Love For Levon: Our Staff Weighs In On Helm, Pt. 4

It would be doing a great disservice to the legacy of Levon Helm without first and foremost talking about The Band. They rose to fame as the antithesis of rock decadence, ushering in the “back to land” movement, first with Music From The Big Pink and then with their masterpiece of a self-titled album, known to fans as The Brown Album. Musicians fawned over them, with Eric Clapton, arguably the biggest star of the day making a pilgrimage to Woodstock with his intention to ask to join them. Others simply abandoned the electric guitar and psychedelic rock for an acoustic guitar one, and went on a search for the same dusty roads, juke joints and whiskey soaked days that The Band sang about.

My personal musical journey has been a constant chase to find The Band’s proper torchbearers. Falling in love with bands like Wilco, The Felice Brothers, The Low Anthem and The Moondoogies, who have all come close to channeling the spirit of The Band’s magical ramshackle blend of Americana, that was born out of the sounds of folk, gospel, rhythm and blues, bluegrass and country music. While Robbie Robertson became their de facto face after their break up, Levon was always their heart and soul. How many other music legends would have invited you into their home on a weekly basis and performed for you? If you never got a chance to take in a Ramble you truly missed out on one of the most unique concert experiences around. There was nothing quite like it, and probably will never truly be duplicated – which is a good thing.

A few years back I got the opportunity to cover a Ramble for HT, heading up to the sleepy town of Woodstock on a rainy Halloween night. You can read about my experience here, which will always invoke a special feeling when I think back to it. Like any dedicated fan that trip also included a journey to the Mecca of Band lore The Big Pink, where they hunkered down and created new folk songs that sounded as if they decades or more old.

I first saw Levon play sometime in 2001, at the now defunct TriBeCa Blues Club. The exact lineup of that night escapes me, but what I do remember was a shirtless Helm tucked away in the back of the stage playing drums, grinning ear to ear and me wondering what this guy who played to 500,00o+ people at both Woodstock and Watkins Glen was doing at a tiny rock club in Lower Manhattan. Little did I know at the time about his vocal troubles and battle with cancer.

The other indelible memory was his triumphant comeback show at the Beacon Theater on St. Patrick’s Day in 2007. The star-studded affair was my own personal version of The Last Waltz replete with a sit in from Dr. John, who performed Such A Night, and Garth Hudson, who bandied around the stage during the encore like madman with an accordion strapped to his chest. While there will be no more nights with Levon behind the kit, his musical legacy will live on in fond memories of the times spent seeing, listening and admiring the such a special soul.