"It Makes No Difference" is a song written by Robbie Robertson and sung by Rick Danko that was first released by The Band on their 1975 album Northern Lights – Southern Cross.
Among the artists that have covered the song are Solomon Burke, My Morning Jacket, The Icicle Works, Trey Anastasio, Over the Rhine and Eric Clapton.
[2] Among the metaphors used to portray the singer's sadness are images of weather, such as the sun never shining, constant rain and clouds hanging low.
[1] According to DeRiso, Danko's vocal manages to express the "lonesome bottom of this song while retaining its sense of reckless emotional abandon," without ever sounding resigned to his fate.
[4] According to The New Rolling Stone Album Guide critic Mark Kemp, "It Makes No Difference" is one of three songs on Northern Lights – Southern Cross, along with "Ophelia" and "Acadian Driftwood," on which "Robertson reclaims his reputation as one of rock's great songwriters.
[7] Pittsburgh Post-Gazette critic Ed Masley considers "It Makes No Difference" to be "Robertson's best song," praising its majesty and "heartbreaking soul.
"[10] In a generally negative review of the album, The Michigan Daily's R.J. Smith praises the performance of "It Makes No Difference" for Danko's "superb" vocal and for the group's "intensity.
Eric Clapton performed a cover of it at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada on September 10, 2023, in tribute to the passing of Robbie Robertson[17]