Love ya Levon. Thanks for the music

Really sad day for everyone, great lost, one, one of the REAL greatest!!
Safe journey Levon and thanks!!!
Carlitos
Tenerife

Very sad. RIP. Dylan has nice things to say on his web page.
Reminds me of the line from Ophelia:
Why do the best things always disappear?

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Max'sKansasCity
Does it seem like there is some sort of accelerating exodus going on? seems like we are losing great ones every week... or maybe we are all just getting old...

Yeah Max, it's for real. Gonna get worse before it gets better I'm afraid. Watching the rock giants of our wasted youth pass away will be pretty hard on this kid.

Tomcasagrande your words describing Levon's music as "authentic" is about as clear and close to to the truth for me as it gets. What a great compliment for any musician. peace

This Levon Helm Keith Richards Scotty Moore DJ Fontana video is up on the
other Stones fan sites, so it belongs here too I think. I never knew about it.
It's great.

Max, those were exactly my thoughts today. It does seem that many of our musical heroes are passing at an accelerated pace. And, Naturalust is right, it is going to get worse. The reality is that many of them are 70+ years old and lived lives that were hard on the body and soul. I suppose we who are 60+ need to brace ourselves for more of this.

Another great one gone too soon...

A huge huge loss to the world of music...I, like many of those on this thread feel like all my heroes are moving on and there isn't the same quality following in their hard worn footsteps...maybe it will take a few more generations before we see the likes of Levon again, or maybe that era of road worn talented musicians has gone forever. It's a true measure of the man that for once I think the whole of IORR is united and in agreement. Now that only happens when something really special is in the ether!

Bob Dylan wrote about Helm's passing some gentle words.

R.I.P Levon. Thanks for the great music



John Nicholls

Rest in Peace levon, and thanks for the beautiful music
jeroen

Let's hope Richard Manuel and Rick Danko give you a warm welcome. Thank you for all the great music. RIP

Another sad loss. I only got to see The Band once and unfortunately, after Robbie had quit. They opened for Crosby, Stills & Nash at an outdoor amphitheater in NJ back in the mid eighties. They had two guitarists hired to cover Robbie's parts but Levon was great, as were Hudson, Danko and Manuel. Sadly, Manuel ended his life shortly after this show and of course Danko passed a few years later. They were a great part of music history. RIP Levon.

Oh man, I'm not in the mood for this . .
Just last week bought one of his late solo albums. Another very special drummer. Thanx for all the music.

Helm was really one of "mine" musicians. i don't know how to explain.. you are generally sad when some good musician die, but not everybody is really important for you, for your life.
helm, like for example willy deville, s.r.v. and, of course, many others, was really one of the "mine" ..

I am gratified to see many people feeling the same way. I do not know why. There are many musicians that I greatly admire, but this one got to me. Perhaps it has something to do with Robbie's last visit, but Levon's death is grabbing my heart. Yeah, we are all moving up a line we do not want to be in.

I saw the Barn Burners in the Sacramento area a number of years ago. One thing I remember about the show was the performance of Wang Dang Doodle. How many times have you heard that one? No big deal right? But the band got the temp just right. A song you have heard a million times was groovin' sexy again. Not too fast and definitely not too slow. One could imagine how it sounded when people first heard it. I credit Levon for that, his great judgment, taste and talent.

Very, very sad indeed. Massive Respect for the Man & his legacy...
Love to his family.

I haven't been on in a few days and just saw this thread. I heard on the radio Tuesday that Levon was very ill (Stage 4 throat cancer) and then heard last night that he passed. I am truely saddened. It's not often that the passing of a celebrity causes me to feel true sorrow but as a musician and fan, I feel we've lost somebody very special. I'm thankful for the music that he left behind.

It's the purity, the authenticity, the greatness of the man. I've got the same sadness that I had way back in September 2003, when another voice of purity, authenticity, and greatness passed, i.e. Johnny Cash.

It's ironic that both were from Arkansas, and both were true voices: there were no exaggerated sounds from Levon and Johnny Cash, both sang as they were, as they felt, and with more feeling than any of today's poseurs could ever imagine.

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superrevvy
This Levon Helm Keith Richards Scotty Moore DJ Fontana video is up on the
other Stones fan sites, so it belongs here too I think. I never knew about it.
It's great.

Wow, never seen this. Very nice. Thanks for posting.

I think all the hearfelt feelings being expressed on this post show how we all felt about this special, gifted man and musician.

God bless Levon Helm. Peace my friend. Thanks for the gift of your musical expressions.

"Take all the pain...It's yours anyway"

great drummer and musician. RIP

"Helm formed his own band, Levon Helm and the RCO All Stars, featuring fellow
legends Dr. John, Steve Cropper, and Booker T. Jones"

Sounds amazing. Can anybody tell me more about the RCO All_stars?

