Great Artists Speak Out About Levon Helm

CBS and Paste magazine have posted some of the things that some great artists are saying about Levon Helm passing.  We’ve put a few of them here.  We’ve also added what people are tweeting.  Read more at cbsnews.com. Also check out what artists are saying about Levon at pastemagazine.com.

Bob Dylan

“He was my bosom buddy friend to the end, one of the last true great spirits of my or any other generation,” Dylan wrote on his website. “This is just so sad to talk about. I still can remember the first day I met him and the last day I saw him. We go back pretty far and had been through some trials together. I’m going to miss him, as I’m sure a whole lot of others will too.”

Elton John

 “When I heard the Band’s Music from Big Pink, their music changed my life,” Elton John told Entertainment Weekly. “And Levon was a big part of that band. Nigel Olson, my drummer, will tell you that every drummer that heard him was influenced by him. He was the greatest drummer and a wonderful singer and just a part of my life that was magical. They once flew down to see me in Philadelphia and I couldn’t believe it. They were one of the greatest bands of all time. They really changed the face of music when their records came out. I had no idea he was sick so I’m very dismayed and shocked that he died so quickly. But now my son [Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John] has his name.”

Garth Hudson

“LEVON HELM LEFT US TODAY AT 1:30 PM, THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012. I AM TERRIBLY SAD,” Garth Hudson wrote on his website. “THANK YOU FOR 50 YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP AND MUSIC. MEMORIES THAT LIVE ON WITH US. NO MORE SORROWS, NO MORE TROUBLES, NO MORE PAIN. HE WENT PEACEFULLY TO THAT BEAUTIFUL MARVELOUS WONDERFUL PLACE. HE WAS BUDDY RICH’S FAVORITE ROCK DRUMMER … AND MY FRIEND. LEVON, I’M PROUD OF YOU.”

Jane Fonda

“I got to know Levon personally because he played my husband in the ABC movie ‘The Dollmaker,” Jane Fonda wrote on her website. “He was kind and deep and devoted to music, as a singer and playing not only drums, but harmonica, fiddle, mandolin, you name it.”

“All you have to do is rent ‘The Last Waltz,’ the documentary that Martin Scorsese made of The Band’s last performance together to be reminded what an astonishing drummer Levon was,” Fonda wrote.” He gave the Band it’s powerful, driving force, a wall of pulsating rhythm. And his voice–singing ‘The Weight’-all deep soul. I am so sad.”

Robbie Robertson

“Last week I was shocked and so saddened to hear that my old band mate, Levon, was in the final stages of his battle with cancer,” Robertson wrote in a post. “It hit me really hard because I thought he had beaten throat cancer and had no idea that he was this ill. I spoke with his family and made arrangements to go and see him.”

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“On Sunday I went to New York and visited him in the hospital. I sat with Levon for a good while, and thought of the incredible and beautiful times we had together. It was heartwarming to be greeted by his lovely daughter Amy, whom I have known since she was born. Amy’s mother, Libby Titus, and her husband, Donald Fagen, were so kind to help walk me through this terrible time of sadness. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife Sandy.”

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 “Levon is one of the most extraordinary talented people I’ve ever known and very much like an older brother to me. I am so grateful I got to see him one last time and will miss him and love him forever.”

 

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