When you think about the quintessential example of someone who can drum and sing at the same time, it’s impossible not to consider The Band’s Levon Helm. The artist, who passed away on April 19, 2012, at the age of 71, was famous for the rock music performed by his group, known as The Band, and for backing up the songwriter and performer Bob Dylan with the members, too.
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But with all that life and achievement to his name, one might wonder what Helm had to say about his life and the world around him, about his craft, love and more. Well, that is the subject of today’s inquiry. These are the 20 best Levon Helm quotes.
1. “Good times don’t last long sometimes.”
2. “If you pour some music on whatever’s wrong, it’ll sure help out.”
3. “When I was younger, I used to drive up to a bunch of turkeys, roll down the window and say something. They’d all gobble back at once.”
4. “There were no rules, other than that the song should sound good and be fun to play.”
5. “A friend of mine took me to Memphis and advised me that I should get in the musicians’ union. He gave me a set of drums and said, Stay on the job, son.”
6. “By the time The Band did The Last Waltz, the chemistry had changed, and it wasn’t a thrill anymore to live that studio kind of life.”
7. “Conway Twitty was always our local hero while I was growing up. He had a series of good bands. I wanted to sit in if Conway would let me. And he did a couple of times.”
8. “Drums just always sounded like the most fun part of that good music for me.”
9. “Drums usually seem to tune themselves.”
10. “I don’t fool with a lot of things that I can’t have fun with. There’s not much reward in that.”
11. “I like walking on the edge.”
12. “If things are going slow, I’m itchy.”
13. “Lord, when the song wants to pick up and go a little faster towards the end, it’s hard for me to resist.”
14. “The crowd is just as important as the group. It takes everything to make it work.”
15. “The rock star stuff never came up for us. The Band was never attacked by groupies before, during or after any show that we ever played.”
16. “My parents wanted me to be smart and be a scholar, and the best I could do was graduate high school.”
17. “If you give it good concentration, good energy, good heart and good performance, the song will play you.”
18. “If it doesn’t come from your heart, music just doesn’t work.”
19. “Anytime I switch to another instrument, I immediately turn it into another kind of drum so that I can understand it better.”
20. “My dad and I played music. He teaches me a song or two every time I’m home.”
Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns
