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The Spectacle Blog
Drummer, guitarist, mandolin player, singer and actor Levon Helm, best known for his tenure with The Band, passed away earlier this afternoon after a long battle with throat cancer. He was 71.
Born in Arkansas, Helm cut his musical teeth in the late 1950s with Ronnie Hawkins as a member of Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks which enjoyed their greatest success as a bar band in and around Toronto. It was north of the border where Helm met Robbie Robertson, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson and they eventually joined the Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks. In 1963, Helm and company parted ways with Hawkins and came to the attention of Bob Dylan. In 1965, the Hawks helped Dylan go electric with mixed results. These results prompted Helm to take a hiatus from music for two years and return to Arkansas.
However, Helm would eventually rejoin The Hawks which by this time was known simply as The Band. They resumed their collaboration with Dylan both on the road and did some recordings with him which eventually saw the light of day in 1975 as The Basement Tapes. In 1968, The Band found stardom of their own with the release of their debut album Music from Big Pink. Helm sang lead vocal on The Band’s first hit “The Weight”. His voice would take center stage on their eponymous second album which was released the following year on songs like “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and “Up on Cripple Creek”. Helm also sang lead vocal on “Ophelia”.
The Band broke up during Thanksgiving 1976 when they gave a final concert known as The Last Waltz which was subsequently released theatrically (directed by Martin Scorsese). Helm had an acrimonious relationship with Robertson over publishing, royalties and feeling that he, Manuel, Danko and Hudson weren’t given their due especially in The Last Waltz as detailed in his 1993 autobiography, This Wheel’s on Fire. However, a few days ago, after being informed that Helm only had days to live Robertson visited him at Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City.
The Band reunited in the 1980s and 1990s without Robertson. I had to chance to see Helm along with Danko and Hudson (Manuel committed suicide in 1986) perform at the Canada Day festivities on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in 1993. Danko passed away in 1999. Robertson and Hudson are the only original surviving members of The Band.
Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998 resulting in the loss of his singing voice. To help pay his medical bills, Helm staged a series of concerts at his barn in Woodstock, New York called Midnight Ramble which soon earn an enthusiastic following. Initially, Helm confined himself to drumming but gradually his singing voice came back resulting in an unexpected career resurgence in the final years of his life. Between 2007 and 2011, Helm released three Grammy winning albums Dirt Farmer, Electric Dirt and the live Ramble at the Ryman.
Unfortunately, the cancer would return. However, Helm was out there performing almost to the very end even though he was obviously not well as indicated by this review of his March 13th concert in Milwaukee. Helm’s final concert took place exactly one month ago in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Helm postponed a concert appearance at the Hampton Beach Casino in New Hampshire on March 30th but rescheduled it for July 17th. Alas, Levon Helm and his band will not play that night nor any other. R.I.P.
UPDATE: It has been brought to my attention that Helm’s last shows actually took place at the Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, New York on March 23rd and 24th, not the March 19th show in Ann Arbor as I had reported. I regret the error. With that, I’ll leave you with Helm singing “The Weight” at his very last concert.
Phillip McKann| 4.19.12 @ 7:31PM
Great writing.
American Digest had a link to some youtube videos with Helm, including a guest appearance on "The Shooter" and Helm singing "The Weight."
Lots of people from my generation are moving on now, but this one was a little difficult to let go. It seems sadder than some of the others for some reason.
Occam's Tool| 4.19.12 @ 8:21PM
The Weight. Good song.
Crassus| 4.19.12 @ 8:26PM
Met Helm once when he was filming "Coal Miner's Daughter." Seemed like a good guy. RIP.
Tarr | 4.19.12 @ 8:48PM
RIP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....data_playe
W| 4.19.12 @ 9:31PM
The Last Waltz was good. Didn't the movie Easy Rider use the Weight and other Band songs? Great soundtrack.
jocon307| 4.19.12 @ 11:05PM
RIP Levon Helm. Hubby was quite surprised and sad to hear of his death.
MyGirlFriday| 4.20.12 @ 1:21AM
Take a load off Helm and R.I.P.
