest list included Ronnie Hawkins, Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield, Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, and others. Robertson wanted to document the event on film, and approached director Martin Scorsese to see if he was interested in shooting the concert. They developed a 200-page script for the show, listing out in columns the lyrics of the songs, who was singing what part, and what instruments were being featured. It included columns for the camera and lighting work.

Scorsese brought in all-star cameramen such as Michael Chapman, László Kovács, and Vilmos Zsigmond to film the show in 35mm. John Simon, producer on the Band's first two albums, was brought in to coordinate rehearsals and work as musical director. Boris Leven was brought in as art director. Jonathan Taplin assumed the role of executive producer, and Robertson worked as producer of the film. Rehearsals for The Last Waltz concert began in early November. Warner Bros. Records president Mo Ostin offered to fund its filming in exchange for the right to release its music on an album. The Band were contractually obligated to supply Capitol Records with one more album before they could be released to work with Warner Bros. So in between rehearsing, they worked on the studio album Islands for Capitol. Robertson wrote or co-wrote eight of the ten tracks. One of the songs, "Knockin' Lost John", features Robertson on vocals, and was the first Band song Robertson had sung on since "To Kingdom Come" from Music From Big Pink. "Christmas Must Be Tonight" was inspired by the birth of Robertson's son, Sebastian, in July 1974.

Approximately 5,000 people attended the concert. The event began at 5 pm, beginning with the audience members being served a full traditional Thanksgiving meal at candlelit tables, with a vegetarian table serving an alternate menu as an option. The Berkeley Promenade Orchestra played waltz music for dancing afterward. The tables were cleared and moved at 8 pm. At 9 pm, the Band played songs for an hour, beginning with "Up On Cripple Creek". Just after 10 pm, Robertson introduced Ronnie Hawkins, the first onstage guest, with a succession of guest stars appearing with the group until just after midnight.

The group took a 30-minute break, during which several Bay Area poets, including Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Diane di Prima, and Michael McClure performed readings of their poems. After the break, the Band returned to the stage, performing, among other songs, a new composition entitled "The Last Waltz Theme" that Robertson had just completed less than 48 hours prior. Bob Dylan was brought in at the end of this second set, performing several songs, and finally being joined with the other guest stars for a finale performance of "I Shall Be Released". This was then followed with two all-star jam sessions, after which the Band returned to the stage to close the show with one more song, their rendition of "Baby Don't You Do It".

After The Last Waltz concert event was finished, director Martin Scorsese had 400 reels of raw footage to work with, and began editing the footage. The film was then sold to United Artists. In the meantime, Robertson and Scorsese continued to brainstorm more ideas for the film. In April 1977, country singer Emmylou Harris and gospel vocal group the Staple Singers were filmed on a sound stage at MGM performing with the Band. Emmylou Harris performed on "Evangeline", a new song written by Robertson, and the Staples Singers performed on a new recording of "The Weight", which they already recorded in 1968. Scorsese's next idea was to intersperse the concert footage with interviews of the Band that told their story. Scorsese conducted the interviews. The Last Waltz album was released by Warner Brothers Records on April 7, 1978, as a 3-LP set. The first five sides feature live performances from the concert, and the last side contains studio recordings from the MGM sound stage sessions, including Out Of The Blue, which would be released as a single and which is the third and last Band song on which Robbie sings lead. The album peaked at #16 on the Billboard charts, and remained in the Top 40 for 8 weeks.

The Last Waltz was released to movie theatres on April 26, 1978. The film fared well with both rock and film critics. Robertson and Scorsese made appearances throughout America and Europe to promote the film. Over time, The Last Waltz has become lauded by many as an important and pioneering rockumentary. Its influence has been felt on subsequent rock music films such as Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense (1984), and U2's Rattle and Hum (1988).

In his mixed review Roger Ebert wrote, "In The Last Waltz, we have musicians who seem to have bad memories. Who are hanging on. Scorsese's direction is mostly limited to closeups and medium shots of performances; he ignores the audience. The movie was made at the end of a difficult period in his own life, and at a particularly hard time (the filming coincided with his work on New York, New York). This is not a record of serene men, filled with nostalgia, happy to be among friends."

Work outside of the Band (1970–1977)
Robertson produced Jesse Winchester's debut self-titled album, which was released in 1970 on Ampex Records. The album features Robertson playing guitar throughout the album, and co-credits the track "Snow" to Robertson as well.

Robertson played guitar on ex-Beatle Ringo Starr's third solo album, Ringo (1973), performing with four-fifths of the Band on the track "Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)". Robertson contributed a guitar solo on the track "Snookeroo" on Starr's fourth album, Goodnight Vienna (1974).

Robertson played guitar for Joni Mitchell on the track "Raised on Robbery", which was released on her album Court and Spark. In 1974, Robertson also played guitar on Carly Simon's version of "Mockingbird", which featured Simon singing with her then-husband James Taylor.

In 1975, Robertson produced and played guitar on singer/guitarist Hirth Martinez's debut album Hirth From Earth. Bob Dylan had heard Martinez, and recommended him to Robertson. Robertson identified strongly with Martinez' music, helped him to secure a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records, and agreed to produce Martinez' debut album. He also played guitar on Martinez' follow-up album, Big Bright Street (1977).

In 1975, Eric Clapton recorded the album No Reason to Cry at the Band's Shangri-La Studios with help from members of the Band. Robertson played lead guitar on the track "Sign Language".

In the mid-1970s, Robertson connected with singer Neil Diamond, and the two began collaborating on a concept album about the life and struggles of a Tin Pan Alley songwriter. The resulting album, entitled Beautiful Noise, was recorded at Shangri-La Studios in early 1976. It reached #6 on the Billboard charts and remained in the Top 40 for sixteen weeks. Robertson produced the album, co-wrote the track "Dry Your Eyes" with Diamond, and played guitar on "Dry Your Eyes", "Lady-Oh", and "Jungletime". He produced Diamond's live double album Love at the Greek (1977), which was recorded in 1976 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Love at the Greek reached #8 on the Billboard charts and remained in the Top 40 for nine weeks.

In 1977, Robertson contributed to two album projects from the Band alumni. Robertson played guitar on "Java Blues" on Rick Danko's self-titled debut album, and also played guitar on the Earl King-penned "Sing, Sing, Sing" on the album Levon Helm & the RCO All-Stars.

Also in 1977, Robertson contributed to the second self-titled album by singer-songwriter Libby Titus, who was the former girlfriend of Levon Helm. Robertson produced the track "The Night You Took Me To Barbados In My Dreams" (co-written by Titus and Hirth Martinez), and produced and played guitar on the Cole Porter standard "Miss Otis Regrets".

Carny
After the release of The Last Waltz, MGM/UA, who released the film, viewed Robertson as a potential film actor, and provided Robertson with an office on the MGM lot. During this time, Martin Scorsese's agent, Harry Ulfand, contacted Robertson about the idea of producing a dramatic film about traveling carnivals, which Robertson was drawn to because of his childhood experiences working in carnivals. The screenplay for the film Carny was directed by documentary filmmaker Robert Kaylor.

