Levon Helm, Drummer in the Band, Dies at 71

[Gerald]

Levon Helm, who helped forge a deep-rooted American music as the drummer and singer for the Band, died on Thursday in Manhattan. He was 71 and lived in Woodstock, N.Y. His death, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, was from complications of cancer, a spokeswoman for Vanguard Records said. He had recorded several albums for the label. n Mr. Helm’s drumming, muscle, swing, economy and finesse were inseparably merged. His voice held the bluesy, weathered and resilient essence of his Arkansas upbringing in the Mississippi Delta.

Mr. Helm was the American linchpin of the otherwise Canadian group that became Bob Dylan’s backup band and then the Band. Its own songs, largely written by the Band’s guitarist, Jaime Robbie Robertson, and pianist, Richard Manuel, spring from roadhouse, church, backwoods, river and farm; they are rock-ribbed with history and tradition yet hauntingly surreal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/20/ar...me&ref=general



Note: April 19, 2012

[vienna]

One of the great muuscians who flew under the radar of most people not familiar with "The Band". Not flash, but always there and always right. Oh, and the " otherwise Canadian group that became Bob Dylan***8217;s backup band"? That was "Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks", most famous for the song "Suzie Q"...

Two greats gone in two days...Rest in Peace, Levon...

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[u crank]

To bad.

I would count The Band as one of my favorite groups ever. Their first two albums, 'Music From Big Pink' and 'The Band' were a refreshing change at the time and in my mind both masterpieces. Levon had a great voice and sense of timing.

Rest in peace Levon.

[Sailor Steve]

And another legend is gone.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

And another legend is gone.

Rgr that

[vienna]

I just wanted to share this with the group. This is from Bernie Taupin's blog; he was the lyrics half of the Elton John/Bernie Taupin songwriting partnership. Bernie wrote the lyrics to Elton's hit, "Levon", inspired by Levon Helm:

04.19.2012
Levon Helm 1940-2012

The first time I heard Levon Helm’s voice was in a small record shop on Berwick Street in Soho London sometime around 1969. What was it like? Paul on the road to Damascus!

Oh, I guess I just want to say all these things about the earth and granite of his being, the raw Appalachian timber of his voice and the powerful sway of his backbeat. The throb of his tom-toms the first time I heard “Tears Of Rage” and that wicked, knowing smile recounting tales of Carney barkers and backwater medicine shows. I’m thinking about him behind that economical kit, the way he hunched his shoulders and turned into the mike like a coiled spring when he sang.

He was one of three great singers in The Band, three of the greatest singers in any band, and the last of those three to leave us. What other band under God’s great Heaven gave us a trio of such eloquent and awesome sonic tools? Richard Manuel had an otherworldly voice, ethereal and legitimately spooky in the best way possible. Rick Danko, with whom I spent some questionably manic moments and cerebral hours and whom I loved dearly, sang like an unfettered young buck, all tremulous beauty and with poignant longing. Anyone doubting this just listen to his vocal on “It Makes No Difference” from the “The Last Waltz” soundtrack, one of the best live vocal performances I’ve ever heard.

Then there was Levon: a voice that seemed as it was birthed from the land from which he sprung. Rich as Arkansas soil and raw as a plug of tobacco, gnarly as knotted pine and so expressive it seemed like he was chewing on the words before they left his mouth. Now he’s gone and our anemic musical horizon has one less icon to cling to and one more legacy to embrace.

We’re blessed that he battled his illness and conquered it for a spell, pushed back the inevitable, stuck up his hand and like some hard scrabble farmer in a gothic Southern novel said “Whoa boy, I ain’t done ploughin’.”

He participated in some of the greatest music I’ve ever heard and because of him and the boys in The Band, my soul is clearer of musical debris and tuned into the lyrical soul of the American heartland and the soul of Appalachia.

If I’m any good at what I do, it’s because he inspired me to be better.

Sleep with angels, Levon. Say hi to the boys, and see you in church.

It would take a great lyricist like Taupin to write such a wonderful, moving, tribute to Levon Helm...

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[u crank]

Thanks vienna. Great tribute.

[joea]

This has been a sad year for music so far, RIP Levon.