View Full Version : Levon Helm
cooper4205
May-15-2006, 9:10pm
anyone know if there is anywhere to get some of standard notation to any of the band's songs that featured him (or danko, i think) on mando?
also, does anyone know what ol levon played- brand, style whatever just curious.
plunkett5
May-15-2006, 9:53pm
He started out with a sweet old Martin. (The one Dylan is pretending to bow on the cover of the Basement tapes) He had an F4 and an electric as well as time went on. I saw the reformed Band in Philly once and he couldn't get the sound right on his mando and had a little hissy fit on stage. I have a few boots of Danko/ Helm live with some wonderfully simple mando playing, including a version of Ophelia that Levon doesn't seem to know all the chord forms to. I love his playing. Danko played the great riffs on some of the Basement Tapes songs. Levon did an interview for Mandolin World in which he is typically self-effacing about his skills on mando. Don't Ya Tell Henry and Rocking Chair has some of his best playing IMHO.
Keith Miller
May-15-2006, 9:54pm
he was playing a Gibson in the Last waltz
plunkett5
May-15-2006, 10:01pm
He is such a gentleman. He was one of the greatest drummers in Rock ever, yet he would yield his seat to Richard Manuel's quirky style and play mandolin when it served the song best. A true selfless sideman in the best sense. He is starting to sing again, after his bout with throat cancer.
Keith Miller
May-15-2006, 10:06pm
link to pic of Levon playing a Gibson
http://theband.hiof.no/band_pictures/lh_1970.html
skyblue
May-16-2006, 12:10am
The Band is like the fathers of Americana. They are a great
influence for me and I still enjoy their acoustic music like Rocking Chair, Daniel and the Magic Harp, The Weight,
Up on Cripple Creek, Lookout Cleveland, Across the Great
Divide....I could keep listing...Levon's mando and his great vocals. The Band's harmonies were so great.
cooper4205
May-16-2006, 2:33am
right after i posted this i saw a (fairly) recent picture of levon playing a rigel, A plus i think.
i love the way helm can almost growl out the lyrics, their are few people who sing like him, i can't really put my finger on why, but that's whats great about the band in general. i really like the version of atlantic city they do, and when i paint my masterpiece. when i got rock of ages it was the only thing i listened to for a few months, everytime you hear one of their songs you pick up something different in it, or some other aspect of the music will hit you like it hasn't before.
plunkett, i couldn't mail you some cd's, postage and packaging for some of those bootlegs with the mando could i?
The Band played a county fair in NJ several years ago. I brought my 24 "4" to show Levon, but couldn't get past the goons.
He was/is the man.
plunkett5
May-16-2006, 7:41am
cooper4205- I sent you an PM but I'm not sure it really worked. Let me know. - Mike
cooper4205
May-16-2006, 10:46am
i got it and sent you a reply
Paul Kotapish
May-16-2006, 12:06pm
It's a long atime ago, but when I saw the Band share a night with Dylan on the '74 tour, Levon was playing an F-4 through and SM-57, and it sounded great. Mostly open chords and simple fills, but it added a great sound. There were couches and lamps all over the stage, and Levon played mando mostly sitting on a stool. It was like they turned a giant arena into their living room for the night.
http://theband.hiof.no/band_pictures/ks_lh_1.gif
jefflester
May-16-2006, 12:47pm
In this clip it looks like Levon is playing an EM-200.
Evangeline w/Emmylou (http://theband.hiof.no/video_clips/new_videos/tb70_5.mov)
(from a previous thread about the Last Waltz):
http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin....=29494; (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=17;t=29494;)
jim simpson
May-16-2006, 5:33pm
By the time I got to see the band,Robbie Robertson had already left. They did have 2 new guitarists that both ripped it up pretty good. The Band sure sounded great. Attached is a photo of me standing outside of Big Pink. My wife and I were guests at a mountain retreat in Woodstock. I mentioned Big Pink and someone told us how to find it. The road leading back to the house was marked "private road" although it did lead to other homes. The current owners were quite accommodating when asked about the house. It was no longer being used as a studio or practice space.
FlawLaw
May-17-2006, 10:15am
The Band is like the fathers of Americana.