Although Robertson was initially only intended to be the producer of Carny, he ended up becoming the third lead actor in the film, playing the role of Patch, the patch man. Gary Busey played "Frankie", the carnival bozo and Patch's best friend. Jodie Foster was selected to play the role of Donna, a small town girl who runs away to join the carnival and threatens to come between the two friends. The film cast real life carnies alongside professional film actors, which created a difficult atmosphere on set. Carny opened to theaters on June 13, 1980. Also in 1980, Warner Bros released a soundtrack album for Carny, which is co-credited to Robertson and composer Alex North, who wrote the orchestral score for the film. The soundtrack was re-released on compact disc by Real Gone Music in 2015.

Collaborations with Martin Scorsese
After the production of Carny was completed, Robertson flew to New York to assist Martin Scorsese on the music for the film Raging Bull (1980). Robertson and Scorsese would go on to have a long working relationship. The former found or created music to underscore the latter's films. Raging Bull was the first, and Robertson credited his work on it for sparking his interest in sourcing and underscoring film music. Robertson supplied three newly recorded instrumental jazz tracks for sourced music, which he also produced. These three tracks feature Robertson playing guitar, along with performances from the Band alumni Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel. One of the tracks, "Webster Hall", is co-written by Robertson and Garth Hudson. Robertson also worked with Scorsese on selecting the film's opening theme music, choosing the intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana by Italian opera composer Pietro Mascagni. The soundtrack was finally released by Capitol Records in 2005 as a 37 track, 2-CD set.

Robertson worked with Scorsese again on his next film, The King of Comedy (1983), and is credited in the film's opening credits for "Music Production". Robertson contributed one original song, "Between Trains", to the film's soundtrack. The song was written in tribute to "Cowboy" Dan Johnson, an assistant of Scorsese's who had recently died. Robertson produced the track, sang lead vocals, and played guitar and keyboards; the Band alumni Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel appeared on the track as well. A soundtrack album for the film was released by Warner Bros. in 1983.

In June 1986, Robertson began working with Scorsese on his next film The Color of Money. In addition to sourcing music for the film, Robertson also composed the film's score; it was the first time Robertson had ever written a dramatic underscore for a film. Robertson brought in Canadian jazz composer Gil Evans to orchestrate the arrangements. The best known song on The Color of Money soundtrack is Eric Clapton's "It's in the Way That You Use It", which was co-written by Robertson. "It's in the Way That You Use It" reached #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in January 1987. Robertson produced a song for the film with blues player Willie Dixon entitled "Don't Tell Me Nothin'"; Dixon's track was co-written with Robertson. The Color of Money's soundtrack album was released by MCA Records.

Robertson worked on Scorsese's films Casino and Gangs of New York, and he provided music supervision for Shutter Island, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Silence. He scored 2019's The Irishman and consulted with music supervisor Randall Poster on the entire soundtrack. He scored Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon shortly before his death. The film is dedicated to Robertson. He received a posthumous Academy Award nomination for his work on the film.

Geffen Records period (1987–1991)
Robbie Robertson (1987)

Robertson began work on his first solo album, Robbie Robertson, in July 1986 after signing to Geffen Records. Robertson chose fellow Canadian Daniel Lanois to produce the album. Much of the album was recorded at The Village Recorder in West Los Angeles, California. He recorded at Bearsville Studios near Woodstock, New York, and also in Dublin, Ireland, with U2, and in Bath, England, with Peter Gabriel. He employed a number of guest artists on the album, including U2, Gabriel, the Bodeans, and Maria McKee. Garth Hudson and Rick Danko also made appearances on the album. Robertson wrote one track, "Fallen Angel", in honor of Richard Manuel, after his death in March 1986. Released on October 26, 1987, Robbie Robertson peaked at #35 on the Billboard 200, remaining on the top 40 for three weeks. The album charted even higher in the UK, peaking at #23 on the UK Albums Chart and remaining on the chart for 14 weeks. Robbie Robertson received overwhelming critical acclaim at the time of its release, being listed in the Top-Ten Albums of the Year by several critics in Billboard magazine's 1987 "The Critics' Choice" end of the year feature. The album was #77 in Rolling Stone's 1989 list, "100 Best Albums of the Eighties".

Robertson had his single largest hit in the UK with "Somewhere Down the Crazy River", which features his spoken word verses contrasted with singing in the choruses. The song reached #15 in the UK Hit Singles chart, and remained in the chart for 11 weeks. The video for "Somewhere Down The Crazy River" was directed by Martin Scorsese, and features Maria McKee in an acting role. In the U.S., Robbie Robertson produced several hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts, with "Showdown At Big Sky" coming in the highest (#2) and "Sweet Fire Of Love" the second highest (#7). The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Rock / Vocal Album", and was certified gold in the United States in 1991. In Canada, Robertson won Album Of The Year, Best Male Vocalist Of The Year, and Producer Of The Year at the Juno Award ceremony in 1989. In 1991, Rod Stewart recorded a version of "Broken Arrow" for his album Vagabond Heart. Stewart's version of the song reached #20 on the Billboard 100 chart in the United States and #2 on the Billboard Top Canadian Hit Singles chart in Canada. "Broken Arrow" was also performed live by the Grateful Dead with Phil Lesh on vocals.

Storyville (1991)

Storyville was released on September 30, 1991. Robertson headed to New Orleans to collaborate with some of the city's natives like Aaron and Ivan Neville and the Rebirth Brass Band. Once again, Robertson brought in Band alumni Garth Hudson and Rick Danko as contributors. The album reached #69 on the Billboard 200 chart. Storyville received numerous positive reviews, with Rolling Stone giving it 4 1/2 stars out of 5, and the Los Angeles Times awarding it 3 stars out of 4. Two tracks from the album, "What About Now" and "Go Back To Your Woods", charted on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts at #15 and #32 respectively. The album was nominated for Grammy Awards in the categories "Best Rock Vocal Performance (solo)" and "Best Engineer".

Production and session work (1984–1992)
Robertson co-produced the track "The Best of Everything", which was originally intended for the film The King of Comedy but instead was included on the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album Southern Accents. Robertson also worked on the horn arrangements for the track, and brought in Band alumni Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson as guests.

In 1986, Robertson appeared as a guest on the album Reconciled by the Call, playing guitar on the track "The Morning".

Also in 1986, Robertson was brought on as creative consultant for Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987), a feature film saluting Chuck Berry. Robertson appears on camera, interviewing Chuck Berry, and then playing guitar while Berry recites poetry.

In 1988, Robertson collaborated as a songwriter with Lone Justice lead singer Maria McKee. One of the songs they co-wrote, "Nobody's Child", was released on McKee's self-titled debut album in 1989.

In 1989, Robertson recorded and produced a new version of the Band's "Christmas Must Be Tonight" for the Scrooged soundtrack. In 1990, Robertson appeared as a guest on the Ryuichi Sakamoto album Beauty, playing guitar on the song "Romance". He also contributed to the world music video and album production One World One Voice.

In 1992, Robertson produced the song "Love in Time" for Roy Orbison's posthumous album King of Hearts. "Love In Time" was a basic demo Orbison had recorded that was believed to be lost, but had just recently been rediscovered. Robertson set about augmenting Orbison's basic vocal track with new arrangements and instrumentation, with the intent of making it sound like the arrangements were there from the beginning instead of later additions.

