Levon Helm

hey those songs had to come from somewhere, so no prob w/ Rob. but i can imagine being in a Band with him could be unbearable

According to Helm in his autobio, many of the songs that came from "somewhere" were co-written by other Band members, while being solely credited to Robertson.

Singing drummers: I've seen gorillas ride bicycles, but it still seems like it shouldn't be possible.

I wasn't able to see Helm at the Old Town School here a few weeks back, but he was joined by Fagen there, too. Apparently they're neighbors in Woodstock and good friends, which would explain why someone like Levon, who was having trouble singing, would tap Donald as his unlikely ringer.

Has any major talent accomplished less in his days since being in one of the greatest bands of all time than Robbie Robertson? It can't be a coincidence that his creative well essentially dried up the second the Band broke up.

Best post-Band thing he did was the Casino soundtrack.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qgnHBStEGWo/T0zeteduT8I/AAAAAAAADGc/VK1AdG5sJks/s1600/430159_307375945976091_238558132857873_747223_1924266715_n.jpg

xpost God, man, I couldn't name you one note of actual composed music for "Casino." I thought it was all rock songs and stuff.

Robertson did "Color of Money" too, right? And in that case all I can think of is Eric Clapton and "Werewolves on London." And then Robertson went A&R with the occasional ethno-electronica disc, right?

xpost God, man, I couldn't name you one note of actual composed music for "Casino." I thought it was all rock songs and stuff.

Exactly. Not a single note of Robertson-composed music appears on the soundtrack. But his choices were brilliant.

Robertson was a heck of a DJ on the 1980 segment of GoodFellas.

i remember seeing a Robertson solo video once on VH1 Classic, i think "Somewhere Down the Crazy River," that kind of straddled the line between intriguing and embarrassing. aero is right that now is prob not the time for RR bashing/lols though.

robbie robertson also put together the intriguing modernist soundtrack to shutter island.

but wth folks, levon helm is dying, let's remember him.

listening to that "before the band" bonus disc on the band's big box set. it is awesome.

can't actually get past The Band/Dan connection. it's like two amazing religions
colliding. also, that lady has great taste.

one of her albums was produced by paul simon too, so throw that into the mix as well.

Some of my fave Levon playing is on "On the Beach."

Danko, too.

yeah so good. my dream is that somewhere in the archives there are more neil/band sessions from that period. there's at least one other track w/ levon that's never been bootlegged from around that time.

Is Levon on Comes a Time anywhere too?

But I've seen the band already?

Whoops, disregard that^

This makes me too sad for words.

In particular, I am having a pretty rough day today, and wasn't in any mood to come to the office. Sure enough, the moment I put on Rag Mama Rag, I was at least able to get myself going.

Such a positive force in lot of music I love. And his cameo in the Mark Wahlberg vehicle "Shooter" was AWESOME.

i think the only other Neil album Levon is on is Hawks & Doves (The Old Homestead) -- but I believe that song was recorded around the same time as On The Beach.

According to Helm in his autobio, many of the songs that came from "somewhere" were co-written by other Band members, while being solely credited to Robertson.

Has any major talent accomplished less in his days since being in one of the greatest bands of all time than Robbie Robertson? It can't be a coincidence that his creative well essentially dried up the second the Band broke up.

fair do's guys. fuck that dude.

According to Helm in his autobio, many of the songs that came from "somewhere" were co-written by other Band members, while being solely credited to Robertson.

Has any major talent accomplished less in his days since being in one of the greatest bands of all time than Robbie Robertson? It can't be a coincidence that his creative well essentially dried up the second the Band broke up.

fair enough. fuck that guy.

& fuck this iPhone

Robbie Robertson invented the iPhone.

I should emphasize that Robertson is an incredible guitarist.

listened to the live "ramble at the ryman" album last night (i admit to not having listened to his solo recs of the last few years). totally a good time! amazing that post-throat cancer he still pretty much sounds just like levon helm.

The rambles at his homestead can be pretty refreshing, or so I hear from friends who have attended. Hopefully they'll continue after he's gone.

Good Band and Levon & the Hawks links over at Tyler's doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com

some kind of attempt at reconciliation:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/apr/19/robbie-robertson-levon-helm

oh what the fuck's up, try this http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com

ah, this is so sad. he is an amazing drummer. really not that many around who sound like him, which is odd considering how often you see the band getting name-dropped.

guess it is official. RIP, Levon.

man ...

