Levon Helm, how The Band got to Woodstock
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- Levon Helm talks about Bob Dylan and song writing, standing in front of Big Pink. The Band sings Cripple Creek in 1967. From MY GENERATION by Obie Benz. Interview was in 1994.
Note that he's smoking in the last shot.
I love THE BAND! Levon Helm was the heart and soul of The Band.
Ironically, Southern tobacco killed Levon, but Southern culture gave him his livelihood.
One of the best feel drummers. Nothing flashy just a good ole groove to push these killer tunes down the line
Yep...I like your Bonham, Baker and Moon as much as anyone, but Levon and Ringo are my faves. Both such great "song drummers".
Levon was so humble, down to Earth. I saw him in 1989 with Rick Danko in Ringo and The All Starr Band and he sang "The Weight" like he always did, perfectly. ❤
levon talks better than most singers sing...
That's that Arkansas twang that we have. He sounds like everyone I know
What I find surprising, with all their album sales concerts and tours. There are people who have never heard of him or "THE BAND"
a good man AN HONESTLY GOOD MAN and a great drummer and songwriter you will be missed LEVON you are in our hearts forever
Amen brother
songwriter? not so much.
He was really one of a kind. Great drummer and singer, funny and witty, authentic, strong and uncompromising. A really humble and straightforward man. The heart and soul of The Band. The Real Thing indeed.
Such a shame that this World today really wont get to know him through his music.
I could listen to him talk and converse all dad gum day, genuinely a Southern gentleman w a tall glass of twang that came through in his singing.
Such a talent, regarded as a great drummer, songwriter, singer, actor and overall musician. RIP Mr. Helm.
R.I.P., Levon, the world is a poorer place without you.
I never never never get tired of hear him talk. Thank you for sharing💙
Would you say, that you couldn't stand the way he sang?
@@Wolvenstar 😂😅
@@yaelleinthesky100 😂
I could listen to him talk all day long.
His "ways" clearly convey the message that the "Milk of Human Kindness" runs through the veins of this very special man.
Eugene Ward,Jr. ~ You just captured the essence of a Southerner.
@Schy Mark
Thank you for sharing that memory. We need more men of that caliber.
What a great singer and terrific drummer. Playing drums and singing good are very difficult but Levon was one of the best that could do that.
I'm sure he influenced don Henley from the way he sits right down to the beard in the early days.
The first concert I ever went to was in 1969 at Atlanta's municipal auditorium and saw THE BAND..I had never heard of them and I will never forget then. Have been a follower ever since.great band.I was 15 years old and was also in a band our whole band went to see them. I also play the drums we had 5 members one of our band members knew about the concert so we all went we were blown away. I can still see levon on his drums.God blessed levon and we all will see him again.remember he's not dead he's resting..
I was at that concert, too. I bought my ticket at a mall between West End and Pilgreen's, don't remember the name. The ticket was on the floor about ten rows back. I was so close I could see tears in Levon's eyes as he sang "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". My friends and I had smoked some Blond Lebanese on the way to the auditorium and when Garth played "The Genetic Method" under that spotlight I thought he was playing with my brain, then all of a sudden the lights came up and they launched into Chest Fever. It was one of the most glorious moments of my life. Dec. 10, 1969, a date I shall never forget. I saw them several more times, including the night they played the Omni with Bob, but nothing was better than that first time. I don't know, maybe it was the hash, but I prefer to think it was the music.
@@genegreathouse6840 awesome story! 👍
How'd it be to just sit and listen to his voice and stories in wooden Rocker on the front porch looking at the mountains.
A special man, RIP Levon.
From the song Tangled Up In Blue comes the line,
I drifted down to New Orleans
Where I happened to be employed
Working for a while on a fishing boat
Right outside of Delacroix
That was Levon. That's what he was doing while Bob and the Hawks toured Europe.
I dont want to be too literal but Levon worked on an oil rig?
Damn. What an awesome last line from Levon.
