Levon Helm

I was saddened to hear about the passing of Levon Helm, one of the greatest and most unique drummers in the history of American music. Levon’s drumming had a delightful, inimitable earthiness to it—it could be joyous, driving, and buoyant, but it could also be stately, dignified and sad. In short, his playing displayed a wide range of emotions, which is not always easy for drumming to do. Once you heard his wonderful singing, however, which was so full of feeling, it made sense that his drumming would naturally follow suit. Indeed, as music critic Jon Carroll once wrote, “Levon Helm is the only drummer who can make you cry.”

I’d like to think that Levon’s style has had somewhat of a positive influence on my own drumming. I especially remember a period, when I was playing in my first rock band, when I was listening a lot to the live Bob Dylan/Band album “Before the Flood,” and was enamored with his brilliant playing on it. I loved how he played with such a layered sound, with his cymbals and snare drum chattering along together as he propelled the Band. The beat was fat and wide, but there were so many little nuances, so many embellishments that he employed that were thrilling. I used to try to emulate that feel in my own playing, probably with mixed success, but at the very least it opened my eyes to the variety of textures that one could achieve in playing this music.

Just the other day I listened to Muddy Waters’ Woodstock album, which featured Levon’s drumming, and I smiled to hear his great take on the blues. I now need to go and re-watch The Last Waltz and revel in his wonderful singing and drumming once again. And from there I'll need to move on to “Music From Big Pink,” and “The Band”…

Here's a nice clip of Levon singing and drumming on the rollicking "Ophelia" from The last Waltz:

RIP, Levon. You were a beautiful soul.