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Entertainment & Arts

Levon Helm | 1940 - 2012

Levon Helm, right, performs with his band on the "Imus in the Morning" program on the Fox Business Channel in New York.

Levon Helm, right, performs with his band on the “Imus in the Morning” program on the Fox Business Channel in New York.  (Richard Drew / Associated Press)

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Levon Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998 and the illness reduced his voice to a whisper. But he still continued to sing on albums and at rollicking concerts at his Woodstock, N.Y., home. Helm was a key member of The Band and lent his distinctive Southern voice to classics like “The Weight” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” See obituary

Levon Helm

Levon Helm, one of the original members of The Band, performs Midnight Rambles with his new band at the Levon Helm Studio in Woodstock, N.Y.  (Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)

Levon Helm

Levon Helm performs Midnight Rambles with his new band at the Levon Helm Studio in Woodstock, N.Y. Arkansas-born Helm was the only non-Canadian member of the Hawks, a group that first backed early rocker Ronnie Hawkins, and then gained fame in the mid-1960s accompanying Bob Dylan when the singer and songwriter “went electric” to the consternation of many hardcore folk music fans who’d previously supported him.  (Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)

Levon Helm

The Band, featuring Richard Manuel on piano, Levon Helm on drums, lead guitarist Robbie Robertson, center, and bass guitarist Rick Danko, take the stage for their final live performance before a crowd of 5,000 at Winterland Auditorium in San Francisco. Helm was a key member of The Band and lent his distinctive Southern voice to classics like “The Weight” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”  (John Storey / Associated Press)

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