Originally Posted by
journeybear
I knew that Levon was going but I didn't want to believe it. And I knew that when he went words would fail me. So I will repeat what I posted to his facebook page, with a little bit more, which, if I had known his wife was going to read to him, I would have included.
So sad to hear of Levon passing. But so glad for all he had given to so many people for so long. And as a mandolinist, I can't adequately express my thanks for all his playing did for me. One of the first times I heard mandolin in a rock song was on "Rag Mama Rag" (THE first was Ry Cooder playing on The Rolling Stones' version of "Love In Vain" - I think), and it hipped me to a way the instrument could be played that I had not known before.
It was a great honor for my band to open for The Band many years later (the reunited version), and an everlasting honor, privilege, and delight to meet Levon, however briefly, in the green room before the show. We were just a local jug band from CT, opening for a great, renowned, much beloved band, but they were all so kind, gracious, and friendly. (Garth Hudson, the quiet one on stage, kind of monopolized the conversation, but I didn't care however he rambled, it was so very cool meeting them.) Levon seemed quite untouched by all the fame and accolades that had been heaped upon him over the years - just a down to earth guy, who loved playing music.
That is what I remember most about him from this experience - how just plain folks he was. And as I've listened to the way he played mandolin since then, I was struck by one thing more than anything else. He may not have been a virtuoso, he may not have been able to play rings around a whole lot of other players, but he found how to make his instrument his voice, to get it to express himself through it. And that is one of the key aspects of being a good player - true self-expression by reducing as much as possible the gap between what one thinks and what one plays. He was just as much a just plain folks player as person.
The world is a better place to live in for him having been in it. My heart goes out to him and to those who love him and whom he has loved.
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