An amazing group of very talented musicians! My favorites are Levon, Robbie & Rick. RIP Levon Helm & Rick Danilo.
Ah, short but sweet. RIP Levon. You still melt me.
I can listen to Levon all day
I love Levon. Been to his house twice. Stayed in Big Pink. My math says if was even at Big Pink in '67 it was for a fleeting minute before they moved out in October '67. He had left for Louisiana oil rigs in '66, and was invited back in late '67. Manuel was the drummer in his absence, with Garth on keys obviously. He talks up the '67 Big Pink days like he was at the heart of it. Truth is, sadly he missed most of it.
I thought he missed most of the fIrst Dylan tour also
He had the most beautiful eyes 🥰.
I love these guys so much I named our pup Ophilia👍❤
Robbie Roberson, what a composer. Lemon Helm, what a drummer, singer and substance misuser.
Thanks BOB FOR BRINGING THE BAND INTO MY WORLD,SHO ENUF WE HAD WON, LOVE ME SOME LEVON HELM
Such a wonderful accent Levon had!
I love to hear him talk. RIP
The last line he says is the absolute truth.
The music sure is capable on its own.
Such an insightful little video... Dylan and all the members of the Band, so pure and innovative to their craft. I LOVE the part about Bob and Richard leaving each other messages on the type-o-writer in the living room (I wonder if any of the young'ens even know what those are?)... I think they call that "texting" nowadays ;) So ahead of their times !!! ;)
Levon, Rick and Richard... Thank you for the amazing body of work you left behind - Lives Well Lived!!!
fuck i wish i could have seen the band perform!
I miss this man
I still have a crush on Levon all these years later😆🫶🏻
Miss you 😢
i miss him
levon is the man!
Sure miss Levon. A good dude.
"Still got the shovel"
RIP sir.
John Fogerty says he loved all The Band's work!
Check out Levon's book This Wheels on fire, he tells the whole story of The Band. Very good read!
Indeed a good book
I just ordered it. Looking forward to reading. I just read Robbie Robertson's Testimony.
It was also the first official place that gave away driving directions to Big Pink! LOL!
Will do thanks
In my opinion, the Band is one of the greatest acts in the history of Rock music. They sound as fresh today as they did in the late 60’s and 70’s. Levon was an iconic part of that band in the same way that each of them provided something indispensable. It was so profoundly disappointing to hear Levon unload on Robbie in his book. Robbie has a much kinder treatment of Levon in Testimony and an interesting explanation from his side as to what happened.
None of us were there and for my part, I’m not going to judge anyone. The five of them together changed music for me and I will always love the material they produced. “I can’t get over you and the flame still burns”.
respect
against the grain is this collective of musicians in just a few words, they turned the musical landscape inside out with big pink.
"We followed Bob up to th country..."
Wheres the rest of the interview? Those last words were great ones.
Its a shame how underrated he is even amongst drummers
Southern boy. thumbs up.
Levon wasn't even with The Band when they went to Woodstock, he had left the group and came to Woodstock when the rest of them asked if he wanted to return. He walked into the pink house when everything was already happening. I like Levon, don't get me wrong, but he blamed Robbie for Robbie leaving the group and given the heroin and drunkenness of Levon, Rick, and Richard, who could blame him? I'd walk away from that too, they were quite disfunctional.
Levon and Big pink .
If I was there, I'd have typed a couple of lines for Bob myself. Then he would have crossed them out.
Amen...
What documentary is this from?
Does anyone know why Levon decided not to go on the European tour with Dylan and the Hawks.
+john carlson this was when Dylan was going electric, and getting booed off stage - L.H. didn't like it - seems there is a quote of his somewhere along the lines of "this is not why I want to play/perform" (to get booed), so he left the tour, midway. People were really upset about Dylan's electric guitar/sound - it got ugly on tour.
Al Kooper didn't want to go on that tour because he was afraid of getting shot.
