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Levon: From Down in the Delta to the Birth of The Band and Beyond
by
46/99
Critics
34/99
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Scholars
41/99
Rating
52/99
Volume
49/99
Rating
18/99
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About This Book
The life of the legendary drummer and singer is explored through extensive research and personal interviews with family, friends, and fellow musicians. In the Arkansas Delta, a young Levon Helm witnessed "blues, country, and gospel hit in a head-on collision," as he put it. The result was rock 'n' roll. As a teenager, he joined the raucous Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks, then helped merge a hard-driving electric sound with Bob Dylan's folk roots, and revolutionized American rock with the Band. Helm not only provided perfect "in the pocket" rhythm and unforgettable vocals, he was the soul of The Band. Levon traces a rebellious life on the road, from being booed with Bob Dylan to the creative cauldron of Big Pink, the Woodstock Festival, world tours, The Last Waltz, and beyond with the man Dylan called "one of the last true great spirits of my or any other generation." Author Sandra B. Tooze digs deep into what Helm saw as a devastating betrayal by his closest friend, Band guitarist Robbie Robertson—and Levon's career collapse, his near bankruptcy, and the loss of his voice due to throat cancer in 1997. Yet Helm found success in an acting career that included roles in Coal Miner's Daughter and The Right Stuff. Regaining his singing voice, he made his last decade a triumph, opening his barn to the Midnight Rambles and earning three Grammys.
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Reviews
"Tooze, a drummer herself, interviewed Helm in 1996 for her Muddy Waters biography."
"Tooze, previously a biographer of Helm's hero, Muddy Waters, spins a story that is well known thanks to Helm's own memoir This Wheel's on Fire (1993) and band mate Robbie Robertson's Testimony (2016)."
"Tooze makes unmistakably clear that, yes, Helm was uniquely gifted, but it was also his unceasing efforts to improve his craft—he attended Berklee College of Music after his first tour with Bob Dylan—and the joy with which he shared it that defined his greatness."
"This meticulously researched book offers music fans a thorough introduction and adds to current material, including Helm's autobiography This Wheel's on Fire, Barney Hoskyns's Across the Great Divide, and the film Ain't in It for My Health."
"Tooze's well-paced history serves as a solid companion to Helm's memoir."
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