Slow Down, Willie Boy

Slow down, Willie Boy
Your heart's gonna give right out on you, it's true
And I believe I know what we should do
Turn the stern and point to shore
The seven seas won't carry us no more

- Rockin' Chair by The Band

Levon Helm passed away earlier today, after a long fight with cancer.  Levon was the drummer (and mandolin and bass player at times) for The Band.  After The Band disbanded in 1975, Levon went on to a long solo career.  His vocal and drum style were both distinctive and immediately recognizable.  The Band did many wonderful records, but their peak was the unique and brilliant album of Americana, The Band (1969)
(they worked real hard to come up with that title),  a remarkable accomplishment given that Levon was the only American in the band (from Arkansas) while the other four members were Canadian.  It also featured unusual instrumentation for its time - dobro, mandolin, clavinet, and the production is splendid meaning you can hear every little musical accent in the recording.  Here's a 1969 review from The New York Times illustrating how unique and significant this album was at the time. If you do not have The Band, buy it.



Here's Levon singing The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down from The Last Waltz, The Band's farewell concert, filmed by Martin Scorcese.  The song was written for Levon by Robbie Robertson, the lead guitarist.

Levon favored a drum style that accented the melody of a song and muffled the bass drum sound.  Listen, for instance, to King Harvest from The Band.  Ringo Starr admired the sound that Levon got and adopted the muffled drum sound for Abbey Road (just listen to Come Together from that album - a pure Levon sound). 

Time to go home, Levon.
That Big Rockin' Chair won't go nowhere.