I spent a long time today listening to The Band. I loved Levon's voice. Thanks for all of the great music. I was glad to read that Robbie went to see him in the hospital I hope they made piece. They made great music. The Band pretty much covered all genres of American Music a lot of down to earth themes singing about the Delta and all. I'm always amazed at a drummer who can sing and keep on time too. A great loss.

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GumbootCloggeroo
RIP

A fantastic video.

It so often seems that no matter how much animosity bandmates may have for eachother at any time, getting together to do what they do best, making music, always brings out the best of men. The videos don't lie, you can see joy in the faces.

Sort of like all of us here sometimes, we may disagree with eachother's opinions from time to time, but certain moments like this bring us all in to reminisce and conversate and pay our respects.

RIP Levon.

I watched "The Last Waltz" this evening. I was reminded of what a brilliant group of musicians The Band was. Many of their performances literally gave me the chills, particularly "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", with Levon singing with great passion, and "It Makes No Difference", such a hauntingly beautiful song. Who makes music like this anymore?? I saw the film when it was released in theaters in 1978 (or thereabouts), and it has aged like a fine wine. The Staples, Muddy Waters, and so many more gave memorable performances.

I remember going to see the Band at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in around 1968 or so, and at the time, I was relatively unfamiliar with their music. I read an article prior to their show that said that they were on par with the Beatles in terms of talent and creativity. Back then, I didn't think so, though I enjoyed the show. But now, I would have to agree.

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The Sicilian

Quote
GumbootCloggeroo
RIP

A fantastic video.

It so often seems that no matter how much animosity bandmates may have for eachother at any time, getting together to do what they do best, making music, always brings out the best of men. The videos don't lie, you can see joy in the faces.

Sort of like all of us here sometimes, we may disagree with eachother's opinions from time to time, but certain moments like this bring us all in to reminisce and conversate and pay our respects.

RIP Levon.

And Robbie playing a Casino of all things.

Great tribute from Bernie Taupin...

[www.berniejtaupin.com]

I think Bernie invoked the spirt of Levon on Tumbleweed Connection and Madman Across The Water. He also did again by writing songs for The Union, Elton John and Leon Russell's great album. What is Gone to Shiloh but an evocation of The Band, with three voices on it, i.e. Elton, Leon, and Neil Young ?

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Jah Paul
Great tribute from Bernie Taupin...

[www.berniejtaupin.com]

Yeah I was moved by this one too Jah Paul here it is written out:

"The first time I heard Levon Helm's voice was in a small record shop on Berwick Street in Soho London sometime around 1969. What was it like? Paul on the road to Damascus!

"Oh, I guess I just want to say all these things about the earth and granite of his being, the raw Appalachian timber of his voice and the powerful sway of his backbeat. The throb of his tom-toms the first time I heard 'Tears Of Rage' and that wicked, knowing smile recounting tales of Carney barkers and backwater medicine shows. I'm thinking about him behind that economical kit, the way he hunched his shoulders and turned into the mike like a coiled spring when he sang.

"He was one of three great singers in The Band, three of the greatest singers in any band, and the last of those three to leave us. What other band under God's great Heaven gave us a trio of such eloquent and awesome sonic tools? Richard Manuel had an otherworldly voice, ethereal and legitimately spooky in the best way possible. Rick Danko, with whom I spent some questionably manic moments and cerebral hours and whom I loved dearly, sang like an unfettered young buck, all tremulous beauty and with poignant longing. Anyone doubting this just listen to his vocal on 'It Makes No Difference' from the 'The Last Waltz' soundtrack, one of the best live vocal performances I've ever heard.

"Then there was Levon: a voice that seemed as it was birthed from the land from which he sprung. Rich as Arkansas soil and raw as a plug of tobacco, gnarly as knotted pine and so expressive it seemed like he was chewing on the words before they left his mouth. Now he's gone and our anemic musical horizon has one less icon to cling to and one more legacy to embrace.

"We're blessed that he battled his illness and conquered it for a spell, pushed back the inevitable, stuck up his hand and like some hard scrabble farmer in a gothic Southern novel said “Whoa boy, I ain't done ploughin'.”

"He participated in some of the greatest music I've ever heard and because of him and the boys in The Band, my soul is clearer of musical debris and tuned into the lyrical soul of the American heartland and the soul of Appalachia.

"If I'm any good at what I do, it's because he inspired me to be better.

"Sleep with angels, Levon. Say hi to the boys, and see you in church."


peace

The Black Keys paid tribute to The Band drummer and singer Levon Helm, who died Thursday after a long battle with cancer.

Joining guitarist-singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney on-stage was former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty.

The trio sang The Band’s classic “The Weight” in honor of Helm.