The music world lost one of the greats on Thursday with the passing of Levon Helm at the age of 71. The Turkey Scratch, Arkansas native was the drummer for the revered Canadian musical group The Band and provided vocals on some of their most famous and enduring songs, including “The Weight” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”
His stellar solo career culminated most recently in the release of three consecutive albums that all won Grammy Awards — this while battling back from the throat cancer that eventually took his life. The dude was untouchable. His voice was one for the ages. His backbeat was as simple, solid and stoic as he was. This Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival Hour is dedicated to him.
Helm came up north of the border to play in the band The Hawks, put together to back up singer Ronnie Hawkins — a fellow Arkansas native. Check him out backing up Hawkins below in a 1959 video said to include the first “moonwalk,” decades before Michael Jackson.
The Hawks evolved to eventually include Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson, a group that would grow beyond the confines of Hawkins’ rockabilly music, parting ways in 1963 and touring under the name Levon and the Hawks for a short spell.
Check out some of Levon and the Hawks’ early work — what a voice!
Then came the group’s legendary encounter with Bob Dylan. The folk icon was interested in plugging in the amp and rocking out for a spell, and recruited the boys to back him up. Dylan’s fans were none too amused, and let them know it. Still, in retrospect, the music is pretty great.
Despite creating some fine music with one of the greats, Helm was bummed out by the whole thing and headed home to Arkansas for a couple years. But the group stayed together with a new drummer, touring and playing a ton with Dylan in the band’s new home in Woodstock, New York, as evidenced by the spectacular The Basement Tapes. Thankfully, Helm shook off his funk and got back together with the rest of the guys — who were simply called The Band at that point — and worked on a couple more Dylan albums, Planet Waves and Before the Flood, as well as their own album Music from Big Pink, released in 1968, which included two instant classics sung by Helm: “Up On Cripple Creek” and “The Weight.”
Here they are performing “Up On Cripple Creek” from 1970:
The Band, of course, established itself as one of the finest groups of that era, creating a roots music sound that revolutionized the genre and continues to inspire and influence musicians to this day. The original lineup produced a number of studio albums and took part in some of the most important events in modern music, including Woodstock and the Festival Express train tour.
Here they are from the Festival Express stop in Toronto in 1970, with Levon singing their classic tune “The Weight.”
But bands aren’t always easy things to maintain, and in 1976 Robertson quit the group and that was it. The Band’s legendary final concert, dubbed The Last Waltz, was held on Thanksgiving Day in 1976 and was made into a documentary by Martin Scorcese, which is considered one of the finest concert films ever made. Of course, Helm expressed bitter resentment over the entire Last Waltz project and continued his feud with Robertson for years. Still, the project was awesome for fans.
It doesn’t get much better than the encore, when the band played a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Baby Don’t You Do It.” So good.
Helm didn’t slow down much after Robertson left the band. He turned out a couple of solo records before The Band reformed, without Robertson, releasing a number of additional albums. But the project ended in tragedy when Manuel committed suicide while out on tour in 1986.
Helm also toured with Ringo Starr and his All-Star Band, but his finest work was yet to come and revolved around his new home base and studio in Woodstock, New York, while recovering from his first bout with throat cancer in 1998. He hosted concerts at home that he dubbed Midnight Rambles and, eventually, Helm started to sing again. In 2007, he released the album Dirt Farmer, his first studio record since 1982, which won him a Grammy Award. It is incredible. Check out the charming video for the title track:
But he didn’t stop there and turned out two more memorable, Grammy Award-winning albums over the last few years: Electric Dirt and Ramble at the Ryman. He will be missed.
RIP Levon Helm, 1940-2012.