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Levon

From Down in the Delta to the Birth of The Band and Beyond

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Levon

By: Sandra B. Tooze
Narrated by: Rosemary Benson
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A dazzling, epic biography of Levon Helm - the beloved, legendary drummer and singer of The Band.

He sang the anthems of a generation: "The Weight", "Up on Cripple Creek", and "Life Is a Carnival", Levon Helm's story - told here through sweeping research and interviews with close friends and fellow musicians - is the rollicking story of American popular music itself.

In the Arkansas Delta, a young Levon 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 Band's soul.

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".

©2020 Sandra B. Tooze (P)2021 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books Americas Entertainment & Celebrities Music State & Local United States Celebrity Musician
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Levon Helm was the linchpin of The Band and the sole US member of the group.

The story has a degree of repetition with respect to his financial incompetence, his drug and alcohol use and the sad demise of other Band members but their music achievements were paramount - although Levon's bitterness to Robbie Robertson is pretty tiresome.

Well narrated - although some of the UK and Irish accents are clearly a stretch for Sandra Tooze.

Important history of modern American music

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