Later solo albums (1994–2019)
Music for the Native Americans (1994)

In 1994, Robertson returned to his roots, forming a First Nations group called the Red Road Ensemble for Music for the Native Americans, a collection of songs that accompanied a television documentary series produced by TBS. Like his songs, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Acadian Driftwood", he touched on history that connects to his life and family. The Battle of Wounded Knee and the near-extinction of the bison are outlined in the song "Ghost Dance". He won a Juno Award for Producer of the Year. The international success of "Mahk Jchi (Heartbeat Drum Song)" inspired a concert in Agrigento, Italy. He headlined the festival of Indigenous musicians and portions appeared in a PBS documentary.

Contact from the Underworld of Redboy (1998)  On Contact from the Underworld of Redboy, Robertson departed from his typical production style and delved deep into a mix of rock, native, and electronic music. He employed the services of Howie B, DJ Premier, and producer Marius de Vries (Björk, Massive Attack). Through the songs on the album, he took a close look at native traditions like Peyote healing. The album's opening track, "The Sound Is Fading", samples a recording of a young Native American singer from the 1940s that Robertson got from the Library Of Congress, and the song "Sacrifice" includes parts of an interview from prison with Leonard Peltier set to a soundscape produced by Robertson and de Vries. The racial epithet in the album's title comes from an experience Robertson had where some bullies referred to him as "Red Boy" while he was playing with his cousins. Rolling Stone gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, and Robertson received a Juno Award for Best Music of Aboriginal Canada Recording.

How to Become Clairvoyant (2011)

Released on April 5, 2011, How to Become Clairvoyant was Robertson's fifth solo release. It arose from impromptu demo sessions in Los Angeles with Eric Clapton and features him, Steve Winwood, Trent Reznor, Tom Morello, Robert Randolph, Rocco Deluca, Angela McCluskey, and Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes. Robertson performed "He Don't Live Here No More" on Late Show with David Letterman and Later... with Jools Holland, then "Straight Down The Line" with Robert Randolph and the Roots on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. How to Become Clairvoyant was also released as a deluxe edition containing five bonus tracks (four demos and the exclusive track "Houdini", named after the magician Harry Houdini). It debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, marking the highest debut and highest chart position for his solo work. He teamed with painter and photographer Richard Prince to produce a limited collector's edition. The 2,500 LP-sized boxes came with an art book, a numbered set of five lithographs (including pieces by Prince and photographer Anton Corbijn), a set of original tarot cards, the original tracks, and ten bonuses.

Sinematic (2019)

Released on September 20, 2019, Sinematic was Robertson's sixth solo album. It features Van Morrison joining Robertson as dueling hitmen on the track "I Hear You Paint Houses", as well as other allusions to the world of Scorsese's films. Citizen Cope, Derek Trucks, and Frédéric Yonnet make guest appearances on the album.

Other work
In Rome, he headlined the 1995 annual Labour Day concert festival with supporting acts Andrea Bocelli, Elvis Costello, and Radiohead.

In 1996, as executive soundtrack producer, Robertson heard a demo of "Change the World" and sent it to Clapton as a suggestion for the soundtrack of Phenomenon, starring John Travolta. Babyface produced the track. Change the World won 1997 Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. In 1999, Robertson contributed songs to Oliver Stone's film, Any Given Sunday.

In 2000, David Geffen and Mo Ostin convinced Robertson to join DreamWorks Records as a creative executive. Robertson, who persuaded Nelly Furtado to sign with the company, was actively involved with film projects and developing new artist talent, including signings of A.i., Boomkat, eastmountainsouth, and Dana Glover. On February 9, 2002, Robertson performed "Stomp Dance (Unity)" as part of the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 2004, he contributed the song "Shine Your Light" to the Ladder 49 soundtrack.

In 2005, Robertson was executive producer of the definitive box set for the Band, entitled A Musical History. In 2006, he recorded with Jerry Lee Lewis on the track "Twilight", a Robertson composition, for Lewis' album Last Man Standing. On July 28, 2007, at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in Bridgeview, Illinois, Robertson made a rare live appearance. Also in 2007, Robertson accepted an invitation to participate in Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (Vanguard). With the group Galactic, Robertson contributed a version of Domino's "Goin' to the River".

Personal life
On March 24, 1968, Robertson married Dominique Bourgeois, a Canadian journalist. They divorced in November 2003. They had three children: two daughters, and son Sebastian.

Robertson married his girlfriend of four years, Canadian entrepreneur, restaurateur, and Top Chef Canada judge Janet Zuccarini, on March 12, 2023, which was shared on her Instagram account.

Robertson was a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.

Death and tributes
Robertson died in Los Angeles on August 9, 2023, at the age of 80, after a year-long battle with prostate cancer. His manager, Jared Levine, reported that Robertson "was surrounded by his family at the time of his death," including both Janet Zuccarini and Dominique Robertson, and asked for donations to the Six Nations of the Grand River in lieu of flowers.

In November 2023, director Martin Scorsese held a tribute concert for Robertson in Los Angeles. Notable guests in attendance were Joni Mitchell, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Lily Gladstone.

In May 2024, Robertson’s three adult children sued his wife Janet Zuccarini, with claims of elder abuse and that she “took advantage of the musician’s declining health to have him sign documents that would favor her in the event of his death.”

Discography

 * Robbie Robertson (1987)
 * Storyville (1991)
 * Music for the Native Americans (soundtrack) (1994)
 * Contact from the Underworld of Redboy (1998)
 * How to Become Clairvoyant (2011)
 * Sinematic (2019)

Honours and awards
In 1989, the Band was inducted into the Canadian Juno Hall of Fame. In 1994, The Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1997, Robertson received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Songwriters. At the 2003 commencement ceremonies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Robertson delivered an address to the graduating class and was awarded an honorary degree by the university. In 2003, Robertson received the Indspire Aboriginal Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2003, Robertson was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.

In 2005, Robertson received an honorary doctorate from York University. In 2006, he received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts. In 2008, Robertson and the Band received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2011, Robertson was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. On May 27, 2011, Robertson was made an Officer of the Order of Canada by Governor General David Johnston. In 2014, the Band was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.

On October 14, 2017, Robertson received the first Lifetime Achievement Award from the community of Six Nations. In 2019, Robertson was given a key to the city of Toronto by Mayor John Tory during a TIFF press conference for Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band, a documentary about Robertson. In 2019, Robertson was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame from Canadian Music Week (CMW).

title: Robbie Robertson


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Freddie Blassie

Frederick Kenneth Blassie (February 8, 1918 – June 2, 2003) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Renowned as "The Hollywood Fashion Plate", he was a one-time NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, and was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1994. He is regarded as one of the greatest wrestling heels, or villains, of all time.

Early life
Blassie was born Frederick Kenneth Blassie in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1918. His parents, Anna (née Szind) and Jacob Blassie (né Blaszi), were immigrants from Austria-Hungary who arrived in the United States in 1912 via Hamburg, Germany.

Frederick was an only child. His father was an abusive alcoholic, prompting Frederick to stay with his grandparents whenever Jacob beat Anna. His parents repeatedly separated, only to reconcile. At the age of 13, after Jacob had beaten Anna again, Frederick threatened his father with a baseball bat; instead, he lived with his aunt for six months until his mother asked him to return home. As an adult, Frederick was a teetotaler.

He graduated from McKinley High School and began work at a meatpacking plant. He also began boxing at a local community center and won a heavyweight championship title. However, he became increasingly interested in wrestling. As the wrestlers became familiar with him, they began teaching him holds. His first public wrestling match was a shoot fight which he accepted hoping to impress a girl he brought to the show. Later, he received regular work wrestling at local carnivals. His cousin John Frank Holaus often refereed his matches.