I believe the lore says Levon felt a bit usurped because after the group left Ronnie Hawkins they worked billed and Levon and The Hawks. Levon and Robbie together with Harvey Brooks on bass , backed Bob at The Hollywood Bowl (successfully - California natch) and at Forest Hills (booed) both gigs post Newport event. "Sing Out" the folkie bible referred to this trio as "Dylan's noisy jazz combo" ( although 3 short years later the rag was interviewing Cream) .... But with being relegated to a sideman and not a leader seemed to irritate Levon to the point where he quit. I have also heard he disliked the amphetamine pace of things that the European tour became. It's a testament to their brotherhood ethic at the time that they Band invited him back after the Motorcycle accident when they moved and became recluses at Woodstock. Dylan did keep Mickey Jones on the payroll for a full year after the European/world tour which is very telling of Bob's graciousness...
Just finished reading Robbie Robertson's Testimony. Levon couldn't handle the nasty vibes from audiences when Dylan went electric. Plus he preferred just playing with The Band.
Because of all the booing
Hell yeah..The South has Talent...REAL TALENT
What program is this clip from?
Mike Gee MY GENERATION, by Obie Benz.
I swear Levon wasn't even at the recording of the basement tapes. Still love him though :)
Yes, he had returned by that time. Ain't No Cane On The Brazos and such. It dovetailed right into Big Pink.
Peter Gerstenzang Levon didn't really play for the most of the Basement Tapes sessions. He came at the tail end of it when The Band was offered a record deal. Either Richard Manual or Robbie Robinson would play drums on most of the Basement Tape songs. Ain't No More Cane was recorded during the Big Pink sessions.
I believe you are right sir. But my problem with Levon, who I loved and profiled, was his claims of co-writing many of those tunes (by the '90s). He never could say which ones. He never wrote anything after The Band broke up. And his claims sadly seemed to coincide with his financial problems. As Robbie said, 'There's a difference between writing and arranging.' RIP Mt Helm.
Peter Gerstenzang Yes he did write after their breakup, in fact he won 3 Grammys for his albums. What Levon said, try to clue in if your going to make dumb opinions of situations you were never personally involved in, was that RR wrote those songs in collaboration with the others yet took full credit for them- he wasn't JUST referring to songs he collaborated on, he was angry that Manuel and Denko got completely railroaded by the ass.
1. Levon wasn't into it for the money and fame.
2. He had proven his integrity over the years and it's why so many big names admired him.
3. He needed more help in his later days but still it was said that his last albums wouldn't have been what they were without his input
4. Robertson is known as a dick far and wide. He showed up at Levons deathbed while he was under heavy sedation only to tweet about his visit- a complete narcissist.
5. Except for 1, Robertson is NOT credited for writing one song on The Basements tapes himself. The 4 out of 24 he is credited with is a collaboration with Manuel and Danko
6. The songs Robertson has written over the years have been all fluff and there's a reason that he now plays with mainstream d listers like Nelly Furtado.
Bob Dylan referred to Levon as his bosom buddy for a very good reason, Dylan has never said as much about Robertson.
Levon only left halfway through the first tour w/Dylan because of the ungrateful/moronic audiences. He rejoined them for Woodstock. He's never claimed to be part of the work behind The Basement Tapes- he got there in October 1967 when they were being produced, he was part of Big Pink.
He is credited with drums, mandolin, bass guitar, vocals on The Basement Tapes.
that's not 1967. looks like 70
1969, they were recording "The Band" in L.A.
typewriter line sounds like they were text messaging before anyone knew what to call it
Levon Helm backup dancers = 0, Katy Perry backup dancers = 12. The quality of the music is indicated by the number of backup dancers that you need. Less is more!
Hate to correct but that's definitely not a '67 session
Big PANK. ;)
A wonderful musician, but The Band's songs were mainly all written by Robbie Robertson.
Not so much the early ones.
Only according to Robertson.🤔
Yeahhhh Boiiiiiieeeeee
I could listen to him sing the alphabet!
What I was told...... when was it shot?