Fans bid peace and farewell to Levon Helm
12:55 AM, Apr. 27, 2012
http://www.lohud.com/article/20120427/NEWS05/120427004/Fans-bid-peace-farewell-L...WOODSTOCK -- The crowds turned out one final time for Levon Helm.
More than 2,000 people made their way here Thursday for a memorial for Helm, a Grammy-winning member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who lived for more than four decades in the community known as a haven for artists and musicians.
Helm died April 19 of cancer. He was 71.
According to the Associated Press, he will be buried today in the Woodstock Cemetery next to bass player Rick Danko, one of his closest friends, with whom he performed in the rock group The Band.
Town of Woodstock police Chief Clayton Keefe said the influx of thousands of fans didn’t cause any problems. “It was very well organized,” he said.
The memorial was held at Levon Helm Studios, his home-recording studio, which over the years has hosted Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, My Morning Jacket and the Black Crowes for recording sessions.
It was also where Helm charted new territory for the music business with his Midnight Ramble house concerts, which fueled a comeback that resulted in three consecutive Grammy wins. Helm, a drummer and mandolin player, will be remembered by many for his aching, authentic, signature singing style.
Helm, who performed with Bob Dylan and Ringo Starr, was praised, lauded, mourned and remembered with a smile by fans as they returned from the memorial on shuttle buses to a parking lot at Andy Lee Field. Parking was also available at the Woodstock Playhouse and Cucina Woodstock, a restaurant a few minutes drive from the studio.
The sky was gray. The air was cold. And the mood at Andy Lee Field and the Woodstock Playhouse was subdued. People who had never met Helm spoke of him as a friend. Many said they felt like they had gotten to know him through his records and his live performances.
The media were not permitted to attend the memorial. But reflections from fans sketched a picture of Helm, who grew up on his family’s cotton farm in Turkey Scratch, Ark., performed at Madison Square Garden and will be remembered as a rock star who was proud of his small-town roots.
'Peaceful'
Elaine Grega, 62, of Woodstock said the casket, Helm’s drum kit and flowers set the tone for a “peaceful atmosphere” inside Levon Helm Studios.
“It was very quiet. It was just peaceful. The whole thing was peaceful. I said a prayer for him,” she said.
Grega said Helm will be missed by the community. “He did a lot of concerts for people, not just the ones he charged for, but he did ones for free — and his music was great. He was like an icon of Woodstock.”
'Awe-inspiring'
Bruce Hoehn, 65, of Chichester said the memorial to Helm was “awe-inspiring.”
Hoehn, who attended the memorial with his wife, Carol, also 65, said pictures of Helm were projected on a large screen.
“It was done very tastefully,” Hoehn said, “and very respectfully.”
As with many of Helm’s fans, Hoehn felt like he knew him, despite never meeting him.
“He was down-to-earth, friendly,” he said.
Hoehn thinks Helm will be remembered as “one heck of a talent, a great musician, a great artist.”
Asked why he attended the memorial, Hoehn responded, “Just respecting a person’s talent. It’s nice to be able to honor it.”
'His smile'
Christina Byron-Steen of Chichester, who was crying after she attended the memorial, said she is going to miss “his smile.”
She also was touched by the invitation extended to the public to attend the memorial.
“We’re all honored. It was very nice,” she said.
'Part of Catskills'
Her husband, Carl Steen of Chichester, said Helm will be remembered for his style of drumming.
“He was just so unique. I’ll never forget the way he played drums,” he said.
Steen also said that Helm was an integral part of the region he called home.
“He was part of the Catskills — and we’re part of the Catskills.”
'Down home'
Hoppy Quick of Samsonville said, “He was down home, and I really appreciate that. He was a star, but he kept it down home, he kept it local. He’s a big part of the mountains here — and that’s important to me.
“I’m just really going to miss him. But we still have his music. So we can still always check in with that. Whenever we want to check in with Levon, we can listen to his music.”
'A gentleman'
Wade Lawrence is director of the Museum at Bethel Woods, which sits on the site where the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was held in Bethel, Sullivan County. The festival, held in August 1969, featured dozens of rock groups, including The Band.
“Levon Helm was a gentleman, a great musician and he represents a lot of what the Museum at Bethel Woods is all about: creativity, commitment to your craft,” Lawrence said after getting off one of the buses that shuttled fans to the memorial. “He was a great.”
History will remember Helm, Lawrence said, “as a founding member of one of the best American bands to ever exist, and as a great human being.”
Lawrence called the Midnight Ramble “a true musical experience — musicians getting together out of the joy of the music. … It wasn’t about him, it was about the music. It was never about stardom for Levon Helm.”
Lawrence said The Band represented the Town of Woodstock at the Woodstock festival.
“A whole generation looked at The Band, they epitomized their musical experience,” he said.
As a teenager at that time, said Lawrence, 57, “I know that the music meant something to me. The music was truly American, truly non-gimmicky, the music was heartfelt, soulful and reflected a lot of what we went through, we as a generation. It was our music and so, it was our band. … There was an affinity that our generation had with The Band.”
'Naturally good guy'
Duke Devlin, 69, of Bethel attended the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969, saw The Band perform and works as a site interpreter at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.
“I came here to pay respect to one of the greatest musicians who ever was,” Devlin said. “I will always remember Levon for that wonderful, broad smile. He would smile to you the way he would smile to a vast crowd. He was just a naturally good guy. I’ll remember him as one of the best smiling, good guys that I’ve ever met.”
Pages: 1 2
RIP Levon (Read 5,877 times)
