Levon Helm, dead at 71

[Grin]

ALBANY, N.Y. — With songs like "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," ''The Weight" and "Up on Cripple Creek," The Band fused rock, blues, folk and gospel to create a sound that seemed as authentically American as a Mathew Brady photograph or a Mark Twain short story.

In truth, the group had only one American — Levon Helm.

Helm, the drummer and singer who brought an urgent beat and a genuine Arkansas twang to some of The Band's best-known songs and helped turn a bunch of musicians known mostly as Bob Dylan's backup group into one of rock's most legendary acts, has died. He was 71.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RjqcTsxx-8

Levon Helm and the Band had a profound influence on my youth. He will be sorely missed.
Why do the best things always disappear, indeed.

[max1]

My favorite of all time , them there boys.