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| THE HAWKS |
By the mid 1960s, songwriter and musician Bob Dylan was interested in performing electric rock music and asked The Hawks to be his backing band. Disheartened by fans' negative response to Dylan's new sound, Helm returned to Arkansas for what turned out to be a two-year layoff, during this period, Helm ended up working on off-shore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico until he was asked to rejoin the band….Helm returned to the group, then referred to simply as "the band"
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| Helm, center, performing with The Band. Hamburg, 1971 |
In 1968, The Band recorded their own album Music from Big Pink...
The album catapulted The Band into stardom…
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| Levon on mandolin in 1971 |
Helm remained with The Band until their 1976 farewell performance…
Helm with The Band, at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium 1976
In 1989, Helm toured with drummer Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band. Other musicians in the band included, guitarist Rick Danko, singer/guitarist Joe Walsh, singer/pianist Dr. John, guitarist Nils Lofgren, singer Billy Preston, saxophonist Clarence Clemons and drummer Jim Keltner. Garth Hudson was a guest on accordion on certain dates. Levon played drums and harmonica, and sang "The Weight" and "Up On Cripple Creek" each night…
Helm's performance career in the 2000s revolved mainly around the Midnight Ramble at his home and studio, "The Barn," in Woodstock, New York…
Rolling Stone magazine ranked Levon Helm #91 in the list of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time…
On April 17, 2012, Helm's wife Sandy and daughter Amy revealed that Helm had end-stage cancer. They posted the following message on Helm's website:
"Dear Friends,
Levon is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. Please send your prayers and love to him as he makes his way through this part of his journey.
Thank you fans and music lovers who have made his life so filled with joy and celebration... he has loved nothing more than to play, to fill the room up with music, lay down the back beat, and make the people dance! He did it every time he took the stage...
We appreciate all the love and support and concern.
From his daughter Amy, and wife Sandy
Surrounded by family and friends, Helm died on April 19, 2012, at 1:30 pm at in New York City…
Rolling Stone magazine ranked Levon Helm #91 in the list of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time…
Remembering Levon Helm. Recorded here playing with The Band at the Second Chance night club in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1984 on April 10th…
R.I.P. LEVON!!!
NOTE: Most of this blog was gleaned from info readily available on Wikipedia. There’s a LOT more to know about this incredible musician—GOOGLE THE MAN AND BE AMAZED!
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