Or is it Canadicana http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif Just got Last Waltz and have really enjoyed it.
skyblue
May-17-2006, 10:38am
FlawLaw, I believe that Levon Helm was from either Ky, Tenn
or Ark. I'm not much into labels but their music brings in
so many influences and nowadays its labeled americana......
AlanN
May-17-2006, 12:08pm
Marvel, Arkansas...a good southern boy.
cooper4205
May-17-2006, 2:52pm
do any of you know how to play the intro to Atlnatic City on the album Jericho, or know where i can find the tab. it doesn't sound to difficult yet, but i still have a hard time picking it up by ear quickly. it's a nice little mandolin intro ,if you haven't heard it you need to download it.
FlawLaw
May-18-2006, 7:45am
On the Last Waltz Levon also plays a National mandolin... #Anyway, I agree Americana...I was just noting the Band's strong Canadian roots...
skyblue
May-18-2006, 11:26am
All this discussion of Levon Helm is kind of spurring me on
to break out my Band CDs again. I have them but they have
been kind of in the middle of my CD file box. I have always
enjoyed the funky arrangements and the inclusion of the mandolin and fiddle into some of the music.
I would be interested in the downloads and in finding out the location of any tabs.
Thanks everyone!
cooper4205
yes i do (or did...I used to play it based on chords told to me then one day I actually heard Levon's version on the radio and said oh! so that's the mando part he was talking about
it is played something like this...the A and E strings are played as an open drone throughout (though the open E sounds a bit funky on the F#m chord
F#m A D A
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
4 2 4 2
6 6 7 6
The D chord can also be played like this:
0
0
0
2
here's a link to the tab...the band do it F#m
http://theband.hiof.no/lyrics/atlantic_city.html
cooper4205
May-18-2006, 4:09pm
perry, thanks alot i'm trying to get it down right now!
Fretbear
May-18-2006, 6:52pm
Best American band ever to come out of Canada....
plunkett5
May-19-2006, 7:50am
That great mando riff on Atlantic City is actually played by the fellow from the Hooters, either Rob Hymen or Eric Bazelon I think. They arranged that track and played on it. It was a great fit to have the Hooters with the Band since they were obviously very influenced by Levon and friends. I play alot near the Jersey Shore and I've gotten great responses doing their arrangement of Bruce's classic.
Speaking of Levon he's going to be on the Don Imus radio show next Monday (5/22) morning which is simulcast on MSNBC. He's a fairly frequent guest on the I man's show and always plays the mando on one or two cuts.
GVD
skyblue
May-19-2006, 10:25am
May 20th is Levon Helm Day in Woodstock, NY.
cooper4205
Aug-30-2006, 4:57pm
it's been a while for this thread, but i thought all you levon fans would like to know he is in the lastest edition of Rolling Stone. it talks about the midnight rambles he holds (they are open to the public, $100 a pop- well worth it in my opinion). it mentions the him playing mandolin and also has a good sht of hom with a cool-looking fender (snakehead, electric mando), not the biggest article, but it's not everyday you get news on levon!
mandobob
Sep-27-2006, 12:11pm
Just worked on Atlantic City this past weekend, and I hear the intro chords this way (YMMV)
F#m - A - D - A
-0----0---0---0
-0----0---0---0
-2----2---0---2
-4----2---2---2
That A chord is kinda ugly, and the second string can get choked out.
Kinda like a "power chord"!
Cool I guess you could use my chords outlined above as a variation
here they are again:
F#m A D A
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
4 2 4 2
6 6 7 6
The D chord can also be played like this:
0
0
0
2
Perry
mandobob
Sep-27-2006, 5:52pm
Perry
That's where I started from as well, but I think that root/fifth A chord is correct.
But, I do have to admit that my hearing is awful (too many loud amps),
sometimes it seems that my ears filter out certain notes.
Bob
MandoSquirrel
Sep-27-2006, 7:07pm
Anybody else like his daughter Amy's band, "Olabelle"? she plays mandola, sings & writes songs. 2 albums so far, 1st is better but 2nds good. Levon played drums on a couple of tunes on the first one.
cooper4205
Sep-28-2006, 2:11pm
i have heard a few songs by Ollabelle, not bad at all. i just bought the band's "musical history" box set, and wow! it got some great pics in the book that comes with it, two of the best are danko playing a gibson EM-200, singing with janice joplin, and another of levon playing the same mandolin onstage with dylan singing.