America has lost one of its greatest musical artists...

[Gutshot John]

I don't know how many of you are devotees of The Band, but Levon Helm died today and honestly it makes me sad.

[Gutshot John]

For those who don't know the man but know the music...it's him playing drums and singing.

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down from "The Last Waltz" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOi0tC00Luc)

[.45fmjoe]

He was also great in Steven Seagal's Fire Down Below.

I'm saddened by this news. :(

[SeriousStudent]

That really is one of my favorites. When I got home tonight, I put in my copy of "The Last Waltz" and raised a glass of Bourbon to Levon. I think he would have liked that.

[The_War_Wagon]

He was also great in Steven Seagal's Fire Down Below.

FIRST thing I thought of too, as he was one of the REDEEMING features of that film, even though I'm a fan of Seagal's early work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vou51-755I

Having gone to college in the mountains of NC, this was one of our FAVORITE drinking songs, because no matter how blasted we got, we could STILL drawl out those lines perfectly! :D

My BEST memory of this song though, was the spring of '96, towards finals time when I was in grad school in SC. I play a little bass (back in those days, I played a LOTTA bass), and 5 of us decided to go out on the balcony of the second floor of our dorm, and do some sort of... tequila-inspired... "Beatles-on-the-rooftop-esque"... thing... much to the delight of the student body. I got to sing lead on 'The Weight' as part of the festivities that night.

Wouldn't ya' know it... the PRESIDENT eventually showed up, and kindly suggested that if we wanted our GRADES that semester, we might oughta consider making our performance an a capella one... IN-doors. :o And that was the end of that!

RIP Lavon... take a load off...

[austinN4]

Guys, we're getting to that age where we are losing a lot of friends. I am older than most of you so maybe I see it more than most.

We are at the end of the road, my friends, live life to the fullest while you can.

God bless. RIP Levon.

[feedramp]

Take that last load off, Levon. Cheers.