One of the first signs thatJimmy Carterwas not your average politician came in January 1974.
A very cool Southern guy who pushed a button in my street-savvy awareness.
He said, After the concert, can you guys come to the governors mansion?
Robbie Robertson visits SiriusXM Studios on Feb. 11, 2020, in New York City.Bonnie Biess/Getty Images
Jimmys son Chip was also behind organizing the whole thing.
Id only vaguely heard of Jimmy Carter.
Hes not a good guy.
And hell play with all the dirty tricks he can.
Jimmy has his back to him so he doesnt see this.
ButIdo, and I think, Whoa!
Hello, governors mansion!
This is way hipper than any mansion Id been to before.
They had it all going on that night.
Bob and Jimmy had a little chat.
I think he talked about Bob making a difference in his songwriting.
I thought, Wow, [the Carters] just go with it.
Its late, and everybody is enjoying everybodys company.
This is so beautiful.
These people are OK. Consequently, I left there with a great impression of this guy.
Jimmy didnt have a go at be hip.
And you carry that around with you.
And sometimes you put on a record, and nothing happens.
And when I put on your record, it was a good feeling.
That meant everything to me.
Thered be old people.
Thered be young people.
This was unheard of up north.
Jimmy Carter didnt have that sensibility.
He was too true for that, and in many ways, that didnt turn out great for him.
Things happened while he was president that nobody could have seen coming or fix.
I was sad to see that it came down on him and turned on him.
He didnt know how to play the game, and it came back to haunt him.
But he was a better man for it.
As for his legacy, sometimes good overrules bad.
Richard Nixon was so jive.
Ronald Reagan was so jive.
I didnt believe a word he said.
He was a bad actor.
Jimmy Carter wasnt an actor, and he didnt want to be.
He was so kind that you thought, Oh, this cant be real.
