Helm, 71, who as a drummer backed a pair of
legendary musicians and then became a star himself with The Band and as a
solo artist, died from throat cancer. As a young man out of Elaine, Ark., in the early 1960s, Helm hooked up with fellow Arkansan and rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins (Who Do You Love?),
moved to Toronto and recruited four Canadians to join the backing
group: guitarist Robbie Robertson, bassist/vocalist Rick Danko,
pianist/vocalist Richard Manuel and organist Garth Hudson.
Known as The Hawks, they toured with Hawkins, then split and eventually became Bob Dylan's
backing band, just as the folk king was embracing electric rock. Though
Helm left the group to work on an oil rig for two years, he rejoined his
mates, and they and Dylan settled near West Saugerties, N.Y., in the
latter half of the '60s. Countering the psychedelic trend that dominated
the fractured music scene, they wrote and recorded songs steeped in
old-time country, soul, R&B, '50s rock, gospel, blues and folk
ballads — with lyrics that spoke of an older America.
Helm
and the four Canadians got a recording contract of their own, and as
The Band they released 10 studio albums from 1968 to 1998. In its
heyday, the group appealed more to the rock intelligentsia than the
masses, but on the strength of two highly influential albums, Music From Big Pink and The Band, and timeless songs such as The Weight, Up On Cripple Creek and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
(Helm sang lead and drummed on all three), they earned enshrinement in
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and a lifetime achievement award
at the Grammys in 2008.
Treasure Island Oldies is pleased to present The Band in the Voice Your Choice spotlight. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either Up On Cripple Creek or Life Is A Carnival. I'll play the winner on next week's show.