Le Cracquere| 4.20.12 @ 9:32AM
A heavy, heavy loss. Helm was a giant figure in American music--even now, I can still hear him & Emmylou Harris singing "Evangeline" together.
It'd be nice to salvage something from this sad news ... so for any TAS readers who haven't had the privilege, go out and get the Band's second (eponymous) album. Then go get the rest, if you're so inclined.
Le Cracquere| 4.20.12 @ 9:32AM
Worst of all, I still owe him a stick of Beeman's.
Jack L in Phoenix| 4.22.12 @ 2:52AM
I thought he owed ME a stick.... ; - (
An American original. His interview in "The Last Waltz" where he described the genesis of rock 'n roll in its Memphis birthplace was the only real part of that movie aside from the great music.
Liza| 4.20.12 @ 2:39PM
I always thought Levon was the heart and soul of The Band and I was saddened by the news of his death. A friend took me to see Bob Dylan and The Band for my 23rd birthday MANY years ago and the first hour of The Band sans the surly Mr. D. was by far the best part of the show. I just ordered the DVD of "The Last Waltz" since my old VHS tape needs to be retired in memory of Mr. Helm.
theduke| 4.20.12 @ 2:51PM
The eponymous album released late in '69 is pure Americana and the best album released by any group in the rock n roll era. It is poetry of the soil and panoramic in scope. What was then called the "now generation" was introduced to the concept of history in such a way as to put the problems they perceived in society in perspective.
Robertson brought the fresh eyes of the immigrant to the mix of the music while Levon grounded it in the heart of America and made it authentic. Danko's voice was also pure and his base playing energetic. The consumptive Manuel's sweet falsetto was memorable and Garth's all-around musicianship was and still is unparalleled.
God bless you, Levon. Bon Voyage.
Seek| 4.20.12 @ 5:07PM
That record in a sense was that bridge "Across the Great Divide," at least as much so as a July 4 celebration. "The Band" was where "Blue" and "Red" America merged. More of us ought to realize that Left or Right, hip or square, U.S. or Canadian, we're still Americans. Levon Helm, R.I.P.
Die Fledermaus| 4.20.12 @ 8:10PM
I saw a limited version of "The Band" during a tour in 1983 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
It was beyond awesome.
Gerard York | 4.20.12 @ 11:04PM
I have been a Band fan since 1970, when, at age 12, I heard Levon singing "Don't Do It" from the "Rock of Ages" album. I first saw the Band in early 1974, with Bob Dylan at the Hollywood Sportatorium. Later that year, the Band filled the
Orange Bowl in Miami, sharing a bill with Leon Russell. Four Canadians and a Razorback creating
perfect Americana! "Up On Cripple Creek" "Shape I'm In" "It Makes No Difference" ....These songs enriched my teenage years!!!!!
I next saw the Band in June 1994, at Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg, before a courtyard crowd of perhaps 800-1000. I last saw the Band on May 2, 1996, in Winter Park, Florida, at a small club on a Thursday night, before a crowd of
perhaps 300 or 400. To me, there was something
poignant about seeing a band that filled huge stadiums playing such small venues. Rick Danko died in 1999 and took The Band with him.
In 2000, Levon Helm and the Barnburners (with Bobby Keys from the Rolling Stones band) played a small club in Tallahassee before a crowd of about 100 or so a few weeks after the 2000 election. Tallahassee was flooded with media from around the world at that time. I was involved in the election litigation, so I had to be back
at the office after the show. I met Levon and Butch Dener, and caught them again in the fall of 2002 when the Barnburners played the Free Bird Cafe in Jacksonville before a very small crowd. You never forget it when one of your boyhood idols gives you a big hug, and Levon did, thanking
me for driving all the way from Tallahassee. Thank God greater things were in store for Levon. He got his voice back, and recorded three Grammy winning albums leaving little doubt how important he was to The Band's vision.
On one of my visits, Levon signed my copy of his book "This Wheel's On Fire"....."Gerry, Don't Give Up! Levon" Thank you, Lee. I never will.