Levon Helm, whose gruff vocals and razor-sharp drumming underpinned the seminal late 1960s rock group The Band, died on Thursday, his recording studio said. He was 71. “Levon Helm passed peacefully this afternoon,” said Barbara O’Brien, executive manager of Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, New York, in an email to AFP.
“He was surrounded by family, friends and band mates and will be remembered by all he touched as a brilliant musician and a beautiful soul,” she said, adding that he was survived by his wife, daughter and two grandsons.
Rolling Stone magazine, on its website, said Helm died of throat cancer in New York. It quoted Helm’s longtime guitarist Larry Campbell as saying he died “with dignity” with loved ones close by.
Helm had undergone 28 treatments for throat cancer first diagnosed in the 1990s, Rolling Stone said, adding that his worsening condition had forced him to cancel a number of scheduled concerts. One of the very few drummers who also sang lead vocals, Helm is best known for such Band tracks as The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Rag Mama Rag, Up on Cripple Creek and The Weight.