Blassie's famous "pencil-neck geek" catchphrase originated early in his career while describing a fellow carnival performer who appeared in a geek show. Blassie described this performer as "having a neck like a stack of dimes and a real pencil-neck geek".

His career continued; he was hired by more established promoters, including Tom Packs in St. Louis and George Simpson in Kansas City.

Military service
After the US entered World War II, Blassie enlisted in the Navy and served in the Pacific Theater for 42 months. He married a girl in California while on shore leave. He achieved the rank of Petty Officer (Second Class) before he was discharged.

Professional wrestling career
Upon Blassie's return from the war, he was billed as "Sailor" Fred Blassie to capitalize on the wave of war-time patriotism sweeping the country, but that gimmick was unsuccessful. He worked for Jack Pfefer, who he claimed would only employ people who looked like sideshow freaks at his shows, and whose wrestlers included Tor Johnson, who made movies with director Ed Wood, and Lillian Ellison, the Fabulous Moolah. During this time, he went to New York City to work for promoter Jess McMahon.

NWA Los Angeles (1952–1953)
In 1952, Blassie moved to Los Angeles to work for Jules Strongbow. He teamed with Billy McDaniel as the McDaniel Brothers, but when they went east, they were known as the Blassie Brothers.

Georgia Championship Wrestling (1953–1960)
In 1953, he worked in the Atlanta-based Georgia Championship Wrestling territory for Paul Jones (the wrestler of the 1930s, not the wrestler/manager of the 1980s). While there, he won the NWA Georgia Southern Heavyweight Championship, the holder of which was generally first in line to challenge the NWA World Heavyweight Champion whenever he passed through the territory. It was also during this period of his career when he dropped his babyface gimmick and became a full-fledged heel. The fans consistently booed him because he was considered a "Yankee". He also bleached his hair at this time, as many of the other stars of the era did, such as Gorgeous George, Johnny Valentine, and "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers. He was often billed as "The Vampire" during this time for biting his opponents and filing his teeth during interviews and promos.

Worldwide Wrestling Associates (1960–1968)

In 1960, Blassie returned to Strongbow's promotion in Los Angeles, where he was a big star for Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA) of southern California, drawing many fans to the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. He was so hated there that uniformed police officers were regularly brought in to protect him as he made his way to and from the ring. He had main event-level feuds against stars such as The Destroyer.

On June 12, 1961, Blassie defeated the "Flying Frenchman" Édouard Carpentier in a best-of-three-falls match for his first WWA World Heavyweight Championship. On July 7, Blassie successfully defended his title against the former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz. During that same title reign, in a match against Lord James Blears a fan threw acid on his back, and he had to return immediately to the locker room to wash it off; over the course of his career, he was also stabbed 21 times and lost vision in his right eye after being struck by a thrown hard-boiled egg. Blassie lost the title to Rikidōzan on March 28, 1962.

Blassie claims that he made Regis Philbin into the celebrity he is today. When Philbin had a late-night weekend talk show in San Diego, Blassie would routinely show up to yell at the audience, throw furniture, and threaten Philbin; the confrontations were wholly kayfabe and both of them were friends when the cameras weren't rolling. In later years, Blassie also appeared on The Mike Douglas Show when Philbin was a guest host.

After regaining the WWA Championship from Rikidōzan on July 25, 1962, Blassie lost the title two days later to the "Masked Destroyer" Dick Beyer. In 1963, Bearcat Wright defeated him to become champion, and it was quite a statement during the fight for civil rights that an African-American had won such a title. In 1964, Dick the Bruiser defeated Blassie to become champion, and Blassie headed east to work for the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF).

Blassie returned to WWA in 1968 just as promoter Mike LeBell decided to rejoin the NWA. In the early 1970s, Blassie "turned face", or became a good guy, since so many fans were cheering his famous antics. While there, he feuded with Soulman Rocky Johnson, The Sheik, and "The Golden Greek" John Tolos. One of his most famous feuds took place in southern California in 1971, against Tolos. The final match of their series took place in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and set new California records for both attendance and gate.

Japan (1962–1968)
In 1962, Blassie had a feud with Japanese wrestling icon Rikidōzan that established his reputation in Japan. After Blassie lost the WWA World Heavyweight Championship to Rikidōzan in Los Angeles, the two had a rematch on live Japanese television. Many of the viewers were horrified by Blassie's treatment of their hero. One of Blassie's gimmicks was to file his teeth, and draw blood from his opponents by biting their foreheads. The sight of the Japanese legend covered in his own blood gave several viewers heart attacks, and some reportedly died.

While touring Japan in 1965, and by this point divorced, Blassie met the woman who would eventually become his third wife, Miyako Morozumi, at a train station. However, later that year Blassie suffered from kidney stones and had surgery to remove them. While recuperating in 1966, he worked as a car salesman and married a second time to a woman whose name Blassie later claimed not to remember.

In 1968, Blassie returned to Japan and was reunited with Miyako. When he asked for her parents' blessing, they were hesitant because of his reputation with Rikidōzan and because he was 28 years older than she. However, they eventually consented and Miyako returned with Blassie to the United States; they were married on September 30, 1968.

World Wide Wrestling Federation (1964; 1971)
In 1964, Blassie feuded with Bruno Sammartino and Bobo Brazil. Blassie came into the WWWF with his own world title belt, claiming to be the Pacific World Champion, and was coming to Sammartino's "back yard" to unify the world title. The series began at Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964, with Blassie winning on a technicality, but not a pin. The rematches were held at Madison Square Garden in New York, with Sammartino winning out. He returned to the company in 1971, reaching the final of a tournament in January for the vacant WWWF United States Heavyweight Championship before losing to Pedro Morales. Blassie later challenged Morales for the WWWF Championship, but came up short. During this stint with the company, Blassie was managed by his future fellow "Wise Man of the East" and eventual nemesis, "Captain" Lou Albano.

Management career (1974–86)
Blassie retired from active wrestling in 1974, due to a California law that prohibited anyone over 55 from getting a wrestling license. His knees were also in terrible condition, which also contributed to his retirement. Afterwards he became a manager in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) and its subsequent incarnation the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He performed for that promotion until his full retirement from professional wrestling in 1986. Blassie, Lou Albano, and The Grand Wizard were named "The Three Wise Men of the East", as the top three heel managers in the company.

Among the men he managed were Nikolai Volkoff, The Iron Sheik, Blackjack Mulligan, High Chief Peter Maivia, "The Crippler" Ray Stevens, Adrian Adonis, Jesse Ventura, Dick Murdoch, Swede Hanson, Killer Khan, George 'The Animal' Steele, Professor Tanaka, Mr. Fuji, Ivan Koloff, Tor Kamata, Masa Saito, Lou Albano, Victor Rivera, Kamala, Hercules Hernandez, Louis Cyr, and Hulk Hogan. Blassie also managed Muhammad Ali in his boxer vs. wrestler match in 1976 against Antonio Inoki. Blassie also publicly represented Ali for media events and interviews for a period in the mid-1970s.

