- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMark Lavon Helm
- Height5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
- Levon Helm was in the right place at the right time. He saw the birth
of rock and roll and, though he was too much of a gentleman to say it,
his role in helping to keep that rebellious child healthy was more than
just instrumental.
On May 26, 1940, Mark Lavon Helm was the second of four children born
to Nell and Diamond Helm in Elaine, Arkansas. Diamond was a cotton
farmer who entertained occasionally as a musician. The Helms loved
music and often sang together. They listened to The Grand Ole Opry and
Sonny Boy Williamson and his King Biscuit Entertainers regularly on the
radio. A favorite family pastime was attending traveling music shows in
the area. According to his 1993 autobiography, "This Wheel's On Fire",
Levon recalled seeing his first live show, Bill Monroe and his Blue
Grass Boys, at six years old. His description: "This really tattooed my
brain. I've never forgotten it." Hearing performers like Monroe and
Williamson on the radio was one thing; seeing them live made a huge
impression.
Levon's father bought him his first guitar at age nine. At ten and
11, whenever he wasn't in school or at work on the farm, the boy
could be found at KFFA's broadcasting studio in Helena, Arkansas,
watching Sonny Boy Williamson do his radio show, "King Biscuit Time".
Helm made his younger sister Linda a string bass out of a washtub when
he was 12 years old. She would play the bass while her brother
slapped his thighs and played harmonica and guitar. They would sing
songs learned at home and popular hits of the day, and billed
themselves as "Lavon and Linda." Because of their fresh-faced good
looks, obvious musical talent and Levon's natural ability to win an
audience with sheer personality and infectious rhythms, the pair
consistently won talent contests along the Arkansas 4-H Club circuit.
In 1954 Levon was 14 years old when he saw Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins do a show at Helena. Also performing was a young Elvis Presley, with Scotty Moore on guitar, and Bill Black on stand-up bass. They did
not have a drummer. The music was early jazz-fueled rockabilly, and the
audience went wild. In 1955 he saw Elvis once more, before Presley's
star exploded. This time Presley had D.J. Fontana with him on drums and
Black was playing electric bass. Helm couldn't get over the
difference and thought it was the best band he'd seen. The added
instruments gave the music solidity and depth. People jumped out of
their seats dancing to the thunderous, heart-pumping rhythms. The
melting pot that was the Mississippi Delta had boiled over and evolved.
Its magnificently rich blues was uniting with all the powerful, new,
spicy-hot sounds and textures that became rock and roll.
Natural progression led Levon to form his own rock band as a high-school junior, called The Jungle Bush Beaters. While Little Richard and
Jerry Lee Lewis were making teens everywhere crazed, Levon would
practice, play, watch and learn. After seeing Jerry Lee's drummer Jimmy
Van Eaton, he seriously began thinking of playing the drums himself.
Around this same time the 17-year-old musician was invited by
Conway Twitty to share the stage with Twitty and his Rock Housers. He
had met Twitty when "Lavon and Linda" opened for him at a previous
show. Helm was a personable, polite teen who took his music seriously,
so Twitty allowed him to sit in whenever the opportunity arose.
Ronnie Hawkins came into Levon Helm's life in 1957. A charismatic
entertainer and front-man, Hawkins was gathering musicians to tour
Canada, where the shows and money were steady. He had a sharp eye
for talent. He needed a drummer and Levon fit the bill. Fulfilling a
promise to Nell and Diamond to finish high school, Levon joined Ronnie
and his "Hawks" on the road. The young Arkansas farm boy, once a
tractor driving champion, found himself driving Hawkins' Cadillac to
gigs, happily aware that all the unknown adventures of rock and roll
would soon be his destiny.
In 1959 Ronnie got The Hawks signed to Roulette Records. They had two
hits, "Forty Days" and "Mary Lou", sold 750,000 copies and appeared on Dick Clark's American Bandstand (1952). Hawkins and Helm recruited four more talented Canadian musicians in the
early 1960s--Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson and Robbie Robertson. Under Ronnie's tutelage they would often perform until
midnight and rehearse until four in the morning. Other bands began
emulating their style; now they were the ones to watch and learn from.
Eventually the students surpassed their teacher. Weary of Ronnie's
strict regulations and eager to expand their own musical interests,
the five decided to break from Hawkins. They called themselves "Levon
and the Hawks."
