RIP Levon Helm, 1940-2012

The last voice of The Band has been silenced. Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, and now Levon Helm are gone. I've got friends, good friends whose musical tastes I otherwise respect, who just never got The Band. I've tried to explain, but as with many things of this nature, you either hear and feel it or you don't.

Let's start with the voice. Levon Helm's voice was like deep, gritty, Southern soil. Within that soulful twang you can hear all of the birthing elements of rock and roll: country, gospel, blues, R&B. The only American-born member of the most American of bands (the other four were Canadians), Helm's Arkansas roots somehow grounded The Band, made them legitimately Americana. It was Robbie Robertson's songwriting, but it was the voices of Manuel, Danko and Helm that brought the songs to life. While Manuel was vulnerability and pain, Danko was a soaring and mournful tenor, it was Helm who brought the grit and Southern fried funkiness.

Then the drumming. The rhythm section of Helm on drums and Danko on bass was the grooviest, loosest white rhythm section in rock. Helm's drumming sounded so natural and casual, often laying just behind the beat for an extra funky feel. There are drummers who are more impressive technically or more bombastic and powerful, but there are few drummers that I'd rather listen to just for pure feel. He brought soul to an instrument that is hard to make sound soulful.

I don't need to give you the history of The Band here. I've discussed them before and you can read it in the many obituaries that were out today. But briefly, The Band (starting out as The Hawks, then moving to The Crackers, a great name they should have kept) were there near the beginning of rock and roll, backing rockabilly wildman Ronnie Hawkins on the Canadian circuit in the early 60's. They eventually hooked up with Bob Dylan, and were on tour with him during his earth shattering first electric tour where he and his Band were frequently booed by irate folk fans who felt he was a Judas (although Helm left for a substantial part of this period, tired of the hostile audiences).

The Band recorded two stone cold classics in the late 60's (Music From Big Pink and The Band, both of which have appeared on my five star list). While most rock stars of the late 60's were experimental, psychedelic or otherwise caught up with the times, The Band steadfastly took a different course and were outside of the times, digging deep into American roots music. They sounded more 1860's than 1960's. After their acrimonious split (just watch 'The Last Waltz' and you can feel the tension between Helm and Robertson), Helm played with a reconstituted Band (sans Robertson). More recently, while battling throat cancer, he put on legendary shows in his barn/studio in Woodstock, attracting many famous musicians who wanted to participate in his "Midnight Rambles" (he did these in part to pay his medical bills). By many accounts these were incredible shows, loose jam sessions steeped in American music idioms.

Helm also had a pretty successful film career.  Most notably, he was perfect as the narrator and sidekick during the Chuck Yeager scenes of 'The Right Stuff,' and he also gave a critically acclaimed performance as Loretta Lynn's father in 'Coal Miner's Daughter.'

I was interested to read that earlier this week Robbie Robertson visited Helm in the hospital, and they evidently talked for hours and finally buried the hatchet. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that room. The Robertson/Helm feud has been fierce for decades. One of the great rock and roll feuds, involving everything from accusations of betrayal, fights over royalties and songwriting credit, and even including Helm ridiculously assigning to Robertson part responsibility for Manuel's suicide in the 80's and Danko's death in 1999. Helm refused to show up for The Band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame simply because he could not stand to be in the same room as Robertson. He skipped his dear friend Danko's funeral because Robertson was speaking at it. I was genuinely surprised and happy to read that Robbie and Levon finally reconciled in the end.

Levon Helm was an original. He was a connection to a musical past that is fading further into the haze of history. He was an original American. RIP Levon Helm.


ABOVE: One of Helm's all time great performances with The Band, singing "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" in 'The Last Waltz.' Even though Helm is on record as despising the film and album, he sure as hell gave it his all at the show.