Interview: Levon Helm, March, 1981
Well you know drummers aren’t limited to just the pulse and the feel and the time. You can play the lyric of the tune. It’s a lot of fun. I have to when I sing with it though.
Levon Helm
March 6, 1981
This interview took place before a show at a now gone club Emerald City, which was just across the river from Philly in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The building was originally the legendary (originally in Philadelphia) nightclub, the Latin Casino, where people such as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, and others would appear. The first time I saw Ray Charles was there. Eventually it was closed and turned into a disco, and then into a rock club which kept the name and the sort of disco ambiance, sunken couches, space age bars. The cool thing was if you didn’t like the opening act, you could go into a lounge and get a drink or even into a game room. The stage was very low, and you could walk right up to it. That night, Levon had a small basic four-piece band. A little less than 14 years later, his bass player that night, Frank Campbell would end up playing bass on and producing my album.
At the time this interview happened, Levon was between albums, and also between films. His third solo album American Son had come out the year before, as had Coal Miner’s Daughter. The re-formed version of The Band wouldn’t happen until the next year. This interview happened after the show. Levon was the friendliest guy in the world. After I was brought into his dressing room, one of the owners of the club asked, “Is there anything you need?” Levon replied, “A joint would be nice.” The guy left and came back a couple of minutes later with Levon’s request fulfilled, and the interview began.
PSB: What was it like growing up in the same town as Sonny Boy Williamson? Were you aware of that when you grew up?
Levon Helm: I sure enjoyed Sonny Boy. I didn’t realize it at the time that I was on the luck end. You know I could go to town on a Saturday and run down to KFFA and see Sonny Bob and the King Biscuit Boys do their live radio broadcast. I enjoyed it. That was my main piece of business any time I was in town. Years later, of course, there’s no place like home.
What was it like when you first went to Canada with Ronnie Hawkins? That was like the very beginning of rock and roll almost.
Well, I was for sure that we had hit the big time immediately. We went from playin’ in the South playin’ club dates and dances and we were all of a sudden playin’ in night clubs and supper clubs and playin’ for mixed-drink crowds, playin’ besides weekends, so it was real nice. Canada at the time, and still is you know a great audience for music.
Some of those early Ronnie Hawkins records, now in the whole rockabilly revival, they’re becoming big collectors items. Were you on most of those?
I can’t remember. I know I played on a few of ’em, but I’m not sure. Some of ’em got released and some of ’em didn’t as they should. I’m not sure really.
There’s a couple of 45s that were done that I’ve heard like once on the radio, Levon & the Hawks on ATCO. What was the story behind them?
During the time that we played with Ronnie Hawkins, the next time that we were heard of we were playin’ with Dylan and we called ourselves Levon & The Hawks, we called ourselves the Canadian Squires. There were a couple of names--aliases that we used there. That would’ve been in about probably ’62 or ’63 maybe.
Was that just like a demo or something like that?
That was our effort at knocking on the door for a big time recording contracts.
Where does your drum style come from? You play drums different than just about anybody. There’s something about your drums that it’s a very heavy...
Unpracticed (laughs).
The first time I heard you was on the John Hammond album, So Many Roads in ’65, then I saw you when you were with Dylan before you split, and I noticed that there was a real just boom type of sound. Was that just something that came naturally to you?
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