THE LEVON HELM MIDNIGHT RAMBLE

(Book). Levon Helm's Rambles have quickly become the stuff of legend. Helm, of course, is the charismatic drummer, singer, and sometimes mandolin picker for The Band, a group whose songs and stature have made them a pillar of classic rock and rootsy Americana. Beyond their work with Bob Dylan, their own hits ("Up on Cripple Creek," "The Weight," "The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down," to name just a few) have landed them in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the consciousness of music fans everywhere. The Ramble was Levon's down-home jam session for friends and fans, held on Saturday nights in his studio "Barn" in Woodstock. Levon based his Ramble Sessions on the Southern medicine shows of his youth, and has invited some of the most notable blues entertainers and musicians of our time to perform with him including Robert Plant, Elvis Costello, Rickie Lee Jones, Clarence Clemons, Allison Krauss and others. This book is the official record of these incredibly intimate sessions: the next best thing to being there. Accompanying the spectacular photos are testimonials and remembrances from the superstars who have joined the Ramble.

The life of the legendary drummer and singer is explored through extensive research and personal interviews with family, friends, and fellow musicians. In the Arkansas Delta, a young Levon Helm 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 soul of The Band. 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.” Author Sandra B. Tooze digs deep into what Helm saw as a devastating betrayal by his closest friend, Band guitarist Robbie Robertson—and Levon’s career collapse, his near bankruptcy, and the loss of his voice due to throat cancer in 1997. Yet Helm found success in an acting career that included roles in Coal Miner’s Daughter and The Right Stuff. Regaining his singing voice, he made his last decade a triumph, opening his barn to the Midnight Rambles and earning three Grammys.

Launched as a collaboration between Levon Helm and journalist John W. Barry, "Rock, Roll & Ramble" captures the triumph of Levon's colossal Midnight Ramble era, and the comeback it inspired. No other writer spent as much time with Levon Helm, during this chapter of his life, than John W. Barry. "Rock, Roll & Ramble" chronicles the evolution of the Midnight Ramble house concerts Levon hosted at his home in Woodstock, New York, and examines how they shaped the legacy of the former drummer, vocalist and mandolin player for The Band.

“Helm lays it all bare in vivid, impassioned prose, adding an earthly, backwoods tone that makes the book read like a Southern novel, like Thomas Wolfe writing about rock ’n’ roll.” —Boston Globe “One of the most insightful and intelligent rock bios in recent memory.” —Entertainment Weekly The Band, who backed Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965 and then turned out a half-dozen albums of beautifully crafted, image-rich songs, is now regarded as one of the most influential rock groups of the '60s. But while their music evoked a Southern mythology, only their Arkansawyer drummer, Levon Helm, was the genuine article. From the cotton fields to Woodstock, from seeing Sonny Boy Williamson and Elvis Presley to playing for President Clinton, This Wheel’s on Fire replays the tumultuous history of our times in Levon’s own unforgettable folksy drawl. This edition is expanded with a new epilogue covering the last dozen years of Levon's life. Levon Helm (1940-2012) met Ronnie Hawkins at the age of 17 and formed what would soon become The Band. He maintained a successful career as a singer and actor until his death. Stephen Davis is the author of Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga; More Room in a Broken Heart: The True Adventures of Carly Simon; Old Gods Almost Dead: The 40-Year Odyssey of the Rolling Stones; Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend; Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith; and others.

Provides a rare glimpse into the life of an outrageously human, fearlessly black, openly angry and profanely outspoken comedic genius whose humble beginnings as the child of a prostitute helped shaped him into one of the most influential and outstanding performers of our time.

(Book). This much sought-after work has been re-issued after years of being unavailable! In The Big Beat , Max Weinberg speaks to 14 pioneers of rock drumming. Included are fantastic interviews with Hal Blaine, Earl Palmer, DJ Fontana, Levon Helm, Jim Keltner, Charlie Watts, Ringo Starr, Roger Hawkins, Bernard Purdie, Dino Danelli, Kenney Jones, Russ Kunkle, Dave Clark and Johnny Bee. This book has been out of print and unavailable for many years. Hudson Music has located the last remaining supply. Highly recommended used copies are for sale on the web for more than $100! Order now, supply is limited.