RIP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZaU3VtMfoM

:(
RIP

RIP a great man and musician

going to have to spin some 'northern lights, southern cross' tonight

this dude was the most crucial member of the band, at least for me

RIP. I heard that his family read out some of the Facebook and Twitter tributes that came after the news broke a couple of days ago. Nice if true - to spend your last hours hearing how much you were loved and how you'll be missed.

rip

RIP, another one of the greats, guess it's gonna keep being like this, on & on.

RIP, watched him in "The Right Stuff" last night. A very rare talent.

First memory of him in anything doing anything was actually Coal Miner's Daughter. Great film still -- this 1980 Rolling Stone interview with him is worth a read:

http://theband.hiof.no/articles/coal_miners_daughter.html

When a hotel guest complains about the volume, we head for a Mexican joint, where Helm orders the first of several rounds of extra-large Margaritas. As skinny as vermicelli, Helm is clean shaven and his brown hair is boyishly shott. He hardly looks his thirty-nine years, although closer scrutiny reveals the bits of gray hair and the deep lines around his brown eyes, left by years and years on the road. Yet those years and the fame and money they brought have left few other traces. In fact, Helm appears to be the real thing, an honest-to-goodness, down-home country boy. He lights a Merit, pulls on it a few times to make sure it's going and then offers it to me. He opens doors and remembers everyone's name and keeps inviting folks to stop in and see him when they're in Arkansas. Its the kind of invitation you take seriously. Levon Helm is the kind of guy you hoped the Marlboro Man would be.

Helm attacks his Margarita, licks his lips and explains, "I met Tommy Lee Jones years ago through a mutual friend, Brad Dourif, a fine actor who is my neighbour up in Woodstock, New York. When the Coal Miner's Daughter deal came up, Tommy Lee apparently threw my name into the hat because there wasn't anyone in Hollywood quite country enough or something. Michael Apted [the directorl saw The Last Waltz [a film about the Band's farewelt coneertl and called me to Nashville to read for the part."

Over another round, Helm continues. "I felt like such a fool," he says, embarrassed at the memory "I'm reading the Ted Webb part and Apted is reading the Loretta part and he's calling me daddy and I'm calling him Loretta. Lord!" A month later Helm was back in Nashville, where he hooked up with his old buddy Tommy Lee. Together, they drove to the first location, in Wise, Virginia, and along the way Jones gave Helm a crash course in acting. "Tommy Lee and I split a bottle of Wild Turkey," says Helm, "and he told me what to expect, how to pull it off." Helm breaks into a huge smile. "Tommy Lee is a good ol' boy from Texas, but he went up there to school (Harvard) and read Shakespeare and did a lot off wild stuff that a country boy wouldn't ordinarily do. He told me things like don't look at the camera, don't move too quick, don't talk too fast, do everything at a certain rhythm."

Helm settles back in the booth. "See, it gets back to what I was saying. I don't understand it yet but there is a pitch and rhythm that is absolutely parallel in music and acting, and if l have the opportunity to be in a few more of these kinds of projects, l might be able to understand it."

dunno if i've ever been this sad about the death of someone i don't know

He still shudders when he remembers his death scene. "Nobody wants to get into a coffin, but l didn't want to get marked as superstitious. So I asked Michael Apted to get in and show me exactly how he wanted me to lay." Helm laughs. "I figured he could kind of warm it up for me. lf he had the nerve, I had the nerve."

As the mourners sang "Amazing Grace," Helm suddenly came to life. "I figured that it was my funeral, and I wanted that song sung the way I wanted: the traditional, old-fashioned way. I just got up, with my gone-for-good makeup on, and we worked it out, sang it a few times, then I got back in the coffin."

And gotta say -- love the look on his face there:

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/04/18/arts/20120418HELM-slide-HZID/20120418HELM-slide-HZID-popup.jpg

Think that might've been the same article where he said Robertson (who had already been in Carny, I guess) told him to think of acting like hitting a note. This was just sent out by Vanguard, label for most if not all of his recent albums
http://gallery.mailchimp.com/1dff6e90b856dc06c872242fe/images/HELMdirtfarmer_6__1.jpg