About 1965 Bob Dylan decided to change his sound. He was ready to "go
electric" and wanted Levon and The Hawks to help him fire it up. The
boys signed on to tour with Dylan, but unfortunately Dylan's die-hard
folk fans resisted. Night after night of constant booing left Levon
without the pleasure of seeing his audience enjoy themselves. He called
his drummer's stool "the best seat in the house," because he could see
his fellow musicians and his audience simultaneously. What pleased him
most, always, was that his audience had a good time. He temporarily
left the group and eventually landed back home in Arkansas. Dylan and
the rest of the band took up residence in Woodstock, NY. They rented a
large, pink house where they wrote and rehearsed new material. Danko
called for Helm to join them when Capitol Records gave them a recording
contract.
Woodstock residents called them "the band," so they kept the moniker.
The name The Band fit. The sound was no-frills rock-and-roll, but far
from simplistic. They fused every musical influence they were exposed
to over the years as individuals and as a unit. The result was
brilliant. Their development as musicians was perfected by years of
playing. Living together at "Big Pink" allowed complete collaboration
of their artistic expression. Americana and folklore themes,
heart-wrenching ballads filled with naked emotion, majestic harmonies,
hard-driving rhythms and exquisite instrumentation made critics, peers
and fans realize that this music was unlike any heard before. Their
first album, "Music from Big Pink", released in July of 1968, made them
household names, and as a result they were invited to appear on Ed Sullivan's The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) in autumn of '69. Following "Big Pink"'s success the next
album, called simply "The Band", is considered by some as their
masterpiece. They made seven albums total, including one live recording
in 1972, "Rock of Ages". Many of their hits--such as "The Weight", "W.S.
Walcott's Medicine Show" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"--were
spawned from stories of Levon's beloved South.
Helm was working in Los Angeles in 1974, at a Sunset Blvd. hotel, when he
spotted a beautiful young brunette taking a dip in the pool. Her name
was Sandra Dodd and when she looked up at him smiling, she didn't
recognize him at first. The charming musician offered to take the
lovely lady for sushi and never looked back. They were married on
September 7, 1981, in Woodstock.
The barn and studio Helm built in Woodstock, which became his permanent
home, was just about complete in 1975. He invited Muddy Waters to his
new studio and they recorded "Muddy Waters in Woodstock". To the delight
of everyone involved, it won a Grammy.
The Band held a farewell concert at Winterland in San Francisco on
Thanksgiving 1976. It was a bittersweet time for many, who felt the
group's demise was too soon. They called it "The Last Waltz", which
included Ronnie Hawkins,Dr. John, Muddy Waters, Ringo Starr, Bob
Dylan, Eric Clapton and an all-star guest list of peers and friends
that read like the "Who's Who" of rock and roll. The event eventually
sold as a triple album and was also filmed--The Last Waltz (1978) became the first
historical "rockumentary."
Group members went on to individual pursuits. Levon cut his debut album,
"The RCO All-Stars", in 1977. His next effort was the self-titled "Levon
Helm", followed by "American Son", released in 1980. That same year was
pivotal, as Helm turned his attention to acting. He played Loretta Lynn's father in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), winning great reviews for his
first film appearance. He did another self-titled album and Hollywood
again came knocking in 1983, giving him a role in The Right Stuff (1983). The
authenticity he brought to his characters earned him numerous movie
roles from 1980 until 2009. Levon gave a sensitive, convincing
portrayal of a destitute blind man in the 2005 Tommy Lee Jones vehicle, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005). In 2007 he filmed
Shooter (2007) with Mark Wahlberg. His last role was in 2009. where he
portrayed Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood in In the Electric Mist (2009), again with his friend Tommy Lee Jones.
Rick Danko and Levon reunited to play music after Danko had been living
in California. Rick moved back to Woodstock and the friends did an
acoustic tour in early 1983. In San Jose the following year, they
received excellent reviews when Hudson and Manuel joined them for their
first U.S. appearance as The Band since 1976. They continued playing
together until the tragic death of their dear friend and comrade, the
42-year-old Manuel.
