This Wheel's on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band by Levon Helm, Stephen Davis Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of This Wheel's on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band
Book Review: Best Notify My Next Of Kin, This Wheel's About to Explode
Summary: 5 Stars
"If your mem'ry serves you well
You'll remember you're the one
That called on me to call on them
To get you your favors done
And after ev'ry plan had failed
And there was nothing more to tell
You knew that we would meet again
If your mem'ry serves you well
This wheel's on fire
Rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode "
Lyrics to 'This Wheel's On Fire' Bob Dylan
'The Band' "They were grown men who had climbed the mountain together, spoken to the Gods, and returned to the valley, where they once again became mortal" said the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Band comprised Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, bass), Robbie Robertson (guitar); Richard Manuel (piano, harmonica, drums, saxophone); Garth Hudson (organ, piano, clavinet, accordion, synthesizer, saxophone); Rick Danko (bass guitar, violin, trombone), and at the beginning Ronnie Hawkins. Levon Helm was the unofficial leader of the band. He gathered the troops together one at a time. His memoir tells the story.
Mark Lavon Helm was born on a cotton farm in Arkansas, Turkey Scratch was the name. He grew up on country music and started playing drums, and then along came Elvis Presly and rock n'roll was born. Levon as he came to be known, would travel to the local music places, and then up to Memphis where he would listen to Conway Twitty and a new guy called Hawk, Ronnie Hawkins. He hooked up with the Hawk, and they played music dates around the south, and then traveled to Canada where the big music houses and money was to be found. They started as the Ron Hawks Quartet and traveled the highways and by-ways. They had a good time, booze, women, yes, many, many women, fun and music. Eventually Hawk found marriage and family life and bowed out of the band. Levon and the Hawks were born, and they met Bob Dylan and their entire world changed. They played with Bob as his back up band. Nothing much happened after this, and Levon took a two year hiatus. He found the group again after they moved to Woodstock, NY, Bob Dylan's home, and they started a recording career.
In 1967 the group recorded 'Music From Big Pink' and their band took off. The album, 'Big Pink' used the name 'The Band', much to Levon's dismay, but he grew to like the name. Thus the group had a new name and a new career. For ten years they recorded, toured, got rich, booze and drugs and women were the name of the game. One by one each band member got married and started a family. 1975 the group was tired and torn, drugs and booze had taken their toll. Robbie Robertson had taken over the day to day management and the group decided to split. 'The Last Waltz' a movie of 'The Band' and their friends was planned, and this was a deciding moment in their lives.
Levon Helm has expressed his distaste for the editing of the concert movie and in his memoir, this chapter is full of the life, times and making of 'The Last Waltz'. He was so angry about the financial arrangements for the group, asserting that a disproportionate amount of coverage was given to Robertson with Manuel being cruelly sidelined. The movie was a big disappointment to everyone but Robbie Robertson. Even though this movie is known as the quintessential movie of a band, and has every musician of fame playing; it was not a true representation of what really happened those 24 hours. Robbie Robertson parted from the group and never played with them again. With the demise of The Band, Helm began working on a solo album Levon Helm, and the RCO All Stars which was followed by other albums. In 1983, The Band reunited without Robbie Robertson, but then Manuel committed suicide while on tour in 1986. Helm, Danko and Hudson continued in The Band, releasing the album 'Jericho' in 1993 and 'High on the Hog' in 1996. The last album from The Band to date was the 30th anniversary album 'Jubilation' in 1998
Levon went on to act in several films. He played in 'Coal Miner's Daughter'. In 1990 he was diagnosed with throat cancer and had successful therapy. Since that time has had successful concerts he calls 'The Midnight Ramble' The Midnight Ramble is an outgrowth of an idea he talked about that concerned a traveling medicine show that would put on performances for communities. "After the finale, they'd have the midnight ramble," Helm said. "The songs would get a little bit juicier. The jokes would get a little funnier and the prettiest dancer would really get down and shake it a few times. A lot of the rock and roll duck walks and moves came from that." Levon Helm recently appeared at the Beacon Theater on March 16-17, 2007, a rare occurrence. Doctor John and Warren Hayes from the Allman Brothers Band played at the concerts as well along with several other guests. The Alexis P. Suter Band was the opening act.
"Although The Band was always more popular with music journalists and fellow musicians than with the general public, they have remained an admired and influential group. They have been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked them #50 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Rolling Stone
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'Rolling Stone' magazine lavished praise on The Band during their heyday, giving them more attention than perhaps any other group in the magazine's history. Many of today's bands give credence to "The Band' for their beginnings and love of music. The Eagles, Counting Crowes, Pink Floyd and on and on. 'The Band' the beginning of rock n' roll for me. Levon Helm has written a memoir to remember. He gives us the scoop, the lives and loves and rock n roll of a group that led my era into the sound of music as we know it. The heart and soul of rock n' roll with an edgy, blunt side but always loving memoir.
Highly Recommended. prisrob 3-20-07
The Last Waltz - DVD
The Last Waltz- CD
Book Review: Interesting insight
Summary: 4 Stars
Being a big "Band" fan since the early 70's I found this book to be an interesting, although tragic look at this fantastic group. Without the first-hand experience, this is as close as one can get to the life of a band on the road. It's also a reminder that regardless of how great a band is, ego's can screw it up!Book Review: Good read
Summary: 5 Stars
I highly recommend this book, especially if you're buying it for someone who is into making music. they seem to appreciate it much better.Book Review: Essential companion to the traditional story of The Band
Summary: 5 Stars
Levon Helm's hybrid personal memoir/Band autobiography provides a necessary Yang to the Yin of the story of The Band that the public usually gets from their remastered liner notes, rock critics, and Robbie Robertson-heavy rock biographies.
Although he does get pretty bitter at times with regards to Robbie Robertson, Levon's side of the story is totally essential, from the very beginning. His tales of his youth and membership in Ronnie Hawkins' Hawks explains a lot about the mishmash of influences that made The Band so great, and it's great to hear it from someone who lived the experience. Additionally, as the only American in the so-called "Americana" band, it's an important account of lots of the roots of that Americana, historical and musical alike.
Helm's memoir provides information on the group's success and failure (it's fascinating to read how he abandoned Dylan's harrowing first electric tour to work on a dangerous oil rig instead). He also paints loving, straight portraits of his bandmates (yep, even Robbie, before his ego got in the way). It's really cool to hear an insider's perspective on the making of their classic albums and a lot more about The Band makes sense when you've heard the background from Levon.
Although he gets pretty militant about Robertson toward the end of the book, I recommend This Wheel's On Fire as an excellent supplement to The Band's catalog and an enjoyable read on its own. Helm is a true character, and it's a pleasure to hear his story from his early days to his post-Band life as an actor and solo musician.
Book Review: This Wheel's on Fire
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an amazing book.
I could smell the earth, trees, etc. in Levon's boyhood home. He is not only a gifted musician but a gifted writer -- I really enjoyed this incredible trip down memory lane.