Levon Helm, who sang with The Band and contributed memorable performances of songs such as “The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down” and “Up on Cripple Creek,” who would go onto a solo career, endure a bout of throat cancer, and yet still continue to make music with a weathered and somehow quintessentially American voice that could reflected elements of the blues, country and rock and roll, died yesterday of cancer. He was 71.
- KC's View:
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One of my favorite albums, and one that I always have played with regularity, is “Before The Flood,” the live album that Bob Dylan and The Band recorded in 1974. I’m listening to it right now...it just seemed like the right thing to do. (It was Dylan’s song, but somehow “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” seemed like an appropriate song to listen to this morning.)
It's gettin' dark, too dark for me to see
I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door...
In addition, Helm is the narrator of one of my favorite movies - The Right Stuff. You can watch the opening scene here ... and I don’t know how one doesn’t get goosebumps. (Those opening eight minutes are among my favorite in the movies.)
I love that voice.
