On Friday morning, June 21st, Neil Young’s longtime manager, Elliot Roberts passed away. Young took to his website to write a heartfelt letter to the man he called ‘My Best Friend’ and the ‘Greatest Manager of All Time’. Roberts was 76.
Young wrote the letter on Saturday morning. “My friend for over 50 years, Elliot Roberts, has passed away. We are all heartbroken, but want to share what a great human being Elliot has been,”.
“Never one to think about himself, he put everyone else first,” he said of Roberts (born Elliot Rabinowitz). “That’s what he did for me for over fifty years of friendship, love and laughter, managing my life, protecting our art in the business of music. That’s what he did.”
Young continues: “He was devoted to each of his kids from the very beginning. He would fly half way around the world just to see his family for one day. That’s just the way he loved them. He was so happy with his soul-mate Dana. No matter where I was in the world, no matter his other obligations, he was always by the side of the stage as much as he could be.”
“Elliot was the funniest human being on earth with his uncanny wit and a heart filled with love. You never knew what he was going to say, but almost always a laugh was coming. Elliot never thought of himself, always someone else. He was my best friend in the world for so many years, and he was so happy for me and the life I had found,” he wrote.
Young went on to describe how, “Roberts guided me through every move” throughout his career and “protected my music with a fierceness”. Neil signed off with “See you at the gig, Elliot.”
Read Young’s entire letter here.
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