Levon Helm

fuck he rules.

that fill is fabulous, propelling him into the chorus, the sticks literally jumping with his excitement about joining voices with his brothers.

another check in the "rock dudes who use traditional grip" column

― Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Wednesday, January 14, 2009 11:09 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

also bun e carlos

really? looked up some videos and he's playing matched, although i didn't know that he's left-handed and plays that way sometimes (me too).

ah maybe i mistook lefthandedness for trad grip

Who's heard Electric Dirt? I never knew he released an album in 2007, reading some reviews on the new one got me inclined to pick it up.

erm, shouldn't be this on ILM?

"Dear Friends,
Levon is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. Please send your prayers and love to him as he makes his way through this part of his journey.

Thank you fans and music lovers who have made his life so filled with joy and celebration... he has loved nothing more than to play, to fill the room up with music, lay down the back beat, and make the people dance! He did it every time he took the stage...

We appreciate all the love and support and concern.
From his daughter Amy, and wife Sandy"

not super surprising, considering the last decade or so but still sad.

I had tickets to his show this Friday, which just got cancelled. I assumed it was because of the slipped disc in his back, but fuck, this fucking sucks.

;_;

didn't realize this thread was ILE...maybe it should be moved to ILM?

anyway, what an amazing musician. such a cool, unique drummer, in addition to having one of the great voices of the last half-century or so.

This Wheel's On Fire was a rough read. Ride that mystery train, Levon.

Oh shit. This guy is all time. I have a picture of him hanging in my living room.

;_;

Love this guy.

He's going to be missed. Many of my friends have traveled to Marvell or Woodstock to shake his hand. Hopefully he knows he's appreciated.

always seemed like a guy who lived for music, loved performing -- just watching those Last Waltz interview clips, you can tell how little he cared for mythmaking in the way Robertson did.

^ this. I mean, the guy bailed on Dylan's 1966 tour and worked on an oil rig. "What? They were booing us. I didn't like being booed."

Once you read Levon's book, you learn how a bunch of Canadians were able to pass as Americans.

Damn. <3 Helm forever

One of the all-time greats.

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/575278_10150709017903528_99136623527_9668601_1869317415_n.jpg

:(

my brother and i were listening to Big Pink last weekend and just marveling at what a *different* sound all of those guys made together. even though they were certainly influential on their peer group and beyond, I don't know if anything else really sounds like them. for a while there anyway, the creativity level was insanely high.

A fucking great musician with the sort of love for the whole huge world of music that leaves a huge impact on others, on how they experience music. An underpraised singer.

so many great voices in the band and levons was the most memorable

one of my favorite musicians of all time. i'm really sad at the moment.

the band doing buddy holly's "slippin' and slidin'" on festival express, goddamn levon what a great drummer and singer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZu6NucfLHM&feature=related

xp i don't know, generally my favorite singer in the Band is whoever's singing at the time. they're all so amazing. but yeah, such a wealth of talent there.

^^i mean the drumming on that is SO GOOD

yeah, i mean the dude is a serious compendium of key american drumming styles -- new orleans, rockabilly, country, soul, blues, he covers it all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFgyD3Uk1JQ&feature=related

also for some reason i always find it way more impressive when awesome drummers can sing at the same time than when ppl that play other instruments sing at the same time, though i guess i don't know why i think that's different

damn :(

surprised he's made it this long, but still v sad news.

With Helm, it's the way the his voice is simply not effected by what his left hand is doing -- he'd smack the back beat HARD and just behind the beat enough, but he could still sing in a different, straighter style right on top of it when he wanted to. That's impressive.

not an expert on his solo album, but I've got this one, it's a good bbq record
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_95DOmt9Bc&feature=related

levon had a great laugh too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgVxszM42DI&feature=related
check about 1:25

the greatest drummer w/ the greatest group

a sweet bonus track from one of those reissues a few years back. beautifully vulnerable vocal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cymLzaDFPPs

this is also good
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lquomjz4jV1qzy30io1_500.jpg

willing to bet that levon was the better ping pong player.

the band doing buddy holly's "slippin' and slidin'" on festival express,

oh yeah oops sry lil rich my bad, i only know buddy's version

Their cover of "Don't Do It" features all time drumming.

super sad. one of my fave musicians in the world. :'(

What other people said above -- he's totally classic as both a drummer and a singer, but as a drummer-singer I think he's pretty much #1 all time. And (the key here is) the reason he's a great drummer-singer is that his singing and his drumming grow out of the same impulse -- for want of a better word, soul. They're different expressions of the same feeling.

This hasn't fully sunk in yet. In addition to all the other things that make Levon great is the fact that he is the kind of guy who says things like "Muddy Waters, the king of country music."

also far and away the most likable member of The Band (Of Weirdo Drug-Addicts/Mad Genius Recluses/Domineering Frontmen)

robertson:
Last week I was shocked and so saddened to hear that my old band mate, Levon, was in the final stages of his battle with cancer. It hit me really hard because I thought he had beaten throat cancer and had no idea that he was this ill. I spoke with his family and made arrangements to go and see him.

On Sunday I went to New York and visited him in the hospital. I sat with Levon for a good while, and thought of the incredible and beautiful times we had together. It was heartwarming to be greeted by his lovely daughter Amy, whom I have known since she was born. Amy’s mother, Libby Titus, and her husband, Donald Fagen, were so kind to help walk me through this terrible time of sadness. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife Sandy.

Levon is one of the most extraordinary talented people I’ve ever known and very much like an older brother to me. I am so grateful I got to see him one last time and will miss him and love him forever.

-Robbie Robertson

oh and I just posted this little collection of Levon & The Hawks recordings, 1961-65 http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/21327965061/what-a-party-like-so-many-others-my-thoughts
great stuff.

Is there a clear winner among the Helm solo albums?

I usually hear fans say his last two are his best. Just a heads up, his voice won't be what it once was, but considering that he wasn't sure if he would ever sing again, it's kind of miraculous by that standard.