Mark Lavon “Levon” Helm was an American musician who rose to popularity as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the Band in 1994.
Helm passed away on April 19, 2012. The Band’s recordings of “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek,” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” feature Helm’s distinctive drumming style, multi-instrumental prowess, and intensely soulful, country-accented voice.
In Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980), Helm played Loretta Lynn’s father, and in The Right Stuff, he played Captain Jack Ridley, Chuck Yeager’s friend, and coworker (1983).
In 1998, Helm learned he had throat cancer, which caused the loss of his singing voice. After therapy, his cancer eventually went into remission, and he gradually regained his voice.
For his 2007 comeback album Dirt Farmer, he received the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album in February 2008, and in November of the same year, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him No. 91 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
Where does the name Levon come from?
The name Levon is of Armenian origin for boys. It’s a translation of the “lion”-sounding Greek name Leon. There are also French and Latin variations of this name, such as Lyon and León (Spanish.)