One of Blassie's most famous proteges was The Iron Sheik. Blassie led Shiek to the WWF World Heavyweight Championship over Bob Backlund on December 26, 1983, in Madison Square Garden. After Sheik lost the belt to Blassie's former managed wrestler Hulk Hogan, Blassie managed Sheik in various rematches around the country throughout the first half of 1984, culminating into another major televised rematch on December 28, 1984, once again in Madison Square Garden. In this match Hogan was once again victorious. After managing Sheik through a brief feud with Andre the Giant, he also became the manager of Nikolai Volkoff, with Sheik and Volkoff later becoming a tag team. Blassie would gain even more gold when Volkoff and Sheik defeated The US Express managed by Albano who had turned babyface in December 1984 to Blassie's kayfabe disgust, for the WWF Tag Team Championship at the first ever Wrestlemania. Blassie got involved when he threw his cane into the ring, with Sheik and Volkoff using it to their advantage to gain the victory. When Gene Okerlund confronted Blassie in an interview after the match, Blassie said, "what cane, I didn't have no cane!"

Blassie continued to manage Sheik and Volkoff even after they lost the tag team titles. Blassie unsuccessfully campaigned along with the other managers to manage "Macho Man" Randy Savage when Savage first entered the WWF in June 1985. Blassie continued to interfere from ringside in matches, especially during Volkoff's feud with Corporal Kirchner. Blassie's interference at Wrestlemania 2 cost Volkoff his match with Kirchner, when the cane was grabbed by Kirchner instead of Volkoff. In the summer of 1986, Blassie started to slowly phase himself out of the WWF and into retirement.

On an episode of WWF Championship Wrestling, Blassie barged into the announcer booth to proclaim that he had sold half of the contracts of Sheik and Volkoff to a mysterious benefactor for a large sum of money. This benefactor was later revealed to be Slick. Blassie appeared alongside Slick to co-manage Sheik and Volkoff for a few television appearances before finally bowing out in November 1986, with Albano, the final member of the Three Wise Men, retiring a few weeks later.

Because of his close relationship with Vince McMahon, Sr. and his family, Blassie remained on the WWF payroll until the day he died. He sporadically returned to make brief appearances following his retirement in 1986, mostly in produced video packages hyping the "new generation" of wrestling. He was given a commentary tryout in 1986 and 1987 for WWF Wrestling Challenge, calling a few matches with Gorilla Monsoon. He briefly turned face in 1989, making an appearance on Prime Time Wrestling angry with Bobby Heenan over money Heenan hadn't paid him back. He returned again in 1990 briefly to do color commentary for Prime Time in April with Vince McMahon, as an emergency fill-in after Tony Schiavone quit, playing a heel once again.

Guest appearances and death
Blassie was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1994 by Shane McMahon. In 1998, Blassie was the winner at the fourth annual Cauliflower Alley Club East Coast Banquet. In 1999, he was shown making the opening narration of WrestleMania XV. In 2000, Blassie made an appearance at the Royal Rumble as a judge in the Miss Rumble 2000 Swimsuit contest, which was won by Mae Young. Blassie also appeared in the SummerSlam opening video. In 2001, Blassie appeared in a special July 16, 2001 Raw is War segment for the Invasion storyline, wherein he exhorted a gathering of WWF wrestlers to stand tall against The Alliance – and later got mocked by Alliance leaders Shane and Stephanie McMahon. Because of this, Blassie is one of, if not the only man to have worked with all four generations of the McMahon family. Images from his WrestleMania XV promo were also included in the opening of the 2001 Survivor Series. Blassie also appeared in a segment at the Vengeance pay-per-view event in December 2001, where an "undisputed" champion would be crowned. His final wrestling appearance was May 12, 2003 in Philadelphia on Raw, three weeks before his death. The segment featured Blassie, his wife, and Raw co-General Manager Eric Bischoff, who was about to allow 3 Minute Warning to attack him, until Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Dudley Boyz stepped in. His final words on WWE television were "D-Von, get the table!", to a monstrous applause. His book, Listen You Pencil Neck Geeks, was released on May 13, 2003.

On June 2, 2003, Blassie died of heart and kidney failure at the age of 85. His death was announced by Jim Ross, 20 minutes into that same day's episode of Raw.

Music career
In 1975, Blassie recorded voiceovers for the songs "Blassie, King of Men" and "Pencil Neck Geek", which were performed by Johnny Legend, featuring Billy Zoom on guitar, Jay Phillips on guitar, Lon Osgood on bass and Steve Clark on drums. They received acclaim on the Dr. Demento Radio Show, and the latter song was featured on several albums, including Dr. Demento's 20th anniversary collection, The Very Best of Dr. Demento, and Dr. Demento Presents the Greatest Novelty CDs of All Time. In 1983, Rhino Records released a 14-track album by Blassie, titled I Bite the Songs.

Film career
Blassie appeared in an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show that featured a new dance craze called The Twizzle. Rose Marie's character Sally Rogers brought him on at the end of the episode claiming to have discovered another new dance sensation. In the demonstration of the dance, Blassie picked up Rob Petrie and twirled him over his head.

Filmed in 1982, My Breakfast with Blassie featured Andy Kaufman and Freddie Blassie eating at a Sambo's in Los Angeles. (The film was referenced by American rock band R.E.M. in their 1992 song about Kaufman, "Man on the Moon".) The movie's title and premise are parodies of the 1981 art-house classic My Dinner with Andre.

"Classy" Freddie Blassie appeared in a live-action segment of the cartoon "Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling." In the segment he is interviewed by "Mean" Gene Okerlund when the two are interrupted by a little old lady in a housekeeper outfit that Blassie claims to be his own mother.

"Classy" Freddie Blassie also made a cameo appearance as himself, along with "Wrestling's Living Legend" Bruno Sammartino, and Ric Flair in the 1986 film Body Slam starring Dirk Benedict, "Captain" Lou Albano, and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

In the early 1990s, the wrestler starred in a documentary directed by Jeff Krulik, titled Mr. Blassie Goes To Washington. In it, Blassie is picked up at the Washington, D.C., airport by a limo full of young women, escorted around the nation's capital, gives his opinions and confronts tourists. When meeting someone, he would ask where they were from, and no matter their response, he would reply with, "Oh, that's God's country!"

Championships and accomplishments

 * 50th State Big Time Wrestling
 * NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Hawaii version) (1 time)
 * Cauliflower Alley Club
 * Other honoree (1998)
 * Championship Wrestling from Florida
 * NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (1 time)
 * NWA World Tag Team Championship (Florida version) (1 time) – with Tarzan Tyler
 * Mid-South Sports
 * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * NWA International Tag Team Championship (Georgia version) (3 times) – with Kurt von Brauner (1), Bob Shipp (1) and Eric Pederson (1)
 * NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Georgia version) (17 times)
 * NWA World Tag Team Championship (Georgia version) (2 times) – with Bill Blassie
 * National Wrestling Alliance
 * NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2011)
 * NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * North American Wrestling Alliance/Worldwide Wrestling Associates/ NWA Hollywood Wrestling
 * NAWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
 * NWA Americas Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Don Carson
 * WWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * WWA International Television Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Mr. Moto (2) and Don Leo Jonathan (1)
 * WWA World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
 * WWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Mr. Moto (1), and Buddy Austin (1)
 * NWA Mid-America
 * NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * PWI Stanley Weston Award (2000)
 * Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
 * Television Era (Class of 2004)
 * World Wrestling Federation
 * WWF Hall of Fame (Class of 1994)
 * Slammy Award (1 time)
 * Lifetime Achievement Award (1996)
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 * Worst Worked Match of the Year (1985) vs. Lou Albano
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Freddie Blassie


text:
Watcom

Watcom International Corporation was a software company, which was founded in 1981 by Wes Graham and Ian McPhee. Founding staff (Fred Crigger, Jack Schueler and McPhee) were formerly members of Professor Graham's Computer Systems Group at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Watcom produced a variety of tools, including the well-known Watcom C/C++ compiler introduced in 1988.

