Levon Helm Dead

heard yesterday on the Ron & Fez Show that he was failing, RIP Levon

I dont even know who he was.

I didn't either until 'Morning Edition' on NPR this a.m. did a major sound obit on him.

Drummer from The Band.

Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 - April 19, 2012[1]), was an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band.

Helm was known for his deeply soulful, country-accented voice, and creative drumming style highlighted on many of The Band's recordings, such as "The Weight", "Up on Cripple Creek", "Ophelia" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". His 2007 comeback album Dirt Farmer earned the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album in February 2008, and in November of that year, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him #91 in the list of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.[2] In 2010, Electric Dirt, his 2009 follow-up to Dirt Farmer, won the first ever Grammy Award for Best Americana Album, an inaugural category in 2010.[3] In 2011, his live album Ramble at the Ryman was nominated for the Grammy in the same category and won.[4]

On April 17, 2012, his wife and daughter announced on Helm's website that he was "in the final stages of his battle with cancer" and thanked fans while requesting prayers. [5] Helm died on April 19, 2012, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.[6][7]

Yeah I've been hearing too that Robin Gibb isn't doing too well - the poor guy is in a coma.

RIP Levon

RIP...

Levon wears his war wounds like a crown....

Just looked - I still have Stage Fright and The Band.

Rest in Peace, Levon.

R.I.P Levon! You made a gallant recovery after that throat surgery a few yrs ago.

He lived down in Woodstock NY area for the last several decades. I almost attended a casual-concert-hanging-out-with-Levon there at his farm when I lived in upstate NY but they wanted way too much money ($150).

I have the LP of Stage Fright and I'm playing it now in his honor. Unreal how the album is 42 yrs old and still sounds pretty good. The music is awesome actually a bit jazzier than I expected.

I heard the news on the car radio on the way home from work. I was hoping there would be a thread. I'm not sure why. Nostalgia, maybe.

Back in the ...late 70's early 80's I guess, I was fortunate enough to see him perform at a number of smaller venues in the Toronto area. Those kinds of performances shaped my life in many ways.

I still listen to The Last Waltz all these years on. It's one of those "go to" albums I'll always keep.

I have a copy of the VHS tape of the Last Waltz...but I have to get it converted over to a DVD as my VHS player is gone to parts unknown.

Right now I'm listening to 'Shape I'm In' (video from Last Waltz):

And now I've just watched and listened to that all the way through, too.

Thanks.

You're very welcome. If you haven't seen the whole The Last Waltz movie, as a movie itself, it is worthwhile (not just for fans of The Band or music fans) to rent at some point. Really tells a fascinating story:

"Martin Scorsese's 1978 capsule history of the Band is mixed with footage of the group's allegedly last performance (certainly their last performance as a quintet) in this particularly stylish concert film. Scorsese shoots the players and their sundry guests with the same flair and enthusiasm one can see in the later The Color of Money or Goodfellas. He also proves a good interviewer with Band members, particularly Robbie Robertson, whose sleepy-sexy good looks make a star-caliber impression in close-up. But the film's real hook is the stage show, which features a rotation of rock legends (Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Paul Butterfield, Bob Dylan, and so on) playing with the Band before a wildly appreciative audience."

I bought Music From Big Pink the same day it hit the store, in Kansas City. Had no idea who these guys were, but I loved it. I think I bought it because I saw Bob Dylan's name in the credits. Not certain anymore. I bought Stage Fright and a compilation album. That's on vinyl. I also have the compilation on CD. Seems like I have one more but it would be tough digging through my records.

Yup, got that one too. Can't remember if I had Last Waltz or not; thought I did, but then where is it? Anyway, mine are vinyl.

If there's a heaven somewhere, there sure is one hell of a bar band forming there now.