The Band’s Catalog Gains in Streaming, Sales After Robbie Robertson’s Death

Music from The Band hits multiple Billboard charts dated Aug. 19 following the death of guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson Aug. 9.

The influential group’s catalog is paced by a No. 1 re-entry for classic song “The Weight” on Billboard’s LyricFind U.S. and LyricFind Global tallies.

The LyricFind Global and LyricFind U.S. charts rank the fastest momentum-gaining tracks in lyric-search queries and usages globally and in the U.S., respectively, provided by LyricFind. The Global chart includes queries from all countries, including the U.S. The company is the world’s leader in licensed lyrics, with data provided by more than 5,000 publishers and utilized by more than 100 services, including Amazon, Pandora, Deezer, Microsoft, SoundHound and iHeartRadio.

According to LyricFind, “The Weight” vaulted by 1,878% in lyric usages and searches in the Aug. 4-10 tracking week. Globally, the count was up 1,846%.

Music from The Band and Robertson dot both charts below “The Weight,” as “Chest Fever” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” appear at Nos. 6 and 9 on the U.S. survey, followed by Robertson solo tracks “Showdown at Big Sky” (No. 12) and “Somewhere Down the Crazy River” (No. 17). “Crazy Fever” (No. 15) and “Showdown at Big Sky” (No. 20) also reach the Global list.

The Band racked up 4.7 million official on-demand streams in the U.S. Aug. 4-10, up 56% from 3 million the previous week (July 28-Aug. 3). The group also accrued 4,000 paid song downloads, up 815%, and moved 2,000 in album sales, a 278% surge.

“The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” reach Rock Digital Song Sales at No. 6 (2,000 downloads), No. 14 (1,000) and No. 17 (1,000), respectively.

Robertson’s solo material, meanwhile, earned 499,000 on-demand streams, a jump of 644%.

Robertson died Aug. 9 in Los Angeles from prostate cancer.