American musician Mark Lavon “Levon” Helm gained fame as the band’s drummer and one of the trio of lead singers. He discovered that he was born on May 26, 1940, in Elaine, Arkansas.
In 1994, he received the Band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. On April 19, 2012, Helm passed away. Helm became acquainted with singer-songwriter Libby Titus while the Band was recording its second album in April 1969.
They began a protracted relationship, and on December 3, 1970, Amy Helm was born. On occasions like the Midnight Rambles, Amy performed with her father’s band under the name Ollabelle.
In 1975, Helm met Sandra Dodd in California while still seeing Titus. On September 7, 1981, Helm and Dodd were married. They weren’t parents at the same time.
How did Levon Helm pronounce his name?
He said “luh-von” or “lee-von.” Sonny Boy Williamson II, who frequently performed in Marvell with blues guitarist Robert Lockwood Jr., and played electric blues and early rhythm and blues on the King Biscuit Time radio show on KFFA in Helena, had a significant early effect on Helm.
Levon Helm wrote of closely observing Williamson drummer James “Peck” Curtis during a live concert in the early 1950s and later copying this R&B drumming style in his 1993 autobiography This Wheel’s on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band.
While still in high school, Helm formed his first group, the Jungle Bush Beaters.
