drummer :: Blog
Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll: "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"
The Band recognized that while the soul of a song lived in its performance, its style was found in the arrangement. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is an exquisitely structured song: acoustic guitar frames the verses, Levon Helm's drums roll into a moving chorus, and Garth Hudson adds faux harmonica with organ and a real trumpet. Recorded in 1969 and released on the Band's self-titled second album, the song's arrangement created a dramatic tableau for the poignant vocals. It's perhaps ironic that rock's most famous song about the Civil War was written by a Canadian, Robbie Roberston. It had to be sung, however, by the Band's only U.S. citizen: Arkansas native Helm. Helm is as vividly natural in this Southern role as when he played Loretta Lynn's father in the film Coal Miner's Daughter. The song's Virgil Caine meets his rebel's death, and he dies nobly. Joan Baez ...
Remembering Levon Helm
The only non-Canadian member of the Band, Levon Helm was known for his deeply soulful, country-accented voice and his creative drumming style, which was highlighted on many of the Band's recordings, including "The Weight,” "Up on Cripple Creek,” "Ophelia" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”
Helm was born in Marvell, Arkansas, and grew up in Turkey Scratch, a hamlet west of Helena, Arkansas. He saw Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys when he was six and decided to become a musician. He began playing the guitar at the age of eight, and he took up drums shortly thereafter. After graduating from high school, Helm was invited to join rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins' band, the Hawks. Shortly after Helm joined the Hawks, the group moved to Toronto, Canada, where, in 1959, it signed with Roulette Records. In the early 1960s, Helm and Hawkins recruited an all-Canadian lineup of musicians: guitarist Robbie Robertson, bassist Rick Danko, pianist Richard Manuel and organist Garth Hudson. In 1963, the band parted ways with Hawkins and started touring under the name Levon and the Hawks and, later, as the Canadian Squires before finally changing back to the Hawks. Then, in 1965, Bob ...
Today in Rock: Remembering Keith Moon
In the pantheon of rock icons, few lived harder and played more dynamically than Keith Moon, among the greatest rock and roll drummers of all time and the man who embodied The Who's frenetic energy and unconventional wit. Although his eccentric persona earned him the unflattering nickname of "Moon the loon," his innovative drumming garnered accolades and made him one of the rock genre's most influential percussionists. His sphere of influence was wide, and legend has it that Moon suggested to Jimmy Page that he use the name Led Zeppelin – rather than Page's New Yardbirds moniker. On September 7, 1978, Moon passed away at the age of 32, when he overdosed on medications prescribed to combat alcoholism. Thirty-three years later, Moon's legacy can still be heard in The Who's oeuvre – and beyond.
Keith John Moon was born August 23, 1946, the son of Alfred and Kathleen Moon, and raised in Wembley, England. He began playing drums at an early age and after a period performing with the surf rock group The Beachcombers, he joined Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle in London to form The Who. In their prime, the Mod "maximum R&B ...