During the 1990s three more Band albums were recorded: "Jericho", "High on
the Hog" and "Jubilation". In 1998 Levon was diagnosed with
throat cancer and the famous voice with the rich Southern nuances was
silenced to a whisper. He still played the drums, mandolin and
harmonica, often performing with his daughter, Amy Helm, also a
vocalist and instrumentalist. A great emotional support to her father
during this time, Amy appeared with him regularly at Levon Helm
Studios. In 1999 Helm endured another tragic loss when Rick Danko
passed away 19 days before his 56th birthday. His death
marked the end of an era.
Miraculously, Levon's voice slowly returned. He felt comfortable enough
to sing again live. With imagination and vision, he conceived The
Midnight Ramble Sessions, a series of live performances at Levon Helm
Studios in Woodstock. Named for the traveling minstrel shows of his
youth, the first Midnight Ramble was held in January, 2004. It featured
one of the last performances by great blues pianist Johnnie Johnson.
Friends old and new joined Levon on his stage, including Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, John Sebastian, Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello, Phil Lesh, Jimmy Vivino, Hubert Sumlin, Little Sammy Davis, Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters, The Muddy Waters Band, The Swell Season,
Donald Fagen, Steve Jordon, Hot Tuna, Kris Kristofferson, The Black Crowes, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Norah Jones, The Bacon Brothers,
Robbie Dupree, My Morning Jacket, Shemekia Copeland, The Wood Brothers,
Steve Earle, Jackie Greene, Sam Bush, Brewer & Shipley, Carolyn Wonderland, Ollabelle and The Alexis P. Suter Band. The monthly
Rambles at "The Barn" were wildly successful, drawing a worldwide
audience.
Releases produced by Levon Helm Studios from Helm's personal "vault,"
were Volume I and II of "The Midnight Ramble Sessions", plus a live RCO
All-Stars performance from New Year's Eve 1977, at the Palladium. The
vitality and magnetism of these recordings speak for themselves. In
September of 2007, Dirt Farmer Music and Vanguard Records released "Dirt
Farmer", Levon's first solo, studio album in 25 years. A
project particularly close to his heart, the CD contains music
reminiscent of his past, and songs handed down from his parents. "Dirt
Farmer" was awarded a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album in February
2008 and landed Levon a spot in Rolling Stone's The 100 Greatest
Singers of All Time. That same year he was also recognized by the
Recording Academy with a lifetime achievement award as an original
member of The Band and was given the "Artist of the Year" Award by the
Americana Music Association. In 2009 Levon released "Electric Dirt",
which marked his highest debut in Soundscan era at #36 and spent six
consecutive weeks at #1 on the Americana Radio Chart. He won a second
Grammy for "Electric Dirt" in the inaugural category of Best Americana
Album in 2010. In September 2008 Levon took "The Midnight Ramble" on the
road to Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium. Buddy Miller, John Hiatt, Sheryl Crow, George Receli, Sam Bush and Billy Bob Thornton
helped The Levon Helm Band create an evening of unforgettable musical
joy. "Ramble at the Ryman - Live CD and DVD" (sold individually) won
him his third consecutive Grammy, again as Best Album in the Americana
category, in February 2012. Sadly, Levon's cancer returned shortly
after this last triumph. He passed away on April 19, 2012. His funeral
was a tearful, joyful, musical celebration of his life.
The intimacy of the shows performed at Levon's hearth offered a
hospitality and warmth found in no other venue, not to mention the
excellence of the performances themselves, hosted by a man whose gifts
were truly legendary. Though always an enthusiastic and passionate
performer, with sheer joy and gratitude, he effortlessly captivated his
audience, young and old, with a rhythmic power all his own. During a
career that spanned over five decades, Levon Helm nurtured a tradition
of professionalism with a deep respect for his craft and remained
refreshingly genuine in a world that often compromised integrity. He
was a master storyteller who wove his tales with the magic thread of
universality that ties us all. He beckoned us to come in, sit awhile
and enjoy. We see ourselves in his stories and we are home.
--Dawn LoBue Copyright © 2006 ~ 2012 All Rights Reserved.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Dawn LoBue (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)
- SpouseSandra Dodd(September 7, 1981 - April 19, 2012) (his death)
- Elton John's song "Levon" is named after him.
- 1994: Elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of The Band).
- Profiled in the 1991 book "The Big Beat--Conversations with Rock's Great Drummers", edited by Max Weinberg.
- Currently performing a series of Midnight Ramble
Sessions at his studio in Woodstock, New York.
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