Re: Levon Helm dies at 71
Time to watch "The Last Waltz" again. RIP
Re: Levon Helm dies at 71
Very sad to hear about this.
Re: Levon Helm dies at 71
Wow. Too young.
Levon was from Helana, Arkansa. He said the best band he ever saw was Elvis and Scotty Moore.
His book "This Wheel's on Fire" is a good read.
He said when Ronnie Hawkins recruited him and the boys to be his back up band, Ronnie said: "Well, son, you won't make much money, but you'll get more ---- than Frank Sinatra. "
If you want to listen to some music tonight, you could do a lot worse than "Big Pink".
Re: Levon Helm dies at 71
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Spazzrico
Time to watch "The Last Waltz" again. RIP
Actually Levon hated "The Last Waltz".
"People ask me about The Last Waltz all the time. Rick Danko dying at fifty-six is what I think about The Last Waltz. It was the biggest ---- rip-off that ever happened to The Band—without a doubt.
Foreword to This Wheel's on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of The Band, p. 312 (Chicago Review Press, 2000); on the book, Helm says that his bandmate died because he "worked himself to death", and that he, Danko, Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel never received any money for the various home videos, DVDs and soundtracks released by Warner Bros. after the project.
"I'm pretty sure that Levon [Helm] is the only honest, live element in The Last Waltz, with the exception of Muddy Water's vocal. Everything else was overdubbed and redone. Levon was basically gone, because he was disgusted with certain of the business practices. Robbie asked him to do his part over again, but Levon had nothing to do with it."
John Simon (producer)
Re: Levon Helm dies at 71
Pure musician, no Rock Star BS
Godspeed
Re: Levon Helm dies at 71
Levon also had a nice acting career after The Band broke up.
Re: Levon Helm dies at 71
I'm bummed. A true American original artist and an authentic guy. No BS.
RIP Levon
Re: Levon Helm dies at 71
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Chip R
Levon also had a nice acting career after The Band broke up.
coal miner's daughter comes to mind...3 burials of melquiades estrada w/ tlj...
r.i.p., levon.
Re: Levon Helm dies at 71
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sweetstop
coal miner's daughter comes to mind...
r.i.p., levon.
I had totally forgotten about that. He was outstanding!
Re: Levon Helm dies at 71
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sweetstop
coal miner's daughter comes to mind...3 burials of melquiades estrada w/ tlj...
r.i.p., levon.
Shooter.
Re: Levon Helm dies at 71
Re: Levon Helm dies at 71
May he rest in peace.
really liked the guy
Re: Levon Helm dies at 71
RIP, Levon Helm.
A few years ago, I was teaching a poetry unit. I had a lesson planned but ran into a problem that required an emergency change of plans.
"The Weight" was being used with a cell phone commercial, and so I ran off the lyrics before first period. I had the students work in groups to analyze literal meanings of the lyrics and was amazed at the enthusiasm and insights. I had never realized how many religious references were in that song.
I realize Robbie Robertson has claimed it wasn't about religion, but I have my doubts.
The word weight never appears in the actual song but load does appear in the chorus and may refer to sin.
The first stanza is about the traveler trying to find a place to sleep (Mary and Joseph). He is turned away. The setting is Nazareth which is the location of a guitar manufacturor in Pennsyvania but also the home of Jesus.
Every stanza has a reference. The devil and temptation are mentioned. Moses, Luke, and Judgement Day in the following stanzas. At the end, the narrator is waitng in a cannonball to take him away. The Cannonball Express was a mythical train that took people to Heaven.
Btw, I have a friend who claims to know Anna Lee who lives in northwest Arkansas.