With the news breaking that Levon Helm may not be long for this world, this afternoon kinda came to a screeching halt for me. The Band's music has been a presence in my life since childhood; and while I would in time come to appreciate the brilliance and beauty of Richard Manuel's and Rick Danko's vocals, it was Levon's voice that I responded to first, and which really summed up the magic of The Band to me from the get-go. The guys might have all looked like Civil War vets in a Matthew Brady photo, but Levon was the only Band member who actually SOUNDED like one. Throw in an idiosyncratic-but-authoritative drumming style, and the ability to totally get down on mandolin and guitar, and you had pretty much the real-deal complete bad-ass package.
I'm so sad that I never got to see one of his Midnight Rambles; I never did get to see Levon perform live, in fact. But I've watched The Last Waltz countless times, as well as the great Band footage of Festival Express, and absorbed as many other clips of him in action as I've been able to dig up on YouTube over the years. (As bitter as it is in some parts — notably the sections pertaining to Robbie Robertson — his autobiography This Wheel's On Fire is still a must-read for any Band fan.) The four-song clip below, from Pittsburgh's Syria Mosque in late 1970, is new to me, but it's another beautiful example of Levon doing his thing, especially on such signature numbers as "The Weight" and "Up On Cripple Creek".
We never met, Levon, but I thank you for filling my life with your wonderful music, and wish you a peaceful and painless journey into the next world. I (and a whole lot of other folks) may not be ready to let you go yet; but if it is indeed time, you can go with the knowledge that you brought considerable joy to a whole lotta people in this lifetime...
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Posted by: TedTeddy | April 23, 2012 at 10:18 PM