The first company started by Graham and McPhee was Structured Computing Systems, incorporated in 1974. Then the software development company, WATCOM Systems Inc, started in 1981 with three full-time employees, but had been incorporated two years earlier as Waterloo Basic Enterprises Limited. In 1984, the various subsidiary companies of The WATCOM Group software organization—marketing and sales, publications, seminars and systems (software development) --  were all renamed as WATCOM companies for consistent branding. These were later all merged into one full-service software company, WATCOM International Inc.

History
Waterloo BASIC programming language was one of the earliest Watcom products and predates the existence of the company. During 1978 to 1979 Waterloo BASIC was developed targeting the IBM Series/1. In 1979 the system was ported to VM/CMS running on the IBM 370, 3030, and 4300 computers and an agreement was reached with IBM to market the compiler. Between 1980 and 1983 updated versions were released including ports to the MVS/TSO and VM/CMS. In addition to Waterloo BASIC some of the other early products included WATCOM APL, WATCOM GKS, WATCOM COBOL, WATCOM FORTRAN (WATFIV and WATFOR-77), WATCOM Pascal and the Waterloo 6809 Assembler. These were the basis and provided with the Commodore SuperPET.

In the mid 1980s Watcom developed compilers for the Unisys ICON computers running the QNX operating system. The Watcom C/C++ compiler with QNX developed a market for embedded applications.

In 1988, Watcom released their first C compiler for the IBM PC platform (and compatibles). It was released with a version number of 6 at a time when the latest version numbers of Borland's and Microsoft's C Compilers were version 5. These version numbers signified nothing and were used for marketing purposes. The compiler could create tighter and faster code than its competition.

In 1992, Watcom began a move into the client-server arena with the introduction of Watcom SQL, a SQL database server product. Being a very small company (about 8 developers) they managed to produce high quality software, famous among software developers. Watcom SQL is still in production, now under the name SAP SQL Anywhere.

In 1993, the VX-REXX system was released.

Watcom was acquired by Powersoft in 1994, and Powersoft merged with Sybase in 1995. In May 2000, Sybase spun off their mobile and embedded computing division into its own company, Sybase iAnywhere (formerly iAnywhere Solutions Inc.). Sybase tried to re-target the Watcom compiler into a visual RAD tool, Optima++, but in 2003, because the product competed directly with the Sybase offering PowerBuilder, the product was discontinued. Its sister product, Optima-J, was continued. In 2003, the Watcom C/C++ and Fortran compilers were released as an open source project under a new name, Open Watcom.

Users and reception
Doom, Descent, Magic Carpet, Grand Theft Auto, System Shock, Fast Attack, Atomic Bomberman, Duke Nukem 3D and Fallout are among well known games that were compiled with Watcom C and DOS/4GW.

Novell's Netware386 and Fox Software's FoxPro 2 were compiled with Watcom C/C++.

title: Watcom


text:
New Jersey Athletic Conference

The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), formerly the New Jersey State Athletic Conference, is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. All of its current full members are public universities in New Jersey, although it will add one new full member from New York in 2026. Affiliate members (track-only, men's tennis-only, or football-only) are located in Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Chronological timeline

 * 1957 - In 1957, the NJAC was founded as the New Jersey State Athletic Conference (NJSAC). Charter members included Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), Montclair State College (now Montclair State University), Jersey City State College (now New Jersey City University), Newark State College (now Kean University), Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey), and William Paterson College (now William Paterson University), effective beginning the 1957-58 academic year.
 * 1976 - Ramapo College of New Jersey joined the NJSAC, effective in the 1976-77 academic year.
 * 1977 - Stockton State College (now Stockton University) joined the NJSAC, effective in the 1977-78 academic year.
 * 1985 - Women's programs became part of the NJSAC, when the Jersey Athletic Conference (a women's sports athletic conference) was merged into the NJSAC. Therefore it was rebranded as the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), effective in the 1985-86 academic year.
 * 1985 - Rutgers University at Camden and Rutgers University at Newark joined the NJAC, effective in the 1985-86 academic year.
 * 2000 - The State University of New York at Cortland joined the NJAC as an associate member for football, effective in the 2000 fall season (2000-01 academic year).
 * 2004 - New Jersey City left the NJAC to become an NCAA D-III Independent, effective after the 2003-04 academic year.
 * 2004 - Western Connecticut State University joined the NJAC as an associate member for football, effective in the 2004 fall season (2004-05 academic year).
 * 2005 - New Jersey City re-joined back to the NJAC after spending one season as an NCAA Division III Independent school, effective in the 2005-06 academic year.
 * 2006 - Buffalo State College (now a university) joined the NJAC as an associate member for football, effective in the 2006 fall season (2006-07 academic year).
 * 2008 - The State University of New York at Brockport and the State University of New York at Morrisville joined the NJAC as associate members for football, effective in the 2008 fall season (2008-09 academic year).
 * 2011 - The State University of New York at Farmingdale (Farmingdale State College) and St. Joseph's College–Long Island (now a university) joined the NJAC as associate members for men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field, effective in the 2011-12 academic year).
 * 2012 - Buffalo State left the NJAC as an associate member for football, effective after the 2011 fall season (2011-12 academic year).
 * 2013 - Western Connecticut State left the NJAC as an associate member for football, effective after the 2012 fall season (2012-13 academic year).
 * 2014 - SUNY Brockport left the NJAC as an associate member for football, effective after the 2013 fall season (2013-14 academic year).
 * 2014 - Southern Virginia University joined the NJAC as an associate member for football, effective in the 2014 fall season (2014-15 academic year).
 * 2015 - SUNY Cortland and SUNY Morrisville left the NJAC as associate members for football, effective after the 2014 fall season (2014-15 academic year).
 * 2015 - Christopher Newport University, Frostburg State University, Salisbury University and Wesley College joined the NJAC as associate members for football, all effective in the 2015 fall season (2015-16 academic year).
 * 2019 - Frostburg State and Southern Virginia left the NJAC as associate members for football, effective after the 2018 fall season (2018-19 academic year).
 * 2019 - Five institutions joined the NJAC as associate members: Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg for men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field, and the State University of New York at Oneonta, the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse and the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater for men's tennis, all effective in the 2019-20 academic year.
 * 2021 - Wesley (Del.) left the NJAC as an associate member for football after the school closed down to later be acquired by Delaware State University, effective after the 2020 fall season (2020-21 academic year).
 * 2026 – SUNY New Paltz will join the NJAC as a full member, becoming the NJAC's first-ever full member located outside of the state of New Jersey.

Current members
The NJAC currently has ten full members, all are public schools:

 * Notes:

Future full members

 * Notes:

Affiliate members
The NJAC currently has nine affiliate members, all but one are public schools:

Former affiliate members
The NJAC has eight former affiliate members, all but two were public schools:

 * Notes

Sports
The NJAC sponsors championships in the following sports:

National championship teams
Since the NCAA established the three division system in 1973, NJAC members have won a total of 63 team championships.

