This song changed my life.
[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WoI95PTizs[/youtube]

I’d heard The Band on the radio. I’d heard The Grateful Dead play “The Weight”. But, it wasn’t until late one night, a day after I’d popped in a video tape to record Martin Scorsese’s “Raging Bull” on Cinemax and fortuitously captured a Scorsese double-feature, that I really discovered The Band.

It was, as I said, late, by the time “Raging Bull” ended. I sat drowsing in a recliner when the following enticing words appeared on the screen:

That got my attention.

Then The Band came out to play.

Since then I’ve become a fan, seen the 90’s version of the reformed group, and caught Levon another time besides. The man is a legend, an inspiration, and my favorite singing drummer. Any group would be lucky to have so strong a singer on hand but Levon has been known to modestly say that he didn’t consider himself a singer and was better off in the rhythm section.

That Arkansas boy could spit fire into a song or he could turn it around and break your heart.

He’s spent his later years much like his younger years; sharing his music and his stage because playing is what he loves and giving that love to the world is what he does best. He might be missed but his fans will carry that love everywhere they go.

Here’s hoping that he and his family feel the warmth of that love so that it might carry them through this difficult time.

-rj