We knew how imminent the end was for Levon Helm when we heard that even Robbie Robertson had made a bedside visit to make peace with the band mate he had scarcely spoken with for decades.  Just 48 hours after his web site advised his fans that the former Band drummer was entering the final stage of his illness and life (story), the 71 year-old Helm passed on peacefully with his wife, daughter and close friends by his side at Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City on Thursday (4/19).
Although Robertson was generally thought of as the lead vocalsit of the Band, It was the distinctive, rootsy voice of Helm that made The Weight and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down the songs widely considered the finest ones the group ever recorded or performed. But Robertson held sway when it came to most decisions regarding the group - and his 1976 decision to disband it caused bitter disappointment to Helm and other group members.  In Levon's case, things never really got patched up.  It was said that Helm elected to skip the Band's 1994 Rock Hall Of Fame induction ceremony despite having traveled to New York for it because he could not bring himself to be on the same stage with the man that destroyed the group.
Robertson has had some success in the post-Band decades, but the slick textured, highly produced direction he headed in had little appeal to fans that appreciated the simple, straight forward sound of the Band and failed to attract many new fans. Helm, on the other hand, managed to retain the appreciation and love of his early fans and attract legions of new ones from Americana and Jam Band fan ranks, earning him three Grammy awards and a multi-generational following that will miss him dearly.

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