Kean: 2007
 * Baseball

Montclair State: 1987, 1993, 2000

Ramapo: 1984

Rowan: 1978, 1979

William Paterson: 1992, 1996

Rowan: 1996
 * Men's Basketball

Rowan: 2002
 * Field Hockey

TCNJ: 1981, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2011

Ramapo: 1982
 * Men's Golf

 * Women's Lacrosse

TCNJ: 1985, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2006

 * Men's Soccer

Kean: 1992

Richard Stockton: 2001

Rowan: 1981, 1990

TCNJ: 1996

 * Women's Soccer

TCNJ: 1993, 1994, 2000

 * Softball

Rutgers-Camden: 2006

TCNJ: 1983, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1996

 * Women's Tennis

TCNJ: 1986

 * Men's Outdoor Track

Rowan: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984

 * Wrestling

Montclair State: 1976, 1986

TCNJ: 1979, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1987

title: New Jersey Athletic Conference


text:
Declaration of war

A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the public signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national government, in order to create a state of war between two or more states.

The legality of who is competent to declare war varies between nations and forms of government. In many nations, that power is given to the head of state or sovereign. In other cases, something short of a full declaration of war, such as a letter of marque or a covert operation, may authorise war-like acts by privateers or mercenaries. The official international protocol for declaring war was defined in the Hague Convention (III) of 1907 on the Opening of Hostilities.

Since 1945, developments in international law such as the United Nations Charter, which prohibits both the threat and the use of force in international conflicts, have made declarations of war largely obsolete in international relations, though such declarations may have relevance within the domestic law of the belligerents or of neutral nations. The UN Security Council, under powers granted in articles 24 and 25, and Chapter VII of the Charter, may authorize collective action to maintain or enforce international peace and security. Article 51 of the United Nations Charter also states that: "Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right to individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a state."

Declarations of war have been exceedingly rare since the end of World War II. Scholars have debated the causes of the decline, with some arguing that states are trying to evade the restrictions of international humanitarian law (which governs conduct in war) while others argue that war declarations have come to be perceived as markers of aggression and maximalist aims.

History
The practice of declaring war has a long history. The ancient Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh gives an account of it, as does the Old Testament. The Roman Republic formalized the declaration of war by a special ceremony, the ritual of the Fetials, though the practice started to decline into the Imperial era.

However, the practice of declaring war was not always strictly followed. In his study Hostilities without Declaration of War (1883), the British scholar John Frederick Maurice showed that between 1700 and 1870 war was declared in only 10 cases, while in another 107 cases war was waged without such declaration (these figures include only wars waged in Europe and between European states and the United States, not including colonial wars in Africa and Asia).

In modern public international law, a declaration of war entails the recognition between countries of a state of hostilities between these countries, and such declaration has acted to regulate the conduct between the military engagements between the forces of the respective countries. The primary multilateral treaties governing such declarations are the Hague Conventions.

The League of Nations, formed in 1919 in the wake of the First World War, and the General Treaty for the Renunciation of War of 1928 signed in Paris, France, demonstrated that world powers were seriously seeking a means to prevent the carnage of another world war. Nevertheless, these powers were unable to stop the outbreak of the Second World War, so the United Nations was established following that war in a renewed attempt to prevent international aggression through declarations of war.

Denigration of formal declarations of war before WWI
In classical times, Thucydides condemned the Thebans, allies of Sparta, for launching a surprise attack without a declaration of war against Plataea, Athens' ally – an event that began the Peloponnesian War.

The utility of formal declarations of war has always been questioned, either as sentimental remnants of a long-gone age of chivalry or as imprudent warnings to the enemy. For example, writing in 1737, Cornelius van Bynkershoek judged that "nations and princes endowed with some pride are not generally willing to wage war without a previous declaration, for they wish by an open attack to render victory more honourable and glorious." Writing in 1880, William Edward Hall judged that "any sort of previous declaration therefore is an empty formality unless the enemy must be given time and opportunity to put himself in a state of defence, and it is needless to say that no one asserts such a quixotism to be obligatory."

Declared wars since 1945
Declarations of war, while uncommon in the traditional sense, have mainly been limited to the conflict areas of the Western Asia and East Africa since 1945. Additionally, some small states have unilaterally declared war on major world powers such as the United States or Russia when faced with a hostile invasion and/or occupation. The following is a list of declarations of war (or the existence of war) by one sovereign state against another since the end of World War II in 1945. Only declarations that occurred in the context of a direct military conflict are included.

Russo-Ukrainian War
No formal declaration of war has been issued in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. At the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin gave a televised broadcast announcing the start of the invasion with the term "special military operation", side-stepping a formal declaration of war. The statement was, however, regarded as a declaration of war by the Ukrainian government and reported as such by many international news sources. While the Ukrainian parliament refers to Russia as a "terrorist state" in regards to its military actions in Ukraine, it has not issued a formal declaration of war on its behalf.

Procedures
In Title II, Article 2 of the first Hague Convention of 1899, the signatory states agreed that at least one other nation be used to mediate disputes between states before engaging in hostilities:

"In case of serious disagreement or conflict, before an appeal to arms, the signatory Powers agree to have recourse, as far as circumstances allow, to the good offices or mediation of one or more friendly Powers."

The Hague Convention (III) of 1907 called "Convention Relative to the Opening of Hostilities" gives the international actions a country should perform when opening hostilities. The first two Articles say:

"Article 1

The Contracting Powers recognize that hostilities between themselves must not commence without previous and explicit warning, in the form either of a reasoned declaration of war or of an ultimatum with conditional declaration of war.

Article 2

The existence of a state of war must be notified to the neutral Powers without delay, and shall not take effect in regard to them until after the receipt of a notification, which may, however, be given by telegraph. Neutral Powers, nevertheless, cannot rely on the absence of notification if it is clearly established that they were in fact aware of the existence of a state of war."

The United Nations and war
In an effort to force nations to resolve issues without warfare, framers of the United Nations Charter attempted to commit member nations to using warfare only under limited circumstances, particularly for defensive purposes.

The UN became a combatant itself after North Korea invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950, which began the Korean War. The UN Security Council condemned the North Korean action by a 9–0 resolution (with the Soviet Union absent) and called upon its member nations to come to the aid of South Korea. The United States and 15 other nations formed a "UN force" to pursue this action. In a press conference on 29 June 1950, US President Harry S. Truman characterized these hostilities as not being a "war" but a "police action".

The United Nations has issued Security Council Resolutions that declared some wars to be legal actions under international law, most notably Resolution 678, authorizing the 1991 Gulf War which was triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. UN Resolutions authorise the use of "force" or "all necessary means".

Legality
The legality of who is competent to declare war varies between nations and forms of government. In many nations, that power is given to the head of state or sovereign. The official international protocol for declaring war was defined in the Hague Convention (III) of 1907 on the Opening of Hostilities.

Since 1945, developments in international law such as the United Nations Charter, which prohibits both the threat and the use of force in international conflicts, have made declarations of war largely obsolete in international relations, though such declarations may have relevance within the domestic law of the belligerents or of neutral nations. The UN Security Council, under powers granted in articles 24 and 25, and Chapter VII of the Charter, may authorize collective action to maintain or enforce international peace and security. Article 51 of the United Nations Charter also states that: "Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right to individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a state."

Requirements by country
Declaring war is usually done through a process that involves prior approval before a formal announcement is made. This differs by country as some do not have a pre-approved process, and a given head of government can declare war with no pre-conditions.

title: Declaration of war


text:
Northwest Conference

The Northwest Conference (NWC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are located in the states of Oregon and Washington. It was known as the Pacific Northwest Conference from 1926 to 1984.

History

The NWC was formed in 1926, making it one of the oldest continuously existing athletics conferences in the western United States. For 60 years, the Northwest Conference sponsored sports exclusively for men, but in 1984 it joined with the Women's Conference of Independent Colleges to become the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges, shortening the name to its current moniker in 1996 when it joined the NCAA.

The charter members included Willamette University, Pacific University, Whitman College, the College of Puget Sound (now the University of Puget Sound), Linfield College and the College of Idaho. In 1931, Albany College joined, left in 1938, and re-joined in 1949 using its present name of Lewis & Clark College. Pacific Lutheran University was added in 1965, and Whitworth University in 1970. In 1978, the College of Idaho dropped out of the conference. Whitworth also left in 1984, but then returned in 1988. In 1996, George Fox University joined when the conference moved to the NCAA and Puget Sound re-joined in that same year since 1948. From 2006 to 2010, Menlo College was also a part of the conference as an associate member in football.

The College of Idaho reinstated its football program in 2014 after a 37-year hiatus and joined the Frontier Conference for football. C of I is now a member of the NAIA's Cascade Collegiate Conference for other sports. Whitworth left the NWC in 1984 but returned in 1988. George Fox University and Seattle University joined the conference in 1997. Seattle dropped out again in 1999 to become members of NCAA Division II. Menlo College joined the conference in 2005 as a football-only member.

Chronological timeline

 * 1926 - The NWC was founded as the Pacific Northwest Conference (PNWC). Charter members include the College of Idaho, Linfield College, Pacific University, the College of Puget Sound (now the University of Puget Sound), Whitman College and Willamette University, effective beginning the 1926-27 academic year.
 * 1931 - Albany College (now Lewis & Clark College) joined the PNWC, effective in the 1931-32 academic year.
 * 1938 - Lewis & Clark left the PNWC, effective after the 1937-38 academic year.
 * 1948 - Puget Sound left the PNWC, effective after the 1947-48 academic year.
 * 1949 - Lewis & Clark re-joined back to the PNWC, effective in the 1949-50 academic year.
 * 1965 - Pacific Lutheran College (now Pacific Lutheran University) joined the PNWC, effective in the 1965-66 academic year.
 * 1970 - Whitworth College (now Whitworth University) joined the PNWC, effective in the 1970-71 academic year.
 * 1978 - The College of Idaho left the PNWC, effective after the 1977-78 academic year.
 * 1984 - Whitworth left the PNWC, effective after the 1983-84 academic year.
 * 1984 - The PNWC merged with the Women's Conference of Independent Colleges (WCIC) to become the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges (NCIC), therefore adding women's sports in the conference, effective in the 1984-85 academic year.
 * 1988 - Whitworth re-joined back to the NCIC, effective in the 1988-89 academic year.
 * 1995 - George Fox College (now George Fox University) joined the NCIC, effective in the 1995-96 academic year.
 * 1996 - Puget Sound re-joined back to the NCIC, effective in the 1996-97 academic year.
 * 1996 - The NCIC has rebranded its name to become the Northwest Conference (NWC), effective in the 1996-97 academic year.
 * 1996 - The NWC has joined full membership in the Division III ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) after years spent in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), effective in the 1996-97 academic year.
 * 1997 - Seattle University joined the NWC, effective in the 1997-98 academic year.
 * 1999 - Seattle left the NWC to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the Pacific West Conference (PacWest), effective after the 1998-99 academic year.
 * 2006 - Menlo College joined the NWC as an associate member for football, effective in the 2006 fall season (2006-07 academic year).
 * 2011 - Menlo left the NWC as an associate member for football, effective after the 2010 fall season (2010-11 academic year).

Current members
The NWC currently has nine full members, all are private schools:

 * Notes:

Former members
The NWC had two former full members, which both were private schools:

Former associate members
The NWC had one former associate member, which was also a private school:

 * Notes:

Sports sponsored
The Northwest Conference sponsors championships in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.

All Sports Trophy
Each year the NWC awards one of its member institutions the NWC All Sports Trophy. In each sport the Conference Champion is awarded 18 points, second place is awarded 16 points, and so on. The school with the most points at the conclusion of the academic year wins the trophy. Football, women's volleyball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's golf, men's baseball, women's softball, and men's and women's track and field are the 18 sports in which points are awarded.

Most recently, Whitworth won the NWC All Sports Trophy for 2017-18, their twelfth overall and eleventh in a row. Pacific Lutheran has won the award 15 times, more than any other school. Linfield has won the trophy three times while Puget Sound has won it twice.

National championships
† - Whitworth was not a member of the NWC until 1970.

Football champions

 * 1926 – College of Idaho
 * 1927 – College of Idaho
 * 1928 – Whitman
 * 1929 – Willamette
 * 1930 – Whitman
 * 1931 – Whitman
 * 1932 – Puget Sound
 * 1933 – Puget Sound
 * 1934 – Willamette
 * 1935 – Linfield and Willamette
 * 1936 – Willamette
 * 1937 – Willamette
 * 1938 – Pacific (OR) and Willamette
 * 1939 – Pacific
 * 1940 – Willamette
 * 1941 – Willamette
 * 1942 – Willamette
 * 1943 – No champion
 * 1944 – No champion
 * 1945 – No champion

 * 1946 – Willamette
 * 1947 – Willamette
 * 1948 – College of Idaho
 * 1949 – College of Idaho, Lewis & Clark, and Pacific (OR)
 * 1950 – Lewis & Clark
 * 1951 – Lewis & Clark and Pacific (OR)
 * 1952 – Lewis & Clark and Pacific (OR)
 * 1953 – College of Idaho
 * 1954 – College of Idaho, Lewis & Clark, and Willamette
 * 1955 – College of Idaho and Lewis & Clark
 * 1956 – Linfield
 * 1957 – Linfield
 * 1958 – Willamette
 * 1959 – Willamette
 * 1960 – Willamette
 * 1961 – Linfield
 * 1962 – Linfield
 * 1963 – Lewis & Clark
 * 1964 – Linfield
 * 1965 – Linfield

 * 1966 – Lewis & Clark
 * 1967 – Lewis & Clark, Linfield, and Willamette
 * 1968 – Willamette
 * 1969 – Lewis & Clark, Linfield, Pacific Lutheran, and Whitman
 * 1970 – Linfield
 * 1971 – Linfield
 * 1972 – Linfield
 * 1973 – Pacific Lutheran
 * 1974 – Linfield
 * 1975 – Linfield, Pacific Lutheran, and Whitworth (WA)
 * 1976 – Linfield
 * 1977 – Linfield
 * 1978 – Linfield
 * 1979 – Pacific Lutheran
 * 1980 – Linfield
 * 1981 – Pacific Lutheran
 * 1982 – Linfield
 * 1983 – Pacific Lutheran
 * 1984 – Linfield

title: Northwest Conference