Levon Helm
Mark Lavon " Levon " Helm ( born May 26, 1940 in Marvell, Arkansas, † April 19, 2012 in New York City ) was an American musician. He played in 1958 with the rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins, later he was a founding member of The Band. Levon Helm's main instrument was the drums, but he also played guitar and mandolin. His singing gave many classics from The Band a distinctive voice.
Career
Levon Helm was a son of the American South; He grew up on a farm in the Mississippi Delta and was enkulturiert from his childhood with the rich musical tradition of this region. Unlike many rock musicians of his time, the styles of country, blues, gospel and folk music for him were no longing motives, but a part of his early socialization. After seeing Elvis Presley, Levon Helm wanted to play even rock ' n ' roll. His models also included Bo Diddley and Peck Curtis, drummer with Sonny Boy Williamson II and The King Biscuit Boys. After moving to Memphis, the 17- year-old Levon Helm was discovered in 1957 by Ronnie Hawkins and taken under his wing. Helm played in the recordings of Hawkins hits Mary Lou and Forty Days drums. Although the school had not yet been completed, he followed Hawkins in 1958 to Toronto. In 1963 he left together with his Canadian fellow musicians Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson, Ronnie Hawkins, The Band to respond first as Levon and the Hawks and later than in the history of rock music.
Bob Dylan hired mid-year 1965 " The Hawks " as the backing band, after he had just met the guitarist Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm. Worn down by the hostility of many Dylan fans - who considered the new, electrically amplified music as a betrayal of the ideals of Folk - left Levon Helm but soon Bob Dylan. He returned to Arkansas and wanted the music business finally leave behind. Mid-1967, however, brought him Dylan and his band, now called "The Band ", because of the shots for the Basement Tapes back. They needed Helms voice and percussion. After the Basement Tapes separated by Dylan and The Band recorded their first studio album Music from Big Pink. Pieces such as The Weight and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, where Helm sang the lead vocals were the best known songs by The Band. After their last studio album Islands and their farewell concert The Last Waltz in 1976, the group disbanded. To Levon Helm it did not stay long quiet. In 1977 he recorded his first solo album, Levon Helm and the RCO All Stars, followed by Levon Helm 1978. 1980 and 1982 followed by two more solo albums and a reunion of The Band with Jim Weider, who replaced Robbie Robertson. In 1993 he founded his own recording studio in Woodstock and it appeared his autobiography This Wheel 's On Fire.
Late work
The late 1990s, was diagnosed with Levon Helm throat cancer. He underwent a protracted radiotherapy. Miraculously returned his long-lost health and his tenor voice back so far that he could start in 2002 a series of concerts with the vocal support of his daughter Amy, the multi-instrumentalist and producer Larry Campbell and his wife Teresa Williams. These concerts were initially under the name "Midnight Ramble " with a number of illustrious guests (like Elvis Costello, Donald Fagen, Jon Herrington, Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, Kris Kristofferson ) regularly in his barn in Woodstock ( New York) instead. With the income Levon Helm could pay his high treatment costs. Published with the core cast of the weekly "Midnight Rambles " Levon Helm three albums: " Dirt Farmer " (2007), "Electric Dirt" (2009) and the live album " Ramble at the Ryman " (2011). All three albums won a Grammy.
Helmet had 2005 in the movie Three Burials - The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada hears a role as an old blind man who only Mexican radio. Later, additional roles followed in major Hollywood productions, Shooter ( 2007) and In the Electric Mist ( 2008).
At the Grammy Awards 2008 helmet received the award in the category " Best Traditional Folk Album " for Dirt Farmer. In February 2009, Levon Helm was voted at number 91 of the " 100 Greatest Singers of All Time " Rolling Stone, My- Morning - Jacket singer Jim James wrote in his appreciation through helmet: " After Papa Garth Hudson not really sang, I felt always Levon than the vocal father figure in the Band. He looks strong and confident, just like a father who gets a home or scold sometimes. Levon's voice ... which is like a sturdy old farmhouse. " Levon The song on the album Madman Across the Water (1971 ) by Elton John is named after Levon Helm.
On April 19, 2012 Levon Helm died at the age of 71 years due to his cancer.
Discography
- Levon Helm & the RCO All Stars (1977 )
- Levon Helm (1978 )
- American Son
- Levon Helm (1982 )
- Souvenir ( with The Crowmatix )
- The Ties That Bind, 1975 - 1996
- Dirt Farmer (2007)
- Electric Dirt ( 2009)
See also albums by The Band.