Virgil Kane Weeps

Filed in Arts and Entertainment by on April 19, 2012

Levon Helms has died.

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A Dad, a husband and a data guru

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  1. nemski says:
    April 19, 2012 at 4:25 pm

    The Band’s self-titled was one of the albums of my childhood. Seriously. I distinctly remember playing this album, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Déjà Vu” and the Woodstock live album over and over again. Levon Helm played a huge role in the music I love today.

  2. nemski says:
    April 19, 2012 at 4:29 pm

    @Jason330 I’ll say this though, Levon Helms was no Tony Hadley.

  3. cassandra_m says:
    April 19, 2012 at 4:31 pm

    Charlie Pierce wrote about Levon Helm (with accompanying soundtrack!) yesterday, making the case that Helm’s was the real voice of America. Go read it — it is worth every minute.

    And turn up your speakers.

  4. Grin says:
    April 19, 2012 at 4:43 pm

    Ah, Levon and The Band wrote the soundtrack to my youth. He will be sorely missed.

  5. Joanne Christian says:
    April 19, 2012 at 4:53 pm

    Geez–I was looking for Joan Baez–condolences for your side of loss.

  6. Jason330 says:
    April 19, 2012 at 4:59 pm

    That clip just gave me chills. I came to The Band very late, but love them. Helms lived life well. There is a 60 minutes segment (or some show) and they show him jamming with fiends in front of a small audience in a little theater than he built in his back yard.

    I remember thinking, “How awesome is that!?”

  7. MJ says:
    April 19, 2012 at 10:40 pm

    And the music world also lost another one – Greg Ham from Men At Work – http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/reports-say-greg-ham-of-iconic-australian-band-men-at-work-found-dead-in-melbourne-home/2012/04/19/gIQAwxUJUT_story.html

  8. auntie dem says:
    April 20, 2012 at 6:41 am

    Me too Joanne.

  9. El Somnambulo says:
    April 20, 2012 at 7:42 am

    The Band got me through my homesickness freshman year of college. I’m sure most of you know that Levon Helm was the only American in The Band. That unmistakeable Arkansas voice. While Robbie Robertson took most of the songwriting credits, it was Levon’s world he wrote about, and those great songs would not have existed w/o Levon’s stories. I’d argue that they were Levon’s songs at least as much as they were Robertson’s.

    I’m very thankful that Amy Helm, Levon’s daughter, got Levon into the studio (which was probably right down the hall at his house in Woodstock) to record two great albums after his initial bout with throat cancer. Both won Grammies and deservedly so. And, they got him out of debt.

    A good man who created a wonderful musical legacy. I miss him already.

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