Levon Helm, 1940–2012
The Band’s purveyor of Southern grit
Levon Helm found fame in a roots rock group that boasted three powerful singers. But his gritty Southern tenor was always The Band’s main attraction. It was the sound of the defeated Confederate soldier on “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and the road-weary traveler on “The Weight.”
Growing up in Elaine, Ark., Helm witnessed rock’s early days firsthand. He saw Elvis Presley perform before he was famous and was inspired to take up the drums after watching Jerry Lee Lewis’s drummer, said the Associated Press. At age 17, he hit the road with rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins and was soon joined by the four Canadian musicians who would become The Band. The group split from Hawkins in 1963, renamed themselves Levon and the Hawks, and two years later were hired to accompany Bob Dylan on a U.S. and European tour, said The Guardian (U.K.). Dylan’s new rock sound angered his folk fans, and Helm was so disturbed by the booing crowds “that he quit and returned to Arkansas.”
The Hawks reunited in 1967 and changed their name to The Band—because, as Helm explained, that’s what everyone called Dylan’s backing musicians. Their songs reconnected rock with its roots in country, blues, and folk, and their debut album, Music From Big Pink, became a quiet sensation. The Band broke up in 1976, but Helm continued recording, winning three Grammys for his solo work, including one for the 2009 album Electric Dirt—the first to be awarded in the newly created Americana category. “Wholly appropriate,” said USA Today, “since Helm was first and foremost a man who swore by the mud below his feet.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Criminal trail?'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Grindr 'shared user HIV status' with ad firms, lawsuit claims
Speed Read LGBTQ dating app accused of breaching UK data protection laws in case filed at London's High Court
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
The best dog-friendly hotels around the UK
The Week Recommends Take a break with your four-legged friend in accommodation that offers you both a warm welcome
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Benjamin Zephaniah: trailblazing writer who 'took poetry everywhere'
Why Everyone's Talking About Remembering the 'radical' wordsmith's 'wit and sense of mischief'
By The Week UK Published
-
Shane MacGowan: the unruly former punk with a literary soul
Why Everyone's Talking About The Pogues frontman died aged 65
By The Week UK Published
-
'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud dies at 25
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Legendary jazz and pop singer Tony Bennett dies at 96
Speed Read
By Devika Rao Published
-
Martin Amis: literary wunderkind who ‘blazed like a rocket’
feature Famed author, essayist and screenwriter died this week aged 73
By The Week Staff Published
-
Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folk legend, is dead at 84
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Barry Humphries obituary: cerebral satirist who created Dame Edna Everage
feature Actor and comedian was best known as the monstrous Melbourne housewife and Sir Les Patterson
By The Week Staff Published
-
Mary Quant obituary: pioneering designer who created the 1960s look
feature One of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century remembered as the mother of the miniskirt
